f:*'V CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE DATE DUE riiH*..! .. rSd-Td -mm ?!».-■■ CAYLORD fRJNTEOINU.S.A. Cornell University Library F 157C77 B32 + Our count ill and its people. A historical 3 1924 028 852 584 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/cu31924028852584 L A Sirurh r -.q OUR COUNTY Al ITS PEOPLE A HISTORICAL AND MEMORIAL RECORD OF CRAWFORD. COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA SAMUEL P. BATES, LL. D. "They weakly err, who think there is no other use of government than correction. Governments, lijie clocks, go from the motion men give them, and as governments are made and moved 6y men, so by them, are they ruined too. That, therefore, which m.akes a good constitution inust keep it, men of wisdom and virtue, qualities that, because they descend not with worldly inheritances, tnust be carefully propagated by a virtuous educa- tion of youth, for which after ages will owe more to the care' and prudence of founders and the successive magistracy than to their parents for their private patrimonies.^'' — William Penn. Illu.^t3r^te:ci W. A. FERGUSSON & COMPANY PUBLISHERS 1899 PREFACE. No more interesting subject for investigation by the student of history can be brought to his attention than the colonization of this continent. The colonization of a county was dependent upon the larger question of the success or failure of the three great nations — the Spanish, the French and the Eng- lish — which struggled for the. mastery. Over the whole boundless expanse were scattered savage and warlike tribes whose trade was blood, and these had to be met. Penn had no sooner shaken the salt spray of the ocean from his locks, and set his foot upon the domain granted by royal charter, with bounds as fixed and unchanging as the sun and stars in the heavens, than he was confronted by Lord Baltimore, who disputed his occupancy, and would be satisfied with nothing less than a sixth part of his possession, and for more than a century Penn and his successors were confronted upon the south, the west, and the north by parties claiming generous slices of his goodly heritage. To ward them off. and hold their just rights, and to meet and pacify the red men of the forest, required the utmost stretch of the diplomacy of the peace-loving spirit of the founder.. We who occupy in peace and contentment the fruitful acres of this great Commonwealth, brought largely from trackless forests under the hand of cultivation, have little conception of the toils and dangers of the early settlers in holding the colonial domain in its entirety, and in meeting the savages on their own hunting grounds, and braving them in their war paint, when they spared neither helpless infancy nor trembling age. It has been thought best, accordingly, to give generous space in this volume to these vital subjects, which will ever command the attention of the thoughtful, will daily increase in interest to 'the oncoming generations, and by means of which we trace the philosophy of the vital events of history that are really useful. In preparing these pages for publication it has been decided not to incumber the text with marginal notes, and references to authorities ; but to name authors, where their investigations have been used, and to make acknowledgments in a general way. It would be impossible to name all ; but iv .PREFACE. the following have been found to be especially useful and have been freely consulted : The Histories of the United States by Bancroft, Hildreth, Spencer, Bryant, and Lossing; Irving's Life of Washington; Life and Writings of William Penn; Colonial Records, and Pennsylvania Archives; History of Pennsylvania Volunteers; the Western Annals; the History of Western Pennsylvania ; the State Reports of Education from 1834 to 1898 ; Crumrine's History of Washington County ; Brown's History of Crawford County. The Indians never made this section their home, having few wigwams or villages in all its limits ; but from time immemorial they had kept this as a sort of park or preserve, for the breeding of their game. They may have felt ag- grieved in seeing their favorite hunting grounds broken in upon, and the game scared away by the ring of the settler's ax, the echo of his gun, and his frequent burnings. Hoping that this work will prove useful to the citizens of the county ; and especially to the rising generation, and will serve tO' stimulate to further inquiry into the subjects which it touches, it is respectfully submitted to their considerate judgment. S. P. B. Meadville, January 29, 1899. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART 1. PAGE CHAPTER I. The Physical Features of Crawford County i CHAPTER IL The Character of the Aborigines 12 CHAPTER III. Attempts at Colonization ' 23 CHAPTER IV. Penn Comes with His English Quakers. 37 CHAPTER V. Controversy Over the Bounds of the Colony 50 CHAPTER VI. Planting of the Leaden Plates by Celeron 67 CHAPTER VII. The Embassage of Washington to St. Pierre 78 CHAPTER VIII. Washington's First Battles 87 CHAPTER IX. Crawford County Shall Be an English and Not a French Speak- ing People 103 CHAPTE]^ X. Final Struggles of the Aborigines 113 CHAPTER XI. Crawford County Settled 126 CHAPTER XII. Virginia and Pennsylvania Controversy Finally Settled 139 V vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. PAGE Appeal to the Continental Congress for Justice 15° CHAPTER XIV. Roads and Waterways in Crawford County ^68 CHAPTER XV. Crawford County in Its Multiform Relations 178 CHAPTER XVI. Crawford County Judiciary i93 CHAPTER XVII. Crawford County Education 206 CHAPTER XVIII. Crawford County in War Times 225 CHAPTER XIX. Dedication of the Monument to Cornplanter, the Indian Sachem of the Six Nations, Who Saved the Early Settlers ~ FROM Destruction 230 PART II. MEADVILLE AND TITUSVILLE. CHAPTER I. Early Settlers of Meadville , 245 CHAPTER II. Education in Meadville 250 CHAPTER III. Religious History of Meadville 276 CHAPTER IV. TiTUSVILLE 293 CHAPTER V. Petroleum and Our Connection Therewith 373 CHAPTER VI. TiTUSVILLE — Continued 428 ^ ♦ TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii PART III. HISTORY OF TOWNSHIPS— ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED. CHAPTER I. PAGE Athens Township 473 CHAPTER II. •Beaver Township 480 CHAPTER III. Bloomfield Township 484 CHAPTER IV. Cambridge Township 490 CHAPTER V. CoNNEAUT Township ". 499 CHAPTER VI. CussAWAGO Township 503 CHAPTER VII. East Fairfield Township ' 509 CHAPTER VIII. East Fallowfield Township 515 CHAPTER IX. Fairfield Township 519 CHAPTER X. Greenwood Tovvnship 526 CHAPTER XL Hayfield Township 532 CHAPTER XII. Mead Township 537 CHAPTER XIII. North Shenango Township 547 CHAPTER XIV. Oil Creek Township 551 CHAPTER XV. Pine Township 563 CHAPTER XVI. Randolph Township 567 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVII. ^'^^s Richmond. Township 575 CHAPTER XVin. •Rockdale Township . . . ; S8i CHAPTER XIX. Rome Township 586 CHAPTER XX. Sadsbury Township 591 CHAPTER XXI. South Shenango Township 596 CHAPTER XXII. Sparta Township 599 CHAPTER XXIII. Spring Township 604 CHAPTER XXIV. Steuben Township . . . . ■ 617 CHAPTER XXV. Summerhill Township 622 CHAPTiER XXVI. Summit Township, . 625 CHAPTER XXVII. .Troy Township 631 CHAPTER XXVIII. Union Township 635 CHAPTER XXIX. Venango Township 640 CHAPTER XXX. Vernon Township 645 CHAPTER XXXI. Wayne Township 6^0 CHAPTER XXXII. West Fallowfield Township gee CHAPTER XXXIII. West Shenango Township gcg CHAPTER XXXIV. Woodcock Township 662 PART IV. Biographical Sketches 67- ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Map Showing Contests for Boundaries of Pennsylvania 50 Fac-Simile of the Leaden Plates Buried by the French in the Ohio, 1749 67 Map Showing Various Purchases from the Indians 126 Manuscript Letter by .Thaddeus Stevens in 1864 ". 206 Manuscript Letter by David Mead in 1793 225 Dedication of the Cornplanter Monument 230 The Edmund Greenlee Homestead 680 Residence of Ralph S. Greenlee, Chicago 682 Residence of Robert L. Greenlee, Chicago 683 PORTRAITS. . PAC3 Caldwell, James H 882 Chase, Edward H 929 Curtis, Esther (Greenlee) 679 Dick, John 952 Emery, David 769 Fertig, John ; 818 Greenlee, Edmund 679 Greenlee, The Family of Edmund 681 Greenlee, Jacob 679 Huidekoper, Harm J Frontispiece Maxwell, Samuel G ' 904 McKinney, James C 858 McKinney, John L 72 1 Roberts, Edward A. L 94^ Roberts, Walter B 937 Stebbins, Lucinda (Greenlee) 679 INDEX. A. Abbott, William H., 411, 827, Abel, Barnard, St., 738. Abel, Barnard, Jr., 738. Abel, William G., 738. Akin, Aaron, 840. Alden, Roger, 250. Aldrich, F. H., 7op. Ames, Judson P., 916. Anderson, Claes J., 872. Andrews, Frank W., 409. Andrews, William H., 887. Atherton, Stephen, 901. Austin, Hiram A., 744. B. Babcock, John W., 893. Bail, Harry L., 833. Bailey, Francis, 817. Bailey, Morris, 435, 698. Baker, Frarik C, 818. Baldwin, Charles E., 896. Baldwin, Henry, 199. Bannister, Lee, 873. Barber, James R., 397, 746. Barker, John, 265. Barnsdall, Theodore N., 412. Barnsdall, William, 412, 765. Barr, George W., 433, 761. Barrett, Charles S., 411. Bartle, W. H., 903." Bartlett, George C, 720. Bates, Arthur L., 684. Bates, Henry R., 960. Baugher, David R., 935. Baumgartner, Albert, 732. l^eers, J. W., 840. Belknap, Asa N., 812. Bement, Daniel, 836. Bender, Philipp, 916. Benedict, Charles W., 429, 7^3- Benedict, John, 814. Benedict, Willis B., 410, 762. Bennett, A. P., 410- Benson, B. D., 402. Berly, Joseph J., 927- Best, Wesldy B., 805. Best, William, 873. Bethune, George H., 845. Beuchat, Louis J., 857. Bidwell, Russell, 907. Binney, John, 735. Bishop, Zephaniah, 746. Black, C. A., 440. Blair, Andrew, 922. Blatchley, David, 921. Bloomfield, Thomas, 485. Bloss, Henry C, 773. Bloss, William W., 774- Blum, Benjamin, 741. Bohn, J. S., 926. Bollard, Homer E., 898. Bookhammer, William, 803. Bortles, Charles A., 804. Bowman, Elisha K., 778. Boyd, James M., 906. Boyd, Miss S. L., 845. Boyer, Samuel P., 394, 817. Bradford, David, 731. Brawley Family. The, 876. Brawley, James, Jr., 568, 905. Braymer, Charles, 900. Bresee, George L., 896. Brittain, William C, 8og. Bronson, A. H., 409. Broughton, Francis, 703. Brown, Fisher P., 406. Brown, George F., 430, 926. Brown, William, 873. Brownson, Marcus, 409. Brunson, Oliver L., 735. Bryan, George, 431. Bue, P. O., 816. Bugbee, Lucius H., 267. Burchfield, S. N., 437. Burger, Howard W., 928. Burgeson, Samuel, 961. INDEX. XI Burgess, Charles, 786. Burlingame, Henry H., 797. Burrows, James, 933. Burwell, Findley, 705. Burwell, James, 70S. Burwell, Oliver E., 705. Burwell, Samuel, 705. Byham, John, Jr., 927. Byles, Julius, 428, 751. Cadwallader, J. A., 393. Cady, D. H., 409. Caldwell, James H., 397, 882. Calvin, Abner C, 971. Campbell- Charles, 856. Campbell, Charles S., 846. Campbell, George C, 855. Campbell, Homer H., 849. Carkhuff, Dennis, 729. Carr, George P., 410. Carter, John J., 403, 756. Cary, George L., 756. Chapman, Orson A., gig. Chase, Edward H., g2g. Chase, George A., 429, 841. Chase, Joseph L., 740. Chase, Joseph T., 741. Chase, Luther, 937. Chess, Mrs. L. I., 852. Christy, George A., 910. Church, Gaylord, 203. Church, Pearson, 876. Church, Seth, 957. Clark, Curtis S., 878. Clark, Joseph N., 906. Cochran, J. J., 890. Cogswell, Joseph H., 774. Cole, Henry, 913. Coleman, John F., 890. Colestock, Daniel, 787. Colter, James P., 749. Consider, Joseph G., 924. Coombs, W. M., 439. Cooper, James, 900. Cowles, Andre L., 837. Coyle, Hugh, 803. Crawford, Andrew J., 726. Crawford, Robert D., 836. Crawford, William, 178. Crawford, William H., 268. Crider, John W., 832. Crocker, Frederick, 408. Crossley, James P., 411. Crowe, John, 779. Croxall, Edward, 779. Culbertson, John H., 908. Cummings, Barry, 807. Cummings, Curtis C, 857. Cunningham, Robert A., 848. D. Daily, Allen E., 948. Dame, Waldron M., 430. Daveriport, William, 811. Davenport, William A., 860. Davis, William H., 204. Day, Charles C, 922. Demary, Leorfard C, 768. Derickson, David, 202. Dick, John, 952. Dickson, James, 533. Doane, W. A., 842. Dobbs, Michael, 477. Donehue, James J., 411. Donor, Henry, 855. Double, Hannibal, 926. Douglass, Joshua, 707. Drake, Edwin L., 382. Drake, James, 477. Drown, John S., 874. Drury, Judd C, 832. Dubar, Jules A. C, 431, 872. Dudenhoeffer, G. P., 924. Dunn, David C, 932. Dunn, James A., 437, 753. Dunn, James J., 854. Dunn, James L.' 411, 436, 752. Dunn, Joseph M., 785. Dutton, William T., 932. E. Eason, John, 850. Edson, Eber E., 789. Edwards, Burton F., 719. Egan, Patrick W., 936. Eiler, Edward, 781. Filer, Valentine W., 806. Ellicott, Andrew, 714. Elston, William R., 842. Emerson, E. O., 411. Emery, David, 409, 769. Emery, Lewis, Jr., 409. Farel, James, 411, 699. Xll INDEX. Farel, Nelson, 411. Farner, John T., gi8. Farrelly, David M., 203, Farrelly, Ellis M., 932. Farrelly, John W., 203. Farrelly, Patrick, 201, Fertig, John, 390, 818. Fetterman, Ira, 966. Finney, Darwin A., 204, First, Joseph T., 937. Fish, Benjamin O., 839. Fisher, Mrs. E. A., 852. Fisher, Jacob, 891. Fitz Patrick, Hugh, 600. Fitz Randolph, Robert, 137. Flood, Theodore L., 930. • Flower, William S., 954. Fogle, Joseph W., 945. Forker, William H., 895. Forsbloom, Peter A., 951. Foster, David, 951. 'Fox, Francis, 683. Free, J. Laverne, 853. Fuller, A. M., 840. Fulmer, W. C, gc8. Gable, Burt G., 923. Gardner, Samuel L., 935. Gaston, F. D., 788. Gates, Luther, 696. Gehr, Baltzer, 701. Gehr, Josiah, 702. Gerlach, Joseph, 956. . Gibbs, Charles L., 396, 783. Gibbs, Francis H., 782. Gilbert, Elisha M., 868. Gill, James D., 794. Gilson Family, The, 552. Gilson, Richard B., gii. Gordon, Gilbert, 837. Graham, Richard, 835. Graves, Leonard C, 768. Gray, Alonzo, 874. Greenlee, Michael, 679. Griffiths, William T., 870. Grumbine, Samuel, 429, 747. Gutman, John G., 948. H. • Haas, Henry, 844. Hamaker, Winters D., 693, Hammon, William A., 909. Hardy, William H., 897. Harris, Caleb P., 718. Harris, Junius, 686. Harrison, Benjamin, 794. Hart, Henry, 891. Hart, John M., gig. Hart, Samuel, 918. Hart, William A., 832. Harvey, W. C, 813. Hazen, Jesse, 884. Head, Holder T., 831. Heath, William D., 922. Hecker, George W., 920. Henderson, John J., 732. Henne, S. S., 411. Hettler, A. C, 958. Heywang, M. J., 429- Hicks, Timothy B., 956. Higgins, C. K., 795. Hill, C. C, 825. Hilton, John H., 900. Hines, John, 896. Hippie, Jacob. M., 914. Hoag, Evalon C, 781. Hoffman, Edwin. 922. Hollister, Orrin H., 875. Holman, David S., 907. Hopkins, Orson, 935. Hopkins, R. E., 402. Hotchkiss, H. V., 947. Hotchkiss, J. S., 857. Houser, James H., 715. Houser, John B., 952. Houser, John J., 811. Houtz, Delmer, 921. Hughes, Dennis D., 685. Huidekoper, Harm J., 675. Hull, Mrs. Juvia O., 736. Humes, Homer J., 691. Hummer, Elias W., 724. Hunt, Ebenezer, 576. Hunt, William, 853. Hunter, A. M., 812. Hyatt, Jerome, 717. Hyde, Charles, 412, 764. Hyde, Louis K., 699. J. Jackson, P. S., 767. Jackson, William W., 715. Jameson, Hugh, 437, 727. Jamison, James, 838. Jamison, William L., 809. INDEX. XI 11 Jeanney, Francois, 913. Jennings, H. M., 710. Jennings, William M., 431. Johnson, Mead, 889. Johnson, Nels A., 931. Johnson, Sara M., 742. Johnson, William F., 915. Johnston, William ,G., 437, 727. Jolly, James J., 861. Joy, Thaddeus C, 719. Jude, Stephen, 865. K. Kaster, Benjamin, 811. Kaster, Samuel, 811. Kean, John S., 902. Kebort, Frederick J., 780. Kellogg, Isaac, 300. Kellogg, Reuben L., 917. Kendall, Celestia, 852. Kennedy, Joseph C. G., 838. Kepler, T.D.j_ 759. Kerr, Chester L.,^430. Kerr, James, 300. Kerr, Samuel, 296. King, George D., 914. King, John P., 751. King, Joseph L., 843. Kinney,, William, 839. Kirk, M. Ethel, 869. Klippel, John, 837. Kuntz, George J., 945. L. Laffer, Cornelius C, 807. Lake, C. F., 411. Lashells, Theodore B., 944. Le Conte A. C, 957. Lee, R. H., 397. Leffingwell, James G., 969. Lenhart, Joseph H., 725. Lester, Frank B., 894. Levy, S. S., 784. Ley, Charles H., 410, 772. ' Ley, John D., 410. Lincoln, Seth C, 854. Loomis, George, 266. Lord, William, 903. M. Mackey, Eugene, 428. Magee, Francis, 843. Mandell, Arthur, ,958. Mantor, Frank, 829. Mapes, James M., 925. Markham, Frank L., 830. Marshall, Robert P., 885. Marsteller, George W., 898. Martin, L. L., 965. Martin, Zadock, 964.' Marvin, Charles, 754. Mason, E. T., 724. Mather, John A., 400. Maxwell, William H., 743. Maxwell, Samuel G., 904. Maynard, John, 737. ' Maynard, William H., 737. McArthur, Emmett W., 902. McCaulfy, Elmer E., 925. McCombs, James, 920. McCracken, William, 802. McCrea, J. J., 743. McCrum, Joseph J., 815. McDowell, E. Plummer, 959. McFate, Robert, 926. McGill, Augustus, 689. McGill, W. R., 813. McGrath, Daniel, 713. McGuire, Sylvester, 737. McKinney, James C, 407, 858. McKinney, John L., 407, 721. McLachlin, James A., 745. McLaughlin, Lucius F., 851. Mead Family, The, 134. Medo, Earnest, 946. Merrell, Simeon, 928. Miller, James D., 855. Moody, George O., 432, 871. Moore*, Jesse, 201, 687. Morris, Benjamin, 810. Morris, Lucius P., 901. Morris, Richard, 824. Morris, Thomas S., 803. Morris, William, 810. Morris, William S., 829. Moulthrop, Franklin, 742. Mullen, Lawrence E., 892. Murdock, Thomas, 912. Murray, James T., 826. Murray, Robert, 814. N. Nason, William, 795. Nau, Joseph M., 815. Neill, William T., 411, 826. XIV INDEX. Nelson, Francis, 956. Nelson, Horace F., 725. Nelson, Samuel H., 830. Netcher, F., 949. Northam, Henry M., 825. Norton, Franklin N., 843. Norton, L. Frank, 863. O. Oakes, Ephraim, 760. Oakes, T. R, 432. O'Hare, Hugh, 399. Oliver, Moses W., 775. P. Parker, M. Jennie, 917. Pastorius, J. B., 824. Patten, Thomas J., Jr., 962. Patterson, Elisha G., 785. Pease, Henry, 864. Peebles, W. J., 440. Pentz, William, 881. Perrin, A. N., 410. Peterman, John H., 923. Pettitt, Allen E., 897. Pettitt, Edward, 897. Philley, George J., 955. Porter, H. B., 410. Post, Samuel, 865. Potter, Alonzo A., 847. Powell Brothers, 609. Powell, Maurice M., 911. Powell, Z. R., 862. Pratt, Samuel, 881. Pi-oper, James L., 728. Purdon, Henry, 788. Q. Quick, Miles W., 396, 773. Quigley, Arnos C., 863. Quinby, E. C, 437. R. Radebush, Harry, 897. Ralston, A. S., 410. Ray, John T., 894. Ray, Sylvester H., 864. Reynolds, William, 753. Richmond, D. S., 967. Richmond, Hiram L., 203. Ridgway, Charles, 703. Ridgway, Peter, 703. Roberts, Edward A. L., 941. Roberts, Henry, 900. Roberts, J. K., 927. Roberts, Samuel W., 868. Roberts, Walter B., 937. Rogers, Willie E., 797. Rosaback, Benjamin, 863. Rose, Susan F., 948. Roser, Joseph A., 954. Rossiter, Albanas, 966. Rouse, Martin R., 723. Russ, James W., 917. Sager, C. W., 439. Satterfield, John, 410. Schofield, Guy C., 967. Schwartz, Jacob, 755. Schwartz, Sidney A., 431. Scott, John W., 892. Selzer, Lawrence, 816. Shafer, Thomas, 933. Shaffer, Daniel, 949. Shaffer, William, 949. Shaffner, Nathan, 950. Shamburg, G., 409. Sharpe, John J., 410. Shauberger, John, 475, 910. Sheldon, Hiram, 834. Sherman, Roger, 798. Sherwood, C. L., 440. Shippen, Evans W., 709. Shippen, Henry, 202, 708. Shoffstall, John, 889. Shreve, Milo F., 898. Shreve, Richard, 485. Sikes, James L., 924. Sikes, S. S., 923. Silliman, Samuel, 386. Simons, John W., 822. Sinning, Francis H., 439, 740. Smith, David W., 792. Smith, Elbert, 878. Smith, Frank ,W., 972. Smith, George T., 950. Smith, Hiram, C., 865. Smith, Jesse, 406, 710. Smith, Joseph, 739. Smith, William A., 384. Smith, W. S., 854. Snodgrass, Matthew R., 878. Sperry, Lewis, 865. Spicer, Clarence E., 438, 901. INDEX. XV Squier, O. O., 771. Squires, Sidney W., 850. Stebbins, Delwin A., 880. Steele, Preston, 439, 732. Stephens, George, 736. Stewart, D. O., 913. Stewart, Lyman, 409. Stewart, Milton, 401, 726. Stolz, Andrew, 730. Stolz, Charles, 887. Stranahan, Chapman A., 766. Sturtevant, John C, 780. Sturtevant, Luman, 852. . Stitton, F. A., 955. Sweetman, Charles H., 967. Sweetman, William B., 968. T. Tack Brothers, The, 395. Taft, Reuben E., 870. Tarbell, Franklin S., 407, 776. Tarbell, Ida M., 777. Tarbell, William W., 777. Tarr, George A. W., 866. Taylor, John, 834. Taylor, Silas, 476. Taylor, Sylvester, 805. Teege, William E., 784. Tew, Joseph L., 791. Thackara, E. D., 717. Theobold, John, 7^. Thomas, Frank J., 750. Thomas, James P., 397, 807. Thompson, Charles H., 791. Thompson, Charles W., 949. Thompson, W. W., 409. Tillotson, O. A., 796. Titus, Jonathan, 294. Todd, J. A., 440. Townsend, Abram P., 970. ' Tubbs, Elijah N., 909. Tucker, Homer P., 844. Tyler, Levi S., 810. U. Ullman, Jacob, 712. Vancise, John, 896. Van Horn, Cornelius, 136, 540, 646. Van Syckel, Samuel, 414. Varian, William, 432. W. Waggoner, Charles T., 825. Waid, John M., 436, 686. Walker, Catharine, 438. Walker, H. D., 91& Wallace, John B., 201-2. Walrath, Rensselaer, 750. Ward, Mark, 823. Washburn, Lorenzo, 866. Washburn, Willis O., 797. Watson, Jonathan, 408, 733. Wells, Obed, 828. Welton, Uri C, 761. Wentworth, George H., 971. Wesley, George W., 821. West, C. C, 936. Westgate, Theodore B., 783. Westheimer, Isaac, 886. Wheeler, Abraham, 475.' Wheeler, Abram, 866. Wheeler, David H., 268. Wheeler, James M., 946. Wheeler, John F., 869. White, William, 728. Wilcox, George N., 860. Willson, Cathrine, 849. .i.^s,. i Wilson, J. C, 438. :;':v , Winter, Franz, 906. Witherop, Peter T., 698. Wood, Charles M., 792. Wood, Eugene, 889. Wood, William H., 405. Woodward, Amos, 830. Wormald, John, 792. • Wright, John W., 970. York, Joseph, 894. Young, Theodore J., 434, 835. Young, Jennie E., 867. Youngson, A. B., 912. Our County and Its People. CHAPTER I. THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF CRAWFORD COUNTY. THE territory of Crawford County is most fortunately located on the summit of the great watershed which divides the valley of the Mississippi from that of the St. Lawrence. The waters of the north- western section are discharged into Lake Erie, make the leap at Niagara, lap the shores of the Thousand Islands, and mingle with the turbulent ocean, as they round the stormy Cape Breton. While in the southern and eastern portions, the brooklets shimmer past forest and dell, orchards and green meadows, are gathered in the Venango and the Allegheny, the She- nango and the Beaver, flow onward by the banks of the Ohio and the Missis- sippi,_ and find their rest in Mexico's laughing gulf. In the central portion is that beautiful lake — the largest natural body of water in Pennsylvania — Conneaut, which discharges its waters both by the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence valleys. This lake is one of a system which are spread out upon the summit of the great water-shed be- tween these two valleys, along the central portion of New York State and by the tier of states farther west, the Chicago River flowing sometimes into I>ake Michigan, and at others into the Mississippi River. By this natural location, the airs are so tempered that the extremes of heat and cold are warded off, and while a blizzard is raging over the west- ern plains, and a great storm is lashing the ocean, and driving great ships in upon the shores, a grateful mildness is prevailing here. In all the broad domain of Pennsylvania none is more grateful for residence than this stretch of country with its broad acres and its crown of hills. 2 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The highways wind through its verdant valleys, or by the margin of its flashing streams, and everywhere is pleasing variety. The artist may find here worthy subjects for his pencil. The monotony which plagues the dweller in a prairie land, and in many portions of the Atlantic shores, is unknown to him here. Nor is there the other extreme, — the bald and shaggy mountain, with its inaccessible summits, forbidding intercourse from its opposing sides, given up to barrenness and sterility. Scarcely has the snow and ice of winter disappeared from the hillside, and the balmy breath of spring touched the meadow, when the wheatfield springs into verdure, and the rich pasturage cheers the palates of flocks and herds. In summertime the heat is tempered by the dews of the morning, the well ordered shade from dense foliage at the noontide gives refreshing comfort, and at evening a cooling breeze catches the moistened brow, and affords sweet relief. The grasses, which yield the most nourishing pasturage, and the hays for the winter store, take deep root in the moist black mould, and the grains which wrap the well-cultured surface in their rich folds, with scarcely the chance of a failure, gladden the heart of the faririer. So numerous are the improvements of late years in farm machinery, that what was once one of the most laborious and wearing of employments has been fac-etiously designated a sedentary occupation. Water is abundant. From the farthest hilltops gush forth the cooling springs, at which man and beast may slake their thirst; from their descend- ing currents the slopes are made verdant and the valleys absorb their mois- ture the hot summer long. At convenient intervals medicinal springs break forth from the rock, where the invalid may come and partake of the health- giving streams, and where the pool is waiting for the impotent to be led down into their healing waters. Nowhere is the landscape more picturesque and charming. The dis- tant line of blue hills is hardly distinguishable from the clouds of heaven. Not infrequently in winding along the bold headland, one comes upon a hidden cascade as enchanting in its appointments as the cunningly devised imitation, planned with studied elegance for the gratification of an Oriental monarch. A valley may stretch away for a score of miles, through which a stream lazily pursues its tortuous course, and the bold hills close in at its OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 3 mouth almost to its -very margins, leaving scarcely room to make its way to the larger body. At some day in the distant past this vale may have been the bed of a great lake, but is now the seat of fat farms and smiling villages. The forests, when in full leaf, spread an impenetrable shade, and pre- sent a crown of foliage to the eye of the beholder which, for grandeur and magnificence, is scarcely matched by any other object in nature. So com- mon is forest land, and so. abundant is it in our midst, that we scarcely stop to consider its stately appearance or its miracle of growth. And yet that giant oak, Which nods aloft and proudly spreads its shade, The sun's defiance and the flocks' defence, was but a span of years ago only a tiny acorn; yet by minute accretions of impalpable particles of dust and moisture, 'and the subtle gases which the sunlight sets free, it has gradually clambered up toward heaven, has spread out its tiny sprays, has imperceptibly swollen to rugged branches and stands at length the broad, spreading tree, challenging the admiration of the passe'r-by. The traveler never ceases tO' admire the varying line of the horizon, cut by the summits of remote ridges, sometimes jagged by a relentless peak, at others rounded out by a comely slope, never without its attractive features, and ever challenging our admiration. Such views are noted on any fine day, and are varied at every turn as. the student of nature, pursues his way over ridges and adown the valleys. To the attentive observer, no more beautiful scenes of nature's moulding are anywhere to be found, not even by the classic Tiber, or the fruitful Arno. We have thus far considered only the general aspects of the county. Its location, extent, and topographical features can be briefly recounted. It is situated in the northwestern portion of the State, immediately south of Erie County, which is the corner county. It is bounded on the north by Erie County, on the west by the State of Ohio, on the south by Mercer and Venango Counties, and on the west by Venango and Warren Counties. Its eastern boundary is irregular. From the southwestern junction with Mercer, it proceeds in a northeasterly direction by a series of nine zigzags eleven and a half miles, thence eleven miles due east, thence due north to the Erie County line. 4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. It contains within these boundaries 1,005 square miles, equal to 643,200 square acres. With the exception of some marsh land, which is susceptible of being reclaimed, the entire surface is under cultivation, or can readily "be brought so. It is forty-six miles from east to west on the Erie County line, and is twenty-four miles along the Ohio line. The Venango River, improperly termed French Creek, drains the major portion of its surface. This stream is formed by the east and west branches, which have their rise in New York State, and form junction just south of the village of Watts- burg, Erie County. It enters Crawford County in Rockdale Township, curves gently to the west, passes through Cambridge, leaves Woodcock, Mead, and East Fairfield Townships on the east side, and Hayfield, Vernon, Union and Fairfield on the west, and passes out through the southwest corner of Wayne. From the junction of the two branches at Wattsburg to its junction- with the Allegheny River at Franklin, is a distance of some no miles, though Washington, in his journey up this stream in December, 1753, judged its length to be 130 miles. In spring time and at flood seasons it carries a vast body of water; but during the dry season it subsides to an insignificant stream, easily forded in many places. Congress made an appropriation at one time for rendering it navigable as far up as Waterford, and crafts of twenty tons burden have navigated its bosom, and, in the early days, rafts of lumber and flat-bottom boats bearing grains, potatoes, fruit and potash were often wafted down its current to market at the great cities on the Ohio and the Mississippi. Many articles of heavy merchandise were brought back in the same manner. Washington rode his horse up the valley in his embassy to Fort le Boeuf, but sent his horses back to Franklin by his servant, and, securing a boat, navigated the stream on his return. The largest of the tributaries of the Venango River is the Cussawago, which has its sources in Spring and Cussawago Townships, flows in a mean- dering course in a southerly direction through Hayfield and Vernon, and enters the Venango just opposite the city of Meadville. In regard to the name of this stream, a weird tradition is preserved. A strolling band of Indians, on approaching the river, discovered a huge black snake in the branches of a tree with a white ring around its neck, and its body enormously distended, as though it had swallowed some large animal, as a rabbit, which caused them to exclaim Kossawausge, which in their language meant "big OUR COUNTY AND ITS .PEOPLE. 5 belly," and that name has been retained. This stream is very sluggish, and runs with a deep, full current. Dams have been built along its course, and numerous mill-wheels are turned by its forceful current. The valley through which it runs is a very beautiful one, some twenty or more miles in length, stretching out in some parts to two or three miles in width, and hemmed in on every side by heavy swells of land. As this valley is more elevated than the summit over which the pro- posed ship canal would pass in connecting the waters of the Ohio River with those of Lake Erie, it has been proposed toi build a heavy dam across, near the mouth of this stream, where the high hills close in on either side very near to its banks, and lay up in this valley during the wet season a vast body to supply the canal with water for the dry. A few miles to the south of the CussawagO' valley is the charming valley of Watson's Run, which is principally confined to the western portion of Vernon Township. The view of this valley from the headland on the lake road is one of the most entrancing in any land, the flocks and herds scattered up and down the intervale or reposing under ample shade, and the peaceful dwellings planted along all the distant hillsides complete a picture on which one never tires to gaze. The outlet of Conneaut Lake receives a stream which winds through a low stretch of country, familiarly known as Conneaut Marsh, which, by the gradual choking of the mouth, where it fiows into the Venango, has forced the moisture to spread out over a vast tract, and has caused the cranberry, flag and rank meadow grass to take foot, and finally alder brush to spread over its entire surface, thus giving up to sterility a wide belt of fertile soil. By a joint fesolution of the Legislature of 1868, provision was made for opening the channel and dredging the accumulations of years, so that the water is carried away, and the rank growth which has for many gen- erations cumbered the surface can be cleared away, and brought under the hand of cultivation, furnishing some of the most fertile soil in the county, — a tract some twelve miles long and one mile wide, comprising over six thousand acres. On the left bank of the Venango River the drainage is effected in the northern section through Muddy Creek, which rises in Richmond, Steuben, Athens and Bloomfield Townships, flows northwesterly through Rockdale 6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. artd Cambridge, and enters the Venango River some two miles, above CatiAridge Springs. The pine lumber along this stream was very valuable, but it has all been swept away, and its place has been assumed by well- fenced and tilled farms. Woodcock Creek rises in the northeastern corner of Richmond Town- ship, flows south, passes near Blooming Valley, and from that point moves onward down a gently descending valley of rare beauty, dotted along its course by mills, passes in the rear of the County Infirmary, and drops into the Venango River just below Saegertown. In flood time this is a raging torrent, that carries away acres of rich soil and uproots forest trees in its course, but subsides in the dry time to a moderate brooklet that the bare- footed boy may safely ford. Mill Run is, for the most part, confined toi Mead Township, and is the stream which, from its being easily controlled for power purposes, doubt- less influencecfthe first settlers to choose Meadville for their abiding place. Little Sugar Creek drains a portion of Mead, passes through Wayne, and empties into Venango River at Cochranton. This stream carries a large body of water, and its current is utilized for mill purposes. Through most of its course it moves through wild and. rugged scenery. The Big Sugar Creek has its sources in the eastern portions of Troy, Wayne and Randolph Townships, yet it is, for the most part, a Venango County stream. Oil Creek Lake, which is fed by numerous brooklets that fall into it from Sparta and Bloomfield Townships, may be regarded as the source of Oil Creek. It flows southeasterly through the margins of Athens, Steuben, Troy and Oil Creek Townships, passes throiigh Titusville and makes a junction with the Allegheny River at Oil City. More than a century ago this stream was noted for the oil that was discovered along its margin oozing up out of the ground, and was seen floating away on its surface. The French, in their passage through this county, from Fort le Boeuf to Franklin, were familiar with this substance, and the Indians gathered it for medicinal purposes. It was known in commerce as Seneca oil, a name given it from the Seneca tribe of Indians. The Shenango River has its sources in Pymatuning Swamp, a vast tract of swamp land and water, once probably the bed of a lake. Tributaries from Conneaut Township flow into the swamp. The Shenango flows south- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 7 westerly through North Shenango until it passes into Ohio, in which state it flows for a short distance, but returns and forms the dividing- line between South and West Shenango, passing out of the county through the village of Jamestown. It is a sluggish stream in its course through Crawford County, and in some seasons of the year floods the highways and bridges to such an extent that they are rendered impassable. This often occurred at the time of holding elections, and became a source of so much disquietude that it resulted in a division of South ShenangO' Township and the erection of West Shenango. The vast area which is covered by this impenetrable swamp extends from the neighborhood of Linesville in Pine Township into Ohio and to^ the neighborhood of Espyville in North Shenango, estimated to^ form a sweep of nine thousand acres. Though there are portions of the surface sufficiently elevated to support forest vegetation, yet it cannot be entered with teams for removing logs, except in winter time, when it is frozen over. In a part of the swamp is a growth of tamaracks, where in the fall of the year vast flocks of wild pigeons from Canada and neighboring breeding places made it their roosting ground. In the hot summer nights the constant flapping of their wings, produced by being crowded from their perches, gave forth a sound not unlike the distant roar of Niagara. Hunters would enter the swamp in the drouth of summer, and, aiming up at a limb bending down with the weight of the birds, would fire, and, having struck a light and picked up as many as could be discovered in the tall grass, would pass on for another shot. In the neighborhood of this swamp are the remains of a fort, and pits in which are coals, showing that fiixs at some time were kept in them. It is well known that the Indians held their councils here. Probably game was plentiful, and they held their annual feasts on this ground. By a joint resolution of the Legislature, passed February 18, 1868, a competent engineer was appointed to make a survey of the Pymatuning Swamp, and report. From that report it is shown that it has a fall of fully five feet per mile, and the wonder is that such a fall should not produce its complete drainage. The probability is that in many parts the channels have become choked so' that the water is held by miniature dams. Capillary attraction, operating through the spongy growth of moss and rank swamp grass, would hold it, thus overcoming gravitation. If a careful survey were 8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. made and a wide trench were opened, giving the bottom an exact, regular fall of five feet per mile, with cross ditches at intervals, the whole swamp would be drained, and that vast area could be transformed into fruitful fields and be made to blossom like the rose. Conneaut Creek rises in Summit Township, flows northwesterly- through Summerhill, through the borough of Conneautville, and leaves the county near the northwest corner of Spring Township. It pursues its course through Erie County and empties into Lake Erie, its mouth forming Conneaut Harbor. By the vast shipment of coal out, and the bringing in of iron ore, this is made a point of much importance. The soil of Crawford County is of great fertility, and when stirred by generous culture produces abundant crops. Every part of the surface is well watered by numerous springs and streams. In the neighborhood of Conneaut Lake, above Harmonsburg, are vast beds of marl, suitable for enriching the soil. When the first settlers came they found one vast forest of oak, maple, chestnut, black walnut, hickory, cherry, locust, poplar, ash, butternut, ironwood, laurel and bay. In parts along the rich bottom lands were vast tracts of pine and hemlock and spruce. The observation may be made in this connection, though not strictly in place here, that the subject of foresti-y has been ovei'looked by the denizens of Crawford County. To the first settlers the deep, dense forest was regai'ded as the worst enemy of the farmer, standing in the way of his improvements, shutting out the sunlight from his vegetables and growing crops. Hence, to get the heavy growths out of his way, and prevent future growths, was his greatest care. The hardy axmen went forth at the first breaking of the day, and attacked the monsters of the forest, and until the dewy eve the giants were laid low. This is but the history of what was transpiring day after day, and year after year, through all the early generations. It was too laborious and troublesome to chop the great trunks into sections fit for handHng, so fire was brought into requisition, and at convenient intervals along the trunk, burnings were made, when the dissevered parts could be swung around into piles and the torch applied. All through the dry season vast volumes of smoke would ascend heavenward, and at night the sky would be illumined by the flames leaping upward, and appearing like beacon fights on every hill-top and down every valley. When the settler was in too much OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 9 haste to cut and burn the cumbersome forest, he would rob the innocent trees of their life by girdling the sap, thus cutting off the life-giving currents. B)' this process the foliage was forever broken, and the light and genial warmth of the sun was let in upon the virgin mould, which was quickened into life as the husbandman dropped his cherished seed. But there stood the giant forest still, torn and wrenched by storm and lightning, stretching out its massive arms to heaven, bleached and whitened by sun and shower, like ghosts of departed greatness, and as if imploring me^cy still. One can scarcely pass oiie of these lifeless forests without a sigh of pity for these decaying monarchs. A forest thus denuded of its foliage allows the sunlight to enter with all the force necessary to produce luxuriant crops, and the wheat springs into life and makes an enormous growth, maturing an abundant crop. The constant droppings from their decaying limbs engender moisture, and give nourishment to the rich pasturage that springs like tufts of velvet beneath them; and when at length they yield to the lightning's crash, and the force of the storms, they are reduced toi ashes and disappear from sight. Some- times the torch was applied while still standing, and scarcely can a more sublime sight be imagined than a great forest of lifeless trees in full blaze. What will be the consequence of this relentless war upon the forests and waste of lumber and fire -wood? In a few generations the hills, being en- tirely stripped and denuded of shade, will, be parched by the buf-ning suns of summer, and the streams will become less and less copious in the heated term, until they become entirely dry. On the other hand, in spring time, with no forests to hold the moisture, and yield it up gradually through the burning months when needed, the rains and melting snows will descend in torrents and flood the valleys. The fertility of the soil will be soaked and drained out of it, the hill-sides will be gashed and seamed by the descending torrents, and thus all the hills, burned in summer and flooded in winter, will become barren. The tiller of the soil will wonder at the scantiness of his crops, and his flocks and herds will bleat and bawl in hopeless starvation. Of late years an attempt has been made to excite an interest in forestry. The Legislature of this State has enacted some provisions providing for the planting, and we have our forestry day, to which the Governor regularly calls attention. But the manner in which it is acted upon, instead of resulting in a public good, is likely to pi'ove an injury. The planting, for lo OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the most part, has been confined to school grounds and dwellings. The result will be that in a few years, when the trees have become grown, there will be excessive shade and moisture. Moss will accumulate upon the roofs, the sunlight will be entirely shut out, and the children will be pale and sickly in consequence. The school-room will become unhealthy for lack of sunlight, and the dwelling will be damp and gloomy. One tree for a school ground of an acre is ample shade. Excessive foliage must always prove injurious to health, while sunlight is a better medicine for failing strength than human ingenuity ever compounded. What is the proper remedy for the evil complained of? The forester should commence his work upon the far-ofif hill-tops, and with diligent band should crown them with forests most useful and valuable to man, — the fine maple, comely in shape, challenging the painter's most gaudy pig- ments for color, close grained and unyielding in fiber for lumber; the walnut, cherry and ash, unrivaled for furniture and finishing; the chestnut, valuable for its nuts and for fencing; and pine and birch and hemlock, — useful all. For holding moisture and tempering the heats of summer, none are more useful than the evergreens. All the waste places, the ravines and rugged hill-sides, unsuitable for cultivation, should be planted. The sugar from a thousand good trees will bring to any farmer a bigger income than the whole produce of his farm in other ways, and the labor of sugar-making comes at a time when he is not otherwise employed. The price of a good black walnut log is almost fabulous. A white ash of twenty years' growth will yield a timber unsurpassed for the wlieelwright or the piano maker, and pine of fifteen years' growth will produce timber which will be much sought for, and is year by year becoming more and more scarce. A good field of planted trees or sprout land, should be fenced and protected from the browsing of cattle, as energetically as a field of corn. It may seem an unpalatable doctrine to preach, that the forests, which our fathers worked themselves lean to subdue and eliminate, should be protected and matured and brought back -to their old places. But it is a true gospel, and if we look carefully at it in all its bearings, we shall receive it and recognize it as possessing saving grace. Along the hills of southern Italy may be seen to-day an aspect which in a few years will be presented in the now fertile fields of Crawford County. The Italian hills, for centuries have been swept bare of forests. As a con- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ii sequence, the soil is parched in summer time, and has become bare and barren. The streams which in other days were deep, and ran in full volume to the sea, and were the theme of extravagant praises by the Latin poets, are now for months together entirely dry, not a gush of water gladdening their baked and parched beds. Of the innumerable streams which fall into the Mediterranean on the western coast from Genoa to the Straits of « Messina, there are only a very few like the Arno' and the Tiber that do not in July and August cease to flow, the husbandman being obliged to resort to artesian wells to feed his vegetables and growing crops. We have thus far considered the general features of the territory em- braced in the limits of Crawford County. Before entering upon a descrip- tion of its settlement and growth of its institutions, it will be proper to consider some very interesting questions vitally touching its early occupa- tion. Who occupied the country when first visited by Europeans? How were they dispossessed of their inheritance, and driven towards the setting sun? By what means was the territory of Pennsylvania possessed, and its boundaries finally established? Why the dwellers in this valley are English rather than a French-speaking people? These were living questions which plagued our fathers, and were not settled without desperate struggles, which tested their patriotism and valor. CHAPTER II. THE CHARACTER OF THE ABORIGINES. BELIEVING in the rotundity of the earth, Columbus sailed westward with the expectation of reaching India. When he finally came to the shores of the New World, he believed that he had reached the farthest east. Consequently, Vhen he beheld the native inhabitants, sup- posing them to be the people of India, he called them Indians, a designation which has clung to them ever since, though entirely inappropriate. The natives who occupied that portion of the continent which became I'ennsylvania were known as the Leni Lenape, the original people, or grandfathers. They were by nature fierce and warlike, and there was a tradition among them that the Lenapes, in ages quite remote, had emigrated from beyond the Mississippi, exterminating, or driving out as they came eastward, a race far more civilized than themselves, more numerous and skilled in the arts of peace. That this country was once the abode of a more or less civilized people, accustomed to many of the comforts of enlightened communities, that they knew the use of tools and were numerous is attested by remains, thickly studding western Pennsylvania and the entire Ohio Valley; but whether their extermination was the work of fiercer tribes than themselves, or whether they were swept oflf by epidemic diseases, or gradually wasted as the fate of a decaying nation, remains an unsolved problem. The three principal tribes of which the Lenapes were composed, — the Turtles, or Unamis; the Turkeys, or Unalachtgos; the Wolfs, or Monseys, — occupied the eastern part of Pennsylvania, and claimed the territory from th^ Hudson to the Potomac. The English gave them the name of the Delawares, after Lord De la War, for whom the river and the three lower counties were named. The Shawnees, a restless tribe which had come up from the south, had been received and assigned places of habitation on the Susquehanna, by the Delawares, and finally became a constituent part of their nation. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 13 But the Indian nationality which more nearly concerns the section of which we are treating is the Six Nations, or, as they were designated by the French, the Iroquois. They called themselves Aqiranuschioni, or United Tribes, or, in our own parlance, the United States, and the Lenapes called them Mingoes. They originally consisted of five tribes, and hence were known as the Five Nations, — the Senecas, who were the most vigorous, stalwart and numerous; the Mohawks, who were the first in rank, and to whom it was reserved to lead in war; the Onondagas, who guarded the council fire, and from whom the Sachem, or the civil head of the confederacy, was taken; the Oneidas, and the Cayugas. Near the beginning of the eighteenth century the Tuscaroras, a large tribe from central North Caro- lina and Virginia, haying been expelled from their former dwelling place, were adopted by the Five Nations, and this people, thus augmented, were thenceforward known as the Six Nations. They occupied the country stretching from Lake Champlain to Lake Erie, and from Lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence on the north, to the headwaters of the Delaware, the Susquehanna and Allegheny Rivers on the south, substantially what is now the State of New York. It was a country well suited for defence in savage warfare, being guarded on three sides by great bodies of water. They were quick to learn the methods of civilized warfare, and securing fire- arms from the Dutch on the Hudson, they easily overcame neighboring hostile tribes, whom they held in a condition of vassalage, exacting an annual tribute, but protected them in return in the possession of their rightful hunting grounds. The Lenapes, or Delawares, were held under subjection in this manner, which gave the Six Nations, or Iroquois, semi-authority over the whole territory of Pennsylvania, and reaching out into Ohio. This humiliating vassalage to which the Delawares were subjected had been imposed upon them by the Iroquois, as claimed by the latter, but the Delawares asserted that it had been assumed by them voluntarily, that "they had agreed to act as mediators and peace-makers among the other gEeat nations, and to this end they had consented to lay aside entirely the implements of war, and to hold and keep bright the chain of peace." It was the office, when tribes had weakened themselves by desperate conflict, for the women, in order tO' save their kindred from utter extermination, to rush between the contending warriors and implore a cessation of slaughter. It became thus 14 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the -office of women to be peace-makers. The Iroquois claimed that the Delawares had assumed the title of peace-makers, not upon principle but of necessity, and hence applied to them the title of "women" as a stigma, characterizing them as wanting in the quality of the braves. The pious Moravian missionary, Heckewelder, who had spent much time among them, and knew their character well, believed that the Delawares were sincere in their claims, and from the fact that they had a great admiration for William Penn, with whom they were intimately associated, and imbibed his senti- ments of peace, it may be that they had come to hold his principles, even if they had formerly been engaged in the characteristic warfare of their race. General Harrison, who afterwards became the ninth President of the United States, in a discourse which he delivered on the Aborigines of the valley of the Ohio, observes: "I sincerely wish I could unite with the worthy German in removing this stigma from the Delawares. A long and intimate knowledge of them in peace and war, as enemies and friends, has left upon my mind the most favorable impressions of their character for bravery, generosity and fidelity to their engagements." Whatever may have been their original purposes, or their subsequent convictions, they did demand complete independence of the Iroquois in 1756, and had their claims allowed. Of the origin of the Indian race, little is definitely known. The Indians themselves had no traditions, and they had no writings, coins or monuments by which their history could be preserved. Ethnologists are, however, well assured that they came originally from eastern Asia. Without reciting the arguments which support this theory, it is sufficient for our present purpose to state that it seems well attested that the race has dwelt upon this continent from a period long anterior to the Christian era, obtaining a foothold here within five hundred years from the dispersion of the human race, and that their physical and mental peculiarities have become fixed by ages of subjection to climate and habits of life.. Mr. Schoolcraft, a voluminous writer upon Indian affairs, adduces the following considerations as proof of the fulfill- ment of that prophecy of Scripture recorded in the ninth chapter of Genesis: "And the sons of Noah that went forth of the Ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, God shall enlarge Japheth [Europeans], and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem [Indians], and Cannan [Negro] shall be his servant." "Assuming the Indian tribes to be of Shemitic origin, which is generally OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 15 conceded, they were met on this continent in 1492 by the Japhetic race, after the two stocks had passed around the globe in opposite directions." Finding the Indians intractable as slaves, the Hamitic, or Negro, branch was brought over from Africa. The result of three centuries of occupancy on this continent by these three races is, Japheth has been greatly enlarged, while the called and not voluntary sons of Ham have endured a servitude in the tents of Shem. The Indian, as he was found upon this continent when first visited by the European, was very different in form, features, mental constitution and habits from the latter, and apparently unalterably different from any other race. The color of the skin was of a reddish-brown; the hair was black, straight, stiff, not plentiful, and the males had scarcely any beard; the jaw-bone was large^ the cheek-bone high and prominent, and the forehead . high, square and full over the eyes, showing a^ large development of the perceptive faculties; but narrow and sloping backward at the top, showing defective reasoning powers. The person was erect, well developed, and in movement quick, lithe and graceful. The Indian is, by nature and life-long habit, indolent. To take up a tract of land, build himself a house with the conveniences and privacies of civilized home-life, clear away the heavy forests which encumber it, plow and cultivate the sodden acres, fence in the many fields, dig for himself a well where he may have an abundant supply of cool water in the heats of summer and the colds of winter, get and care for flocks and herds and beasts of burden, and lay up for himself and family abundant supplies of food in suitable variety, would have been to entail upon him insufferable misery, and rather than undertake the first stroke of such a life of toil, he would lie down and die. They are a people, says Dr. Spencer, that "might be broken, but could not be bent." The early Spanish colonists attempted to make slaves of them ; but they utterly failed, the natives refusing to take food, and actually died of starvation rather than be reduced to a condition of servitude. They believed that the fish of the stream, the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, and the land where they should stretch their wigwams were as free and open to appropriation as the air we breathe or the waters that run sparkling to the sea, They ridiculed the idea of fencing a field, and depriving any who desired the use of it. The strong dominated over the weak. The male assumed superiority over the female, and made i6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. her in reality his slave. His grunt was law to her, and if he started upon a journey she must trot after, bearing the infant if she have one, and the burdens. If crops were to be planted, and cultivated and gathered, it was by the sweat of her brow that it must be done. She must gather the fuel for the fire, weave the mat on which to sit and sleep, fashion the basket and decorate it with fanciful colors. She was, in short, little less than the abject and degraded slave. Their methods of government were peculiar. If an Indian had received an injury or an insult, he took it upon himself to avenge without the forms of proof to fix the guilt, and if he was killed in the quarrel his nearest relatives felt themselves obliged to take up the avengement. Thus from the merest trifle the most deadly feuds arose by which the population was visibly di- minished. The warrior chiefs among them became such by superior skill or cunning, and not by any rule of heredity, descent or majority of voices. Matters of public interest were discussed in assemblies of the whole people. Decisions were generally in favor of him who could work most powerfully upon the feelings of his audience, either by his native eloquence or by appeals to their superstition, by which they were easily moved. It has been observed above that the Indian was naturally lazy. To that assertion one exception should be made. To carry out his purpose of revenge, the Indian would make sacrifices, endure hardships and undergo sufferings un- surpassed by the most daring of the human race. To gratify his thirst for revenge he would make long and exhausting marches with scant food, sub- sist upon the bark of trees, the roots of the forest and such random game as he might come upon, would lie in wait for his victim for hours and days together, enduring untold suffering. It is curious to observe the impression which the natives made upon the first European visitants to these shores. Columbus, in his report to Ferdinand and Isabella after his first voyage, said: "I swear tO' your majesties that there is not a better people in the world than these, — more affectionate, affable, or mild. They love their neighbors as themselves; their language is the sweetest and the softest and the most cheerful, for they always speak smiling, and, although they go naked, let your majesties be- lieve me, their customs are very becoming, and their king, who is served with great majesty, has such engaging manners that it gives great pleasure to see him, and also to consider the great retentive faculty of that people, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 17 and their desire of knowledge, which incites them to ask the causes of things." If these were the real sentiments of the great navigator, we are forced to believe that he had never seen an Indian in his war-paint and feathers. The adventurers whom Sir Walter Raleigh sent out for discovery and settlement, Amidas and ^Barlow, gave a graphic report of their impressions of the natives upon their return, which Hakluyt has preserved in his annals: "The soile is the most plentifull, sweete, fruitfuU and wholesome, of all the worlde; there are above fourteene severall sweete smelling timber trees, and the most part of their underwoods are bayes and such like ; they have such oakes as we have, but farre greater and better. .A.fter they had been divers times aboard our shippes, myselfe, with seven more, went twentie mile into the river that runneth towards the citie of Shicoak, which river they call Occam; and the evening following we came to an island, which they call Roanoke, distant from the harbor by which we entered seven leagues; and «at the north end thereof was a village of nine houses, built of cedar, and fortified round about with sharpe trees to keep out their enemies, and the entrance into it made like a turnpike very artificially; when we came towards it, standing neere unto the water's side, the wife of Granganamo, the king's brother, came running out to meete us very cheerfully and friendly; her husband was not then in the village; some of her people she commanded to draw our boate on shore, for the beating of the billoe; others she appointed to carry us on their backs to the dry ground, and others to bring our oars into the house for fear of stealing. When we were come into the outer room, having five rooms in her house, she caused us to sit down by a great fire, and after took off our cloathes, and washed them and dried them againe; some of the women plucked off our stockings, and washed them, some washed our feete in warm water, and she herself took great paines to see all things ordered in the best manner she could, making greate haste to dresse some meate for us to eate." "After we had thus dried ourselves she brought us into the inner roome, where sh«e set on the board standing along the house some wheate like fermentie; sodden venison and roasted; fish, sodden, boyled and roasted; melons, rawe and sodden; rootes of divers kinds, and divers fruits. Their drink is commonly water, but while the grape lasteth, they drinke wine, and for want of caskes to keepe it, all the yere after, l^ut sodden with i8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ginger in it, and black sinnamon, and sometimes sassaphras, and divers other wholsome and medicinable hearbes and trees. We were entertained with all love and kindnesse, and with as much bountie, after their manner, as they could possibly devise. We found the people most gentle, loving and faithfuU, voide of all guile and treason, and such as Hve after the manner of the golden age. The people only care to defend themselves from the cold in their winter^ and to feed themselves with such meat as the soile affordeth; their meat is very well sodden, and they make broth very sweet and savorie; their vessels are earthen pots, very large, white, and sweete; their dishes are wooden platters of sweet timber. Within the place where they feede was their lodging, and within that their idoll, which they worship, of whom they speak incredible things. While we were at meate, there came in at the gates two or three men with bowes and arrows from hunting, whom when we espied we began to look one towards another, and offered to reach for our weapons; but as soon as she espied our mistrust she was very much moved, and caused some of her men to runne out, and take away their bowes_ and arrowes and breake them, and withall beate the poor fellowes out of the gate againe. When we departed in the evening, and would not tarry all night she was verry sory, and gave us into our boate our supper, half dressed pottes, and all, and brought us to our boatside, in which we lay all night, removing the same a prettie distance from the shore; she perceiving our jealousie, was much grieved, and sent divers men and thirtie women, to sit all night on the bankside by us, and sent into our boates five mattes to cover us from the raine, using very many wordes to entreate to rest in their houses; but because we were fewe men, and if we had miscarried the voyage had been in very great danger, we durst not adventure anything, although there was no cause of doubt, for a more kind and loving people there cannot be found in the worlde as far as we have hitherto had triall." This passage from Hakluyt shows the disposition of the Indians to- wards Europeans at the earliest date of intercourse, before their minds had been soured by injury and wrong, which careless and brutal colonists subse- quently visited upon them; and it may well be questioned whether they would not have remained friendly and loving as here described had they received loving and Christian treatment in return. William Penn thus describes them: "For their persons, they are generally tall, straight, well built, and of singular proportion. They tread OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 19 strong and clever, and mostly walk with a lofty chin. Their language is lofty, yet narrow; but, like the Hebrew, in signification, full. If an Euro- pean comes to see them, or calls for lodging at their house or wig- wam, they give him the best place and first cut. If they come to visit us, they salute us with an 'Itah,' which is as much as to say, 'Good be to you,' and set them down, which is mostly on the ground, close to their heels, their legs upright. It may be they speak not a word, but observe all passages. If you give them anything to eat or drink, well, for they will not ask; and be it little or much, if it be with kindness, they are well pleased; else they go away sullen, but say nothing. In liberality they excel; nothing is too good for their friend; give them a fine gun, coat or other thing, it may pass twenty hands before it sticks; light of heart, strong affections, but soon spent. The most merry creatures that live, feast and dance perpetually; they never have much nor want much; wealth circu- lateth like the blood; all parts partake; and though none shall want what another hath, yet exact observers of property. Some kings have sold, others presented me with several parcels of land; the pay, or presents I made them were not hoarded by their particular owners; but the neighboring kinds, and their clans being present when the goods were brought out, the parties chiefly concerned consulted what and to whom they would give them." "To every king, then, by the hands of a person for that work appointed, is a portion sent, so sorted and folded, and with that gravity that is admir- able. 'Then the king subdivideth it, in like manner, among his dependants, they hardly leaving themselves an equal share with one of their subjects; the kings distribute to themselves last. They care for little because they want little, and the reason is a little contents them. . . . We sweat and toil to live; their pleasure feeds them; I mean their hunting, fishing and fowling, and their table is spread everywhere. They eat twice a day, morning and evening; their seats and table are the ground. Since the Europeans came into these parts, they are grown great lovers of strong liquors, rum especially, and for it exchange the richest skins and furs. If they are heated with liquors, they are restless till they have enough to sleep; that is their cry, 'Some more and I will go to sleep;' but when drunk, one of the most wretched spectacles in the world." So philosophic and careful an historian as Bancroft, sifting his facts with unerring scrutiny, makes this statement concerning the Indians: "The 20 OUR COUNTY -AND ITS PEOPLE. hospitality ol the Indian has rarely been questioned. The stranger enters his cabin, by day or by night, without asking leave, and is entertained as freely as a thrush or a blackbird that regales himself on the luxuries of the fruitful grove: He will take his own rest abroad, that he may give up his own skin, or mat of sedge, to his guest. Nor is the traveler questioned as to the purpose of his visit; he chooses his own time freely to deliver his message." The opinions which we have thus presented concerning the real char- acter and condition of the native inhabitants found on the North American continent upon the arrival of Europeans are given by men of good judgment and reliability, and whose writings upon almost every other subject are accepted as veritable. Why, then, are their characterizations so . different from those usually attributed to Indians? The commonly accepted judgment, during the current century, has been that the North American Indian was a savage, given up to treachery, and barbarity, whom human sympathy could not touch, as expressed by a recent annalist in portraying the rela- tions of the two nationalities: There was "the long and wasting conflict with the natives in which isolated pioneers, with their families, were exposed in their scattered cabins in the forest, to the fiendish arts of the stealthy and heartless savage, who spared neither the helpless infant, the tender female, nor trembling age." Has the character of the Indian changed since these writers noted him, or were they mistaken in their estimate of him? Both undoubtedly are true. On the first arrival of Europeans, the natives were seen in their most favorable aspects. Penn, for example, treated them as brothers;- he was bargaining for their lands; he was giving them "heaped up presents;" they were charmed with his peaceful, loving disposition; they treasured his words, and repeated them in their councils. He, therefore, reported the best side of their character, and not their traditional qualities. Besides, it is probable that their characteristics gradually changed after continued intercourse with the pale face, who had come across the ocean. The two races were entirely different in their lives and occupations, and pursuits of happiness. Manual labor to the red man was misery; to the white man it was second nature and happiness. The one cleared the forests, scattered seeds, gathered luxurious harvests, nurtured flocks and herds, dammed the streams; the other, from time immemorial, had followed with noiseless step OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 21 the game of the unbroken forest, had. tempted the finny tribes by luring baits, in streams that run unvexed to the sea. When, therefore, the European came with his system of life radically different from that of the denizens of the for,est, broke up their game pre- serves, hewed down their forests, kept destructive fires raging along all the hill-tops, and down the valleys, scaring away and driving out that whibh had been the support of their lives, is it any wonder that they became morose and vengeful, when they saw themselves despoiled of the heritage of their fathers, of those sports which had been the joy of their lives, and practically driven from the haunts where they had passed their childhood, and which had been rendered dear to them by tender associations? It may well be imagined that they would brood over their wrongs, as they gathered in their wigwams at nightfall and recounted all their woes, and realized that the manner of life which had come down to them from their ancestors and of which they had known no other, was to be taken from them, and they were to be compelled to bid good-bye to them for ever. But there is one phase of their lives which cannot be accounted for on any other principle than that of inborn savagery. The victims of their revenge, and putting to the torture their prisoners of war, were examples of relentless cruelty unexampled in all the history of the human race. Brebeuf has described their treatment in all its barbarity. "On the way to the cabins of his conquerors, the hands of an Iroquois prisoner were crushed between stones, his fingers torn off or mutilated, the joints of his arms scorched and gashed, M>hile he himself preserved his tranquillity and sang the songs of his nation. Arriving at the homes of his conquerors, all the cabins regaled him, and a young girl was bestowed upon him, to be the wife of his captivity and the companion of his last loves. ... To the crowd of his guests he declared: 'My brothers, I am going to die; make merry around me with a good heart; I am a man; I fear neither death nor your torments;' and he sang aloud. The feast being ended, he was conducted to the cabin of blood. They place him on a mat and bind his hands. He rises and dances around the cabin, chanting his death song. At eight in the evening eleven fires had been kindled, and these are hedged in by files of spectators. The young men selected to be the actors are exhorted to do well, for their deeds would be grate to Areskoni, the powerful war-god. A war chief strips the prisoner, shows him naked to the people, and assigns their office to the tormentors. 22 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Then ensued a scene the most horrible; torments lasted till after sunrise, when the wretched victim, bruised, gashed, half roasted, and scalped, was carried out of the village and hacked to pieces." From the venerable sachem to the infant in arms, the aged mother to the tender maiden, by all the tribe was this torture of the captive beheld. It was an occasion of feasting and rejoicing. The greater the power of endurance of the victim and the more fierce and terrible the torture invented, the more exquisite the enjoyment of the spectators. To add a pang to the sufferer was a subject of congratula- tion to the one who inflicted it. Often the greatest refinement of cruelty was devised and inflicted by the women. And when the last pang had been endured and all was over they feasted on the victim's flesh. CHAPTER III. ATTEMPTS AT COLONIZATION. COLUMBUS, upon his return from his voyage of discovery in 1492, gave glowing accounts of the lands he had reached and the peoples whom he had found inhabiting them; but, of the extent of those lands, their fertility, their mineral resources, or with what grasp they were held, none knew. These lands were fairly in the possession of the native in- habitants, and we may rightfully conclude that they had as good a right to hold them as any European nation had to possess its soil. But the rightful- ness of possession seems not to have been taken into consideration, doubtless believing that might makes right. The sovereigns of three European ■ nations, at that time most puissant, encouraged their subjects to make voyages of discovery, and issued patents empowering them to take posses- sion of such portions of the mainland in the new world, and the contiguous islands of the sea, as they might visit and explore. Spain, through Ferdinand and Isabella, having patronized the great discoverer, took the lead, assuming a pre-emption right to the continent, by virtue of discovery, and Cortes and Pizzarro did their work of slaughter and extermination upon weaker and inoffensive peoples, innocent of any crimes against their oppressors. Juan Ponce de Leon, who had been a companion of Columbus, having heard of a miraculous fountain upon the mainland, whose waters could impart life and perpetual youth, eager to bathe in the healing stream, sailed on the third of March, 1512, in quest of it. It was the season when in that far southern clime the whole land was bursting into blossom, and as he coasted along a great country presenting one mass of bloom he thought indeed he had found the land of perpetual life, and accordingly named it Flor-ida or the land of flowers. But the weather was tempestuous, and returning to the West Indies he sought and obtained from Charles V., of Spain, authority to take and govern the country; but upon his second expe- dition he found the natives hostile, and upon giving battle was mortally wounded and returned to the islands to die. 23 24 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Vasquez de Ayllon, in quest of slaves to work in the mines of Mexico, came upon this coast, and having enticed numbers of natives on board his vessels, perfidiously sailed away; but one of his ships was lost in a storm, and the natives, who survived, disdaining to work, refused to eat, and died miserably of starvation. Not satisfied with his experience, de Ayllon ob- tained authority from Charles V. to conquer and govern the country, and in 1525 again set sail with his colonists. But now he found his tactics reversed, for the natives were the enticers, and having invited the body of the visitants to a feast, gave them to slaughter and utter destruction. Again in 1528 de Narvaez with de Vacca and four hundred colonists sailed for Tampa Bay, the very grounds where recently were gathered the serried ranks of the United States in preparation for a descent upon the descendants of those same Span- iards who have provoked by their inhuman savagery inflicted upon a depend- ent race the righteous indignation of a civilized people; but after fruitless wanderings by sea and land, in which the leader was lost, de Vacca made his escape with but four of his companions alive, having spent ten years in fruit- less search for gold and booty. In his adventure he had traversed the whole southern border of what is now the United States, crossed the Mississippi, bent his steps onward to the Rocky Mountains, gladly performing the offices of a slave for sustenance and the poor boon of life, and arrived at last in Mexico, whence he returned to Spain. Undismayed by the ill fortune of others, and thirsting for riches, which he might have for the seizing, Hernando de Soto, invested with the patent of power and the title of Governor-General of Cuba and Florida, with some thousand followers in ten vessels, set sail in 1539, well armed and provided with the implements of mining, even to bloodhounds for capturing slaves, and chains for securing them. The first night on shore he was attacked by the Indians, lying in wait for him, and driven in disgrace to his ships. Returning to the land he commenced even wider search than de Vacca, and after three years of toilsome and fruitless wanderings, and incessant conflicts with the Indians, having crossed the Mississippi, and reached the great plains where grazed the countless herds of buffalo, finally, broken and dispirited by finding neither the wealth of gold which he sought nor the empire which he coveted, he died, and the waters of the Mississippi roll perpetually over his bones. Having but one purpose, that of escape from this hated country, his surviving followers floated down the river and retired to Spanish settlements OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 25- in Mexico. Thus ended miserably the greatest expedition hitherto at- tempted upon the Florida coast. For a score or more of years religionists from France and Spain attempted permanent lodgment upon this territory. In the town of St. Augustine was founded the oldest town in the United States. But instead of practicing the mild and gentle precepts of their Master, they were torn by mortal feuds, and a large proportion perished in their deadly and treacherous conflicts. Thus, of the vast sums of money expended, and hardships endured, in which the greater part of the southern half of our country was overrun, and perpetual and wasting warfare ior a quarter of a century was prosecuted with the natives, nothing good or lasting was the result, though there was exhib- ited a resolution, and unconquerable spirit by those proud cavaliers, who went forth clad in their habiliments of silk, rejoicing in their trailing plumes and glittering armor, truly worthy of a better cause. They expected to find great nations overflowing with gold and precious treasures, whom they could overcome and_ despoil where they might set up a kingdom. Unhappily for them they found no such people; the gold they coveted existed only in their imaginations, and the empire which they hoped to found vanished hke the mists of the valley. Their cause was the cause of the gambler and the free- booter in every country and in every age, and the lesson is one which the race may well take to heart. Of the great European nations, France was the next to send out colo- nies to take possession of and settle the American continent. Moved by a knowledge of the misfortunes which attended Spanish settlement far to the south, the French sought a far northern latitude, and though on the same parallel as Paris, was swept by blizzards and bound in icy fetters such as were wholly unknown in sunny France. This very circumstance may have defeated the entire French plans of colonization, and changed the whole course of empire upon this continent. For the French possessed, in an emi- nent degree, the spirit of colonization, and were eager to push plans of empire. Had the first adventurers seated themselves upon the Potomac or the James, or along the shores of the Carolinas, they would have found so genial a climate, and so similar to their own, that they would have gained a foothold so firm and so long in advance of'the English that they probably would not have been supplanted. The state of navigation at this time was so crude, the vessels so small 26 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. and imperfect in construction, that a voyage on the open ocean across the Atlantic was attended with deathly perils, and solemn religious services marked the departure of the venturesome voyagers as they went down upon the seas, a large part of whom never emerged from the waves. Fishermen from Brittany, in France, as early as 1504, had discovered the rich fishing- grounds on the Banks of Newfoundland, and had visited and named Cape Breton, a name which it still retains. Francis I. of France, a sovereign not unmindful of the growth of his kingdom, seeing the activity of neighboring nations in sending out their subjects on voyages of discovery and coloniza- tion, dispatched Juan Verrazzani, a Florentine navigator, in 1524, in a single vessel, the Dolphin, to discover and take possession in the name of France of lands in the famed New World. After "as sharp and terrible a tempest as ever sailors suffered," Verrazzani arrived upon the coast, touched at the Carolinas, at Long Island, at Newport, and skirted the coast to the fiftieth degree north, when he returned without having made a settlement. Ten years later, in 1534, Jaques Cartier was dispatched by Chabot, admiral of France, on an expedition to the northwest, and arrived at the mouth of the St. Lawrence. Returning to France with extravagant reports of the excel- lence of the country and the climate, he was dispatched in the following year with three large ships, and upon his arrival on St. Lawrence day gave that name to the gulf which he had entered, and the river which drains the great lakes. Ascending the river, he visited Hochelaza, now Montreal, and win- tered at the Isle of Orleans. The cold was intense, in marked contrast to his former visit, which was in the heat of summer, and his followers sufifering from scurvy and the severity of the climate, clamored to be led back to France. In 1540 Cartier was again sent out, and now with five ships, and Francis de la Roque as Governor of Canada. But strife ensuing, the attempt at colonization was abortive. This put an end to further attempts at settle- ment in this latitude for upwards of half a century. In 1598 the great Sully, under Henry IV. of France, dispatched the Marquis de la Roche of Brittany to take possession of Canada and other countries "not possessed by any other Christian Prince." The expedition, however, failed utterly, though the enterprise of private individuals in trading with the nations for rich furs had' in the meantime proved successful. In 1603 Samuel Champlain was sent out, who carefully surveyed the river St. Law- rence and selected the site of Quebec as a proper location for a fort. At OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 27 about the same time De Monte, a Huguenot of the King's household, was granted a commission to assume the sovereignty of Acadie, from the fortieth to the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, which meant from the latitude of Delaware Bay to the north pole— a glorious empire if it could be held and peopled. The expedition of De Monte, consisting of four ships, sailed in 1604, and the right of trade proving lucrative, the monopoly was revoked. But Champlain continued his explorations, embracing the St. John's River, Bay of Funday and Island of St. Croix. By the advice of Champlain, Que- bec was founded in 1608 by a company of merchants from Dieppe and St. Mole. In the following year Champlain explored the lake which bears his name, and, that he might secure the good will of the natives of Canada, he accompanied the Algonquins in a hostile campaign against the Five Nations, or Iroquois. This proved a fatal mistake, for it provoked the implacable hatred against the French of the powerful Indian confederacy which held in an iron grasp the whole stretch of country now the States of .New York and Pennsylvania. Thus by an inscrutable Providence was France again cut oft from taking that course of empire which would doubtless have given that nation preponderance upon this continent. Champlain was devoted to his religion, regarding "the salvation of a soul of more consequence than the conquest of an empire." His chosen servants, the Franciscans, later the Jesuits, assumed control of the missions to the Indians, and for a score of years threaded the mazes of the forests for new converts, pushing out along the great lakes by the northern shore, even to Huron, Michigan and Supe- rior; but in all their efforts to reclaim the Iroquois meeting with little suc- cess, and suffering at the hands of these savages, whippings and torments and death. With the tribes of the north and west even to the Chippewas and Pottawattamies, Sacs and Foxes and Illinois, they had better fortune, and with them made alliances against the Iroquois. From the Sioux they learned that there was a great river to the south, and this they were seized with a desire to explore. In the spring of 1673 Jaques Marquette and M. Joliette, with attend- ants, embarked in two bark canoes at Mackinaw, and passing down the lake to Green Bay, entered the Fox River. Toilsomely ascending its current to its head waters, they bore with difficulty their canoes across the ridge which divides the waters of the great lakes from the gulf, and having reached the sources of the Wisconsin River, launched their frail boats upon its turbid 28 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. waters and floated onward upon the current, the stream studded with islands and the shores adorned witli goodly trees and clustering vines, until on the 17th of June, with "inexpressible joy and thankfulness to God for His mer- cies," they entered the lordly Mississippi. Marquette was frequently warned by the natives not to expose himself to the dangers of the voyage, and to desist from the further prosecution of his journey, but the reply of the pious priest was characteristic: "I do not fear death, and I would esteem it a hap- piness to lose my life in the sei'vice of God." Passing in turn the Des Moines, the Missouri with its turbid stream, the Ohioigently rolling, they proceeded as far south as the Arkansas. Here they were fiercely attacked by the natives. But Marquette boldly presented the pipe of peace, and called down the blessings of heaven upon his enemies, in return for which the old men received him and called off their braves, who were intent upon blood. But now the dangers seemed to thicken as they descended. Fearing that they might hazard all by proceeding further, and being now satisfied that the river which they had found must empty into the Gulf of Mexico, having made a complete map of the portion thus far ex- plored, Marquette determined to return and report his great discoveries to Talon, the intendant of France. With incredible exertion they forced their way against the current of the Mississippi, up the Illinois, across the Portage, down the Fox, by the same course that they had come, and reached Green Bay in safety. Though filled with satisfaction at the importance of his dis- covery, and extravagant in praise of the country which he had seen — "such grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes, deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, paroquetts, and even beavers," as he found on the Illinois River being nowhere equaled; yet he apparently felt a more serene and heartfelt satis- faction in the fact that the natives had brought to him a dying infant to be baptized, which he did about a half an hour before it died, which he asserts God was thus pleased to save, than in all the far-reaching consequences of his expedition. On the i8th of May, 1675, as he was passing up Lake Michi- gan with his boatmen upon the eastern shore, he proposed to land and perform mass. With pious and devoted steps, leaving his attendants in the boat, he ascended the banks of a fast flowing stream to perform the rite. Not returning as he indicated he would, his followers, recollecting that he had spoken of his death, went to seek for him, and found him indeed dead. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 29 Hollowing a grave for him in- the sand, they buried him on the very spot which his prayers had consecrated. The report of the discovery of a great river to the west, draining bound- less territoiy, and a highway to the gulf, aroused cupidity, and the desire to enlarge the dominion of France. Robert Cavalier de La Salle, who had already manifested remarkable enterprise in his explorations along the shores of Ontario and Erie, and in his mercantile enterprises with the natives, was seized with the desire to follow the course of the Mississippi to its mouth. Returning to France he sought and obtained from Colbert authority to pro- ceed with his explorations and take possession of the coimtry in the name of France. Returning to Fort Frontenac with the Chevalier Tonti and a picked band, he ascended to- the rapids of Niagara, passed around the falls with his equipment, built a vessel of sixty tons, which he named the Griffin, and began the voyage up the great lakes now for the first time gladdened by so portentous a craft, the forerunner of a commerce whose white wings have come to enliven all its ways. Arrived at Green Bay, he sent his boat back for supplies with which to prosecute his voyage down the broad bosom of the princely stream. Caught in one of those storms which lurk in the secret places of these lakes, the little vessel was lost on its return voyage. Waiting in vain for tidings of his supplies, he crossed over to the Illinois River, and in the vicinity of the pres- ent town of Peoria he erected a fort, which in consonance with his own disappointed spirit, he named Creve-Coeur, the Broken Heart. Leaving Tonti and the Recollect, Hennepin, to prosecute the explorations of the valley, La Salle set out with only three followers to make his way back through the somber forests which skirt the lakes, to Fort Frontenac, at the mouth of Lake Ontario. In the meantime Hennepin explored the Illinois and the Mississippi to the Falls of St. Anthony, accounts of which on his return to France he published. Gathering fresh supplies and men. La Salle started again upon his arduous and perilous voyage; but upon his arrival at Fort Crevecoeur, upon the Illinois, he found it deserted, and his forces scattered, Tonti, whom he had left in charge, having been forced to flee. Not dismayed, he again returned to Frontenac, having fallen in with Tonti at Mackinaw. Again provided with the necessary supplies, but now with less cumbersome outfit, he started again, after having encountered discour- agements that would have broken the spirit of a less resolute man, in August, 30 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1681, and proceeded on his devious way. But now, instead of the course he had before pursued, he moved up the Chicago River on sledg-es, and, having passed the portage, found Fort Crevecoeur in good state of preservation. Having here constructed a barge of sufificient dimensions for his party, he commenced the voyage down the Mississippi, and reached the gulf without serious incident. Overjoyed at having brought his projects to a successful consummation, he took 'possession of the river and all the vast territory which it drained — large enough to constitute several empires like France — with a formal pomp and ceremony which was sufificient, if it were to depend on pomp and ceremony, to have insured the possession of the country in all time to come. He thoroughly explored the channels which form the delta of the mouth of the stream, and having selected a place high and dry, and not liable to inundation, which they found by the elevation of the north star to be in latitude 27° north, they erected a column and a cross to which they affixed a signal bearing this inscription: "Lonis le Grand, Roi de France et de Navarre, regne, le neuvieme, Avril, 1682." Then chanting the Te Deum Exaudiat, and the Domine salvam fac Regem, and shouting Vive le Roi to a salvo of arms, La Salle, in a loud voice, read his process verbal, as though all the nations of the world were listening: "In the name of the most high, mighty, invincible and victorious prince, Louis the Great, by the grace of God King of France, and Navarre, Fourteenth of the name, this ninth day of April, 1682, L in virtue of the commission of his majesty, which I hold in my hand, and which may be seen by all whom it may concern, have taken, and now do take, in the name of his majesty and of his successors to the crown, possession of this country of Louisiana." Here follows a de- scription of the rivers and countries drained by them, which he claims; and that all this is by the free consent of the natives who inhabit these lands ; a statement which would probably have been difificult of verification, and in his verbal process he inserts the name Colbert, the King's minister, for the name of the river, in plate of Mississippi. He claims besides that he and his com- panions are the first Europeans who have ascended or descended the stream, on the authority of the peoples who dwell there, a statement which would be uncertain of verification, and thus ends his process verbal, "hereby protesting against all those who may hereafter undertake to invade any or all of these countries, people or lands above described, to the prejudice of the right of his majesty, acquired by the consent of the nations herein named, of which, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 31 and of all that can be needed, I hereby take to witness those who hear me, and demand an act of the notary as required by law." In addition to this, he caused to be buried at the foot of the cross a leaden plate with this inscription in Latin: "Ludovicus, magnus reget. Nono Aprilis MDCLXXXII. Robertas Cavellier, cum domino de Tonty Legato R. P. Zenobi Membre Recollecto, et viginti Gallis primus hoc flumen, inde ab IHneorum Pago. Enavigavit, ejusque ostium fecit pervivum, nono Aprilis, Anni MDCI>- XXXIL" By the terms of international law, recognized by all civilized peoples, the nation whose subjects were the discoverers of the fnouth of a river could rightfully lay claim to all the territory drained by that river, and all its trib- utaries, even to their remotest limits, provided such lands had not been occu- pied by any Christian Prince. Had this claim been successfully vindicated Louisiana would have been bounded by the Alleghany Mountains on the east, the Rocky Mountains on the west, and would have embraced the bulk of the territory now the United States, and thus Pennsylvania would have been despoiled of a large proportion of its proud domain, and Crawford county been a vicinage of France. But the claim of La Salle was not well founded, he not having been the original discoverer. For de Soto a hundred and forty years before had discovered the river, and, through his followers, had traced it to its mouth, and had taken possession of the river in the name of the King of Spain, with even greater pomp and ceremony than La Salle, setting up the cross and performing religious rites which the well-known painting repeated on the greenbacks of our national currency has commem- orated. Had this claim of Spain been maintained by force and followed by settlement, the people of Crawford county would to-day be under the dominion of Spain, or of a Spanish speaking people. But if by the failure of Spain the French had been successful in establishing their claims, then the Bourbon lilies would have succeeded to power here, and French would have been the language. As- we shall soon see, the chances by which it escaped that sway were for a time quite evenly balanced between the French and the English. La Salle returned to France with great expectations of empire for his country. With a fleet of thirty vessels, and people for a large colony, he set sail for the new. possessions, four of which under his immediate command steered direct for the Gulf of Mexico, with the intention of entering the 32 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. mouth of the Mississippi River; but he failed to find the entrance, and, after suffering untold hardships and privations on the coast of Texas by ship- wreck, dissensions among his followers and the tireless hostility of the sav- ages, his expedition came to an ignoble end, he himself fortunate in escaping with his life. May we not believe that Providence had other designs for this continent? The third and last of the g'reat European nations to engage in active colonization on the North American coast was England. For, though Hol- land and other European nations sent out colonies, they all became subject to the English. Henry VH., who had turned a deaf ear to the appeals of Columbus, saw with envy what he thought were great advantages being secured to neighboring nations through the discoveries of the great navi- gator. He accordingly lent a ready ear to the Cabots, of Bristol, his chief port. As early as 1497 they set out to share in New World enterprise, and in their voyages explored the coast from Labrador to the Carolinas, and subsequently South America, giving name to the great river of the south, Rio de la Plata. Frobisher followed, and Sir Humphrey Gilbert, half- - brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, who aided Gilbert with his fortune, and his powerful influence at court, but perished by shipwreck without effecting a foothold upon the virgin soil. Under the patronage of Raleigh, Amidas and Barlow, in 1584, were sent, who made a lodgment on the Carolinas; but instead of observing seedtime and harvest, they wasted their energies in the vain search for gold, which they probably hoped to pick up in great nug- gets all along the shore, and their attempt at settlement came to naught. Not discouraged Raleigh fitted out another expedition which sailed under Sir Richard Grenville, and exhausted his great fortune in the enterprise. A lodgment was made at Roanoke, but the colony planted held a sickly exist- ence for a short time, when, after vast expenditures, it was forever aban- doned. Hendrick Hudson, under the patronage of London merchants, and subsequently of the Dutch, made voyages of discovery, and in 1609 entered Delaware Bay and made a landing on the soil of what is Pennsylvania, en- tered New York Bay and ascended the Hudson River, to which he gave his name, and took possession of all this country in the name of the Dutch, in whose employ he was then sailing. As yet nothing permanent by way of settlement had been achieved. But the Enghsh, having explored most of the coast from Halifax in OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 33 Nova Scotia to Cape Fear in North Carolina, laid claim to all this stretch of the coast, and indefinitely westward. In the reign of the feeble and timid James I. this immense coimtry was divided into two parts, the one extend- ing from New York Bay to Canada, known as North Virginia, which was granted for settlement to the Plymouth Company, organized in the west of England, and the other reaching from the mouth of the Potomac south- ward to Cape Fear, was called South Virginia, and was bestowed upon the London Company, composed of residents of that city. It will thus be seen that a belt of some two' hundred miles was left between the two grants so that they should have no liability to encroach upon each other's settlements. The language of these grants by James was remarkable for every quality of style but perspicuity. The London Company were to be limited between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of north latitude, and the Plymouth Company between the thirty-eighth and forty-fifth degrees. It will thus be seen that the two grants overlap each other by three degrees; but as neither company was to begin settlements within a hundred miles of the territory of the other it practically left the limits unconfhcting. Previous to the active operations inaugurated by these companies frequent attempts had been made by the EngHsh at colonization; but hitherto, beyond a few fishing stations, and the fort which the Spanish continued to maintaiii at St. Augustine, no foothold had been gained by them along the whole stretch of the Atlantic, now occupied by the States of the Union. The London Company in 1607 sent one hundred and five colonists in three small ships under command of Christopher Newport, to make a settlement in South Virginia. Among the number was Bartholomew Gosnold, who was the real organizer of the company, and the renowned Captain John Smith, by far the ablest. They entered Chesapeake Bay, giving the names Charles and Henry, the names of King James' two sons, to the opposite capes at the entrance, and having moved up the James River selected a spot upon its banks for a capital of the future empire, which, in honor of the King, they called Jamestown. The seat here chosen became the seed of a new nation. The encounter with the powerful war chief, Powhatan, and the romantic story of his gentle and lovely daughter, Pocahontas, will ever lend a charm to the early history of Virginia. The Plymouth Company having made fruitless attempts to get a foot- 3 34 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ' hold upon their territory, apphed to the King for a new and more definite charter. Forty of "the wealthiest and most powerful men in the realm asso- ciated themselves together under the name of the council of Plymouth Company, and to them James granted a new charter, embracing all the territory lying between the fortieth and forty-eighth degree of north latitude, and stretching away to the Pacific — a boundless grant, little comprehended by the King and his ministers, they believing that the South Sea, as the Pacific was designated, which had been seen by Balboa from a high moun- tain in the isthmus, was close at hand. In 1620 a band of Enghsh Puritans, who had been persecuted and harried for non-conformity to the English church, having escaped to Holland, and there heard flattering accounts of the New World, conceived the idea of setting up in the new country a home for freedom. Having obtained from the Council of Plymouth authority to make a settlement upon their grant, and having received assurance that their non-conformity would be winked at, a company of forty-one men, with their families, one hundred and one in all, "the winnowed remnants of the Pilgrims," embarked in the Mayflower, and after a perilous voyage of sixty- three days, landed on the shores of Massachusetts, at Plymouth Rock, and made a settlement which they called New Plymouth. Before leaving the ship they drew up, and the whole colony signed, a form of government, and elected John Carver Governor. The elder Brewster had accompanied them as their spiritual guide. And here in a mid-winter of almost Arctic fierce- ness, they sufifered and endured; but sang the songs of freedom. By spring the Governor and his wife, and forty-one of their number, were in their graves; but not dismayed they observed seed time,- and gathered in harvest; other pilgrims joined them; it also became the seed of a State. In the meantime the Dutch had planted upon the Hudson and the Dela- ware by virtue of the discoveries of Hudson in 1609. And now in succession followed the plantiiig of Maryland, 1634-5, Connecticut in 1632, Rhode Island in 1636, New Hampshire in 1631, Pennsylvania in 1682, the Carolinas in 1680 and Georgia in 1733. But has it ever occtirred to the reader when unfolding the charters con- veying unlimited possession of vast stretches of the new found continent, by the great sovereigns of Europe, to ask by what authority, or by what legal right they assumed to apportion out, and give away, and set up bounds in this land? Here was a people in possession of this country, whose right to OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 35 the soil could not be questioned. True it was not so densely peopled as the continent of Europe; but the population was quite generally distributed, and they were organized into tribes and confederacies, and were in actual possession— aclaim fortified by long occupancy. The European sovereigns were careful to insert in their charters, "not heretofore occupied by any Christian Prince." But the Indians believed in a Great Spirit whom they worshiped. The answer to this question, whether satisfactory or not, has been that the civilized nations of Europe, on crossing the ocean, found here a vast country of untold resources lying untouched and unstirred, the natives subsisting almost exclusively by hunting and fishing, the few spots used for cultivation being very small in proportion to the whole, and consequently their right to the soil as being unworthy .of consideration. They found a people grossly ignorant, superstitious, idle, exhibiting the fiercest and most inhuman passions that vex the human breast, their greatest enjoyment, their supreme delight being the infliction upon their victims such refinements of torment and perpetrations of savagery as makes the heart sick to contem- plate. Europeans have, therefore, held that they were justified in entering upon this practically unused soil and dispossessing this scattered, barbaric people. Justice Story, in his familiar exposition of the constitution, in com- menting upon this subject, says : "As to countries in the possession of native inhabitants and tribes, at the time of the discovery, it seems difficult to perceive what gi'ound of right any discovery could confer. It would seem strange to us if, in the present times, the natives of the South Sea Islands, or of Cochin China, should, by making voyages to, and discovery of, the United States, on that account set up the right to the soil within our boundaries. The truth is, that the European nations paid not the slightest regard to the rights of the native tribes. They treated them as mere barbarians and heath- ens, whom, if they were not at liberty to exterminate, they were entitled to deem mere temporary occupants of the soil. They might convert them to Chris- tianity; and if they refused conversion they might drive them from the soil as unworthy to inhabit it. They affected to be governed by the desire to pro- mote the cause of Christianity, and were aided in this ostensible object by the whole influence of the papal power. But their real object was to extend their own power and increase their own wealth by acquiring the treasures, 36 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. as Avell a;; territory, of the New World. Avarice and amijition were at the hijttom of their original enterprises." This may be a just view of the morat and primary estimate of the case, yet the Supreme Court of the United States passed upon the question. Chief Justice Marshall delivering the oijinion, holding that "the Indian title to the soil is not of such a character or validity to interfere with the possession in fee and disposal of the land as the State may see fit." In point of fact, every European, nation has, by its conduct, shown that it had a perfect right to seize any part of the continent, and as much as it- could by any possibility get its hands upon, could with perfect impunity steal and sell into slavery the natives, drive them out from their hunting grounds, bum and destroy their wigwams and scanty crops on the slightest pretext, inflict upon them every species oi injury which caprice or lust suggested. It is no wonder, therefore, that the Indians felt aggrieved, and that their savage instincts were whetted for their fell work of blood, and many of the massacres which were perpe- trated may be traced to a bitterness thus engendered. Generations of ill usage could scarcely be expected to bear other fruitage. CHAPTER iV. PENN COMES WITH HIS ENGLISH QUAKERS. PENNSYLVANIA was later in being settled as a distinct colony than most of the others upon the seaboard. The Dutch, who originally settled New York, had effected a lodgment upon the Delaware, and maintained a fort there for trading purposes. They eventually sent out Gov- ernors to rule there, with justices of the peace, constables and all the appur- tenances of civil government In 1638 came the Swedes, the representatives of the great monarch, Gustavus Adolphus, and for several years there was divided authority upon the Delaware, the Dutch and the Swedes contending for the mastery; In- 1664, upon the accession of Charles II. to the English throne, came the English with a patent from the King covering all the terri- tory between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers; in short,. all the territory occupied by the Dutch. Seeing themselves likely to be overcome by force, the Dutch quietly surrendered, and the colony upon the Delaware passed under English rule. In 1677 came three shiploads of emigrants, for the most English Quakers, who settled on either side of the Delaware, but the greater part in West Jersey. Some of this rehgious sect had preceded them, and in 1672 George Fox, the founder, had traveled through the Delaware coun- try, "fording streams in his course, camping out nights and visiting and counselling with his followers on the way." In 1664 Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret received from the Duke of York a grant of territory between the Delaware and the ocean, including the entire southern portion of New Jersey. After ten years of troublesome attempts to settle their coiui- try, with little profit or satisfaction, Berkeley and Carteret sold New Jersey for a thousand pounds to John Fenwick, in trust for Edward Billinge, both Quakers. The affairs of Billinge were in confusion, and upon making an assigniTient Gawin Lawrie, William Penn and Nicholas Lucas became his assignees. In the discharge of his duty "as trustep for Billinge, William Penn, who was himself a convert to the doctrines of Fox, became greatly interested in the colonization of the Quakers in the New World, they having suffered grievous persecution for religious opinion's sake. In his devotion 37 38 ^ OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. to their interests he spent much time and labor in drawing up a body of laws for the government of the colony, devised in a spirit of unexampled lib- erality and freedom for the colonists. \Ve, who are accustomed to entire freedom in our modes of worship, can have little idea of the bitterness and deadly animosity of the persecu- tions for religious opinion's sake which prevailed in the reigns of bloody Mary and her successors. Even as late as the accession of James II. to the English throne, over fourteen hundred Quakers, the most learned and intelligent of that faith, mild and inoffensive, were languishing in the pris- ons of England, for no other crime than a sincere attempt to follow in the footsteps of their Divine Master, for Theeing and Thouing as they con- ceived He had done. To escape this hated and harassing persecution first turned the mind of Penn to the New World. If, thought he, I can secure a tract of a new country where my people can begin life anew, and have per- fect freedom of worship, with no one to molest or make us afraid, it will be like a heaven on earth. Penn had reason to expect favor at the hands of James II. His father, who was a true born Englishman, was an eminent Admiral in the British Navy, and had won great honors upon the seas for his country's flag. He had commanded the expedition which was sent to the West Indies by Cromwell, and had reduced the island of Jamaica to English rule. When James, then Duke of York, made his expedition against the Dutch, Admiral Penn commanded the fleet which descended upon the Dutch coast, and gained a great naval victory over the combined forces led by Van Opdam. For his gallantry in this campaign "he was knighted, and became a favorite at court, the King and his brother, the Duke, holding him in cher- ished remembrance." It was natural, therefore, that the son should seek favors at court for his distressed religious associates. Upon the death of Admiral Penn the British government was indebted to him in the sum of sixteen thousand pounds, a part of it money actually advanced by the Admiral in fitting out the fleet which had gained the great victory. In lieu of this sum of money, which in those days was looked upon as a great fortune, the son, William, proposed to the King, Charles II., who was now upon the English throne, that he should grant him a prov- ince in America, "a tract of land in America lying north of Maryland, bounded east by the Delaware River, on the west lirriited as Maryland and northward to extend as far as plantable." These expressions "as far as plant- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ^ 39 able," as far upward and northward as convenient, and the like, were favorite forms of expression in cases where the country had been unexplored, and no maps existed for the guidance of the royal secretaries, and were the cause of much uncertainty in interpreting the royal patents and of long and wast- ing controversies over the just boundaries of the colonies. King Charles, who had trouble enough in meeting the ordinary ex- penses of his throne without providing for an old score, lent a ready ear to the application of the son and heir of the old Admiral, and the idea of paying off a just debt with a slice of that country, which had cost him nothing, induced him to be liberal, and he gave Penn more than he had asked for. Already there were conflicting claims. The Duke of York held the grant of the three counties which now constitute the present State of Delaware, and Lord Baltimore held a patent, the northern limit of which was left indefinite, llie King himself manifested unusual solicitude in perfecting the title to his grant, and in many ways showed that he had at heart great friendship for Penn. All conflicting claims were patiently heard by the Lords, and that the best legal and judicial light upon the subject might be had, the Attorney- General, Jones, and Chief Justice North were called in. Finally, after careful deliberation, the Great Charter of Pennsylvania, conveying territory ample for an empire, holding unexampled resources upon its surface, and within its bosom, gladdened on every hand by lordly streams, and so. diversified in surface as to present a scene of matchless beauty, was conveyed toi Penn in liberal, almost loving, words: "Charles IL, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, etc.. To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting." "Whereas, our trustie and well beloved subject, William Penn, sonn and heire of Sir William Penn, deceased, out of a commendable desire to enlarge our English Empire and promote such useful commodities as may bee of benefitt to us and our dominions, as alsoe to reduce the Savage 'Na- tives by gentle and just manners to the love of civill Societie and Christian Religion, hath humbly besought leave of us to transport an ample colonie unto a certain countrey hereinafter described in the partes of America not yet cultivated and planted. And hath likewise humbly besought our Royail majestic to give, grant and confirm "all the said countrey with certaine privi- leges and jurisdiccons requisite for the good Government and saftie of the said Countrey and Colonie, to him and his heires forever. Know yee, there- 40 « OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. fore, that wee, favoring the petition and good purpose of the said William Penn, and having regard to the memorie and merits of his late father, in divers services and particulerly to his conduct, courag-e and discretion under our dearest brother, James, Duke of Yorke, in the signall battell and victorie fought and obteyned againste, the Dutch fleete, commanded by Her Van Opdam, in the year one thousand six hundred and sixty-five, in considera- tion thereof of our special grace, certain knowledge and meere motion, Have given and granted, and by this our present Charter, for us, our heires and successors Doe give and grant unto the said William Pen, his heires and assigns, all that tract and parte of land in America, with all the islands therein conteyned, as the same is bounded on the east by Delawar River, from twelve miles distance Northward of New-Castle Towne unto the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, the said lands to extend westwards five degrees in longitude to bee computed from the said Eastern 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 northwards and westwards unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of Northern Latitude, and then by a straight line Westwards to the limit of longitude above menconed." Such is the introduction and deed of conveyance of -the great charter by which Penn came into possession of that royal domain, Pennsylvania. But it was to be in the nature of a sale. To make this deed of transfer binding according to the forms of law, there must be a consideration, the payment of which could be acknowledged or enforced; so the King, in a merry mood, exacted the payment thus: "Yielding and paying therefore to us, our heires and successors, two Beaver Skins to be delivered att our said Castle of Wind- sor, oh the first day of January, in every yeare." The King also added a fifth of all gold and silver v/hich might be found. But as none was ever discovered the sale of this great State was made, so far as this instrument shows, for two beaver skins, to be annually paid to the King. Penn had asked that his western boundary should be commensurate with the western boundary of Maryland, but the King gave him a full degree of longitude more than he asked for. Had Penn received only what he asked for, then Crawford, Mercer and Venango, indeed, the jvhole block of counties On this western border, embracing Pittsburg and Allegheny, would have fallen out- ,side of Pennsylvania. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 41 Penii had proposed that his province should be called New Wales, but the King objected to this. Penn then proposed Sylvania, as the country was reputed to be overshadowed by goodly forests. To this the King assented, provided the prefix *Penn should be given it. Penn vigorously opposed this, as savoring of personal vanity. But the King was inflexible, claiming this as an opportunity to honor his great father's name. Accord- ingly, when the charter was drawn, that name was inserted. Following the introduction are twenty-three sections providing for the government and internal regulation of the proposed colony, and adjusting with great particularity and much tedious circumlocution the relations of the colony to the home government. It is not on this account thought best to quote the entire matter of the charter here, but any who may be curious to consult the document in its entirety will find the original, engrossed on parchment with an illuminated border, in the executive office at Harrisburg. If any- thing is wanting to show the heartfelt consideration of the King for Penn it is found in the twenty-third and last section: "And if, perchance, it should happen hereafter, any doubts or questions 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 att all times and in all things, such interpretacon be made thereof, and allowed in any of our Courts whatsoever, as shall be adjudged most advantageous and favorable unto the said William Penn, his heires and assignes." It was a joyful day for Penn when he received at the hands of the King the great charter, conferring almost unlimited power, and with so many marks of the kindness of heart and personal favor of his sovereign. He had long meditated of a free commonwealth where it should be the study of the law-giver to form his codes with an eye to the greatest good and happiness of his subjects, and where the supreme dehght of the subject would be to render impHcit obedience to its requirements. Plato's dream of an ideal republic, a land of just laws and happy men— "the dream of that city where all goodness should dwell, whether such has ever existed in the infinity of days gone by, or even now exists in the gardens of the Hesperides, far from our sight and knowledge, or will perchance hereafter, which, though it be not on earth, must have a pattern of it laid up in heaven"— such a dream was ever in the mind of Penn. The thought that he now had a new country, an almost unlimited stretch of land, where he could go and set up his repub- 42 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. lie and form and govern to his own sweet will, and in conformity to his cherished ideal, thrilled his soul and filled him with unspeakable delight. But he was not puffed up with vain-glory. To' his friend Turner he writes: "My true love in the Lord salutes thee, and dear friends that love the Lord's precious truth in those parts. Thine epistle I have, and for my business here, know, that after many waitings, solicitings 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 would give in honor of my father. Thou mayest cotrmiunicate my grant to Friends, and expect shortly my proposals. It is a clear and just thing, and my God, that has given it to me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation." And may we not cherish the belief that the many and signal blessings which have come to this Commonwealth in succeeding years, have come through the devout and pious spirit of the founder? He had seen the companions of his religious faith sorely treated throughout all England, and for them he now saw the prospect of a release from their tribulations. Penn himself had come up through bitter perse- cution and scorn on account of his religion. At the age of fifteen he entered Oxford University, and for the reason that he and some of his fellow- students practiced the faith of the Friends, they were admonished and finally expelled. Returning to his home in Ireland, where his father had large estates, his serious deportment gave great offence, the father fearing that his advancement at court would thereby be marred. Thinking to break the spirit of the son, the boy was whipped, and finally expelled from the family home. At Cork, where he was employed in the service of the Lord Lieutenant, he, in company with others, was apprehended at a religious meeting of Friends, and cast into prison. While thus incarcerated, he wrote to the Lord President of Munster, pleading for liberty of conscience. On being liberated, he became more devoted than .before, and so impressed was he with a sense of religious duty that he became a minister of the gospel. Religious controversy at this time, was sharp, and a pamphlet which he wrote gave so much offence to the Bishop of London that Penn was thrown into the Tower, where he languished for eight and a half months. But he was not idle, and one of the books which he composed during his imprisonment, — "No Cross, No Crown," — attained a wide circulation, and is still read e- is OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 43 with satisfaction by the faithful in all lands. Fearing that his motives might be misconceived, he made this distinct statement of his belief, "Let all know this, that I pretend to know no other name by which remission, aton ment .and salvation can be obtained but Jesus Christ, the Savior, who i the power and wisdom of God." Upon his release,, he continued to preach and exhort, was arrested with his associate Mead, and was tried at the Old Bailey. Penn plead his own cause with great boldness and power, and was acquitted; but the court imposed a fine for contempt in wearing his hat, and, for non-payment, he was cast into Newgate with common felons. At this time, 1670, the father, feeUng his end approaching, sent money privately to pay the fine, and summoned the son to his bedside. The meet- ing was deeply affecting. The father's heart was softeried, and completely broken, and, as would seem from his words, had become converted to the doctrines of the son, for he said to him with his parting breath, "Son William, I am weary of the world. I would not live over again my days, if I could command it with a wish, for the snares of life are greater than the fears of death. This troubles me, that I have offended a gracious God. The .thought of that has followed me to this day. Oh! have a care of sin! It is that which is the sting both of life and death. Let nothing in this life tempt you to wrong your conscience; so will you keep peace at home, which will be a feast to you in the day of trouble." Before his death he sent a friend to the Duke of York with a dying request, that the Duke would endeavor to protect his son from persecution, and would use his influence with the King to the same end. The King had previously given James, Duke of York, a charter for Long Island, with an indefinite western boundary, and, lest this might at some future day compromise his right to some portion of his territory, Penn induced the Duke to execute a deed for the same territory covered by the royal charter, and substantially in the same words used in describing its limits. But he was still not satisfied to leave the shores of the only navigable river communicating with the ocean, under the dominion of others, who might in time become hostile, and interfere with the free navigation of the stream. He accordingly induced the Duke to make a grant to him of New Castle and New Castle County,, and on the same day a grant of the territory stretching onward to the sea covering the two counties of Kent and Sussex, the two grants together embracing what were designated the territories, or ^\4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the three lower counties, what in after years became the State of Delaware, but by which acts became and long remained component parts of Pennsyl- vania. This gave Penn a considerable population, as in these three counties the Dutch and Swedes, since 1609, had been settling. Penn was now ready to settle his own colony, and try his own schemes of government. Lest there might be misapprehension respecting his pur- pose in obtaining his charter, and unworthy persons with unworthy motives might be induced to emigrate, he declares repeatedly his own sentiments. "For my country," he says, "I eyed the Lord in obtaining it, and more was I drawn inwards to look tO' Him and to owe to His hand and power than' to any other way. I have so obtained and desire to keep it, that I may not be unworthy of His love, but do that which may answer His kind provi- dence and people." In choosing a form of government, he was much perplexed. He had thought the government of England all wrong, when it bore so heavily upon him and his friends, and he doubtless thought in his earlier years that he could order one in righteousness; but when it was given him to draw a form that should regulate the affairs of the future State, he hesitated. - "For particular frames and models, it will become me to say little. 'Tis true, men seem to agree in the end, to wit, happiness; but in the means they differ, as to divine, as to this human felicity; and the cause is much the same, not always want of light and knowledge, but want of using them rightly. Men side with their passions against their reason, and their sinister interests have sO' strong a bias upon their minds that they lean to them against the things they knovv. I do not find a model in the world that time, place and some singular emergencies have not necessarily altered; nor is it easy to frame a civil government that shall serve all places alike. I know what is said of the several admirers of Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy, which are the rule of one, of a few, and of many, and are the- three common ideas of government, when men discourse of that subject. But I propose to solve the controversy with this small distinction, and it belongs to all three; any government is free to the people under it, what- ever be the frame, where the laws rule and the people are a party to those laws, and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy, and confusion." "But when all is said, there is hardly one frame of government in the world so ill designed by its first founders that in good hands would not do OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 45 well enough; and story tells us, the best in ill hands can do nothing that is great and good; witness the Jewish and the Roman States. Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them, and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them are they ruined, too. Wherefore gov- ernments rather depend upon men than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad; if it be ill, they will cure it. But if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil to their turn." "I know some say, let us have good laws, and no matter for the men that execute them; but let them consider that though good laws do well, good men do better; for good laws may want good men, and be abolished or invaded by ill men; but good men will never want for good laws, nor suffer ill ones. 'Tis true, good laws have some awe upon ill ministers; but that is where they have not power to escape or abolish them, and the people are generally wise and good; but a loose and depraved people, which is to the question, love laws and an administration like themselves, That, there- fore, which makes a good constitution must keep it, viz.: men of wisdom and virtue, qualities that, because they descend not with worldly inheritances, must be carefully propagated by a virtuous education of youth, for which after, ages will owe more to the care and prudence of founders, and the successive magistracy, than to their parents for their private patrimonies." These considerations, which stand as a preface to his frame of gov- ernment, are given to show the temper of mind and heart of Penn, as he entered upon his great work. He seems like one who stands before the door of a royal palace, and is loth to lay his hand upon the knob, whose turn shall give him entrance, for fear his tread should be unsanctified by the grace of Heaven, or lack favor in the eyes of his subjects. For he says in closing his disquisition: "These considerations of the weight of govern- ment, and the nice and varied opinions about it, made it uneasy to me to think of publishing the ensuing frame and conditional laws,, foreseeing both the censures they will meet with- from men of differing humors and engage- ments, and the occasion they may give of discourse beyond design. But next' to the power of necessity, this induced me to a compliance that we have (with reverence to God, and good conscience tO' men), to the best of our skill contrived and composed the frame and laws of this government, to the great end of all government, viz. : To support in reverence with the 46 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. people from the abuse of power; that they may be free by their just obedi- ence, and the magistrates honorable for their just administration; for liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery. To carry this evenness is partly owing to the constitution, and partly to the magistracy; where either of these fail, government will be subject to con- fusion; but when both are wanting, it must be totally subverted; then where both meet, the government is like to endure. Which I humbly pray and hope God will please to make the lot of this of Pennsylvania." In such a temper, and with such a spirit did our great founder approach the work of drawing a frame of government and laws for his proposed community, insignificant in numbers at first, but destined at no distant day to embrace millions. It is not to be wondered at that he felt great solicitude, in view of the future possibilities. With great care and tenderness for the rights and privileges of the individual, he drew the frame or constitution in twenty-four sections, and the body of laws in forty. And who can esti- mate the power for good to this people of the system of government set up by this pious. God-fearing man, every provision of which was a subject of his prayers and tears, and the deep yearnings of a sanctified heart. The town meeting works the destruction of thrones. Penn's system was in effect a free Democracy, where the individual was supreme. Had King Charles foreseen, when he gave his charter, what principles of freedom to the individual would be embodied in the government of the new colony, and would be nurtured in the hearts of the oncoming generations, if he had held the purpose of keeping this an obedient and constituent part of his kingdom, he would have withheld his assent to it, as elements were im- planted therein antagonistic to arbitrary, kingly rule. But men sometimes contrive better than they know, and so did Charles. When finished, the frame of government was published, and was sent out accompanied with a description of the country, and special care was taken that these should reach the members of the society of Friends. Many of the letters written home to friends in England, by those who had settled in the country years before, were curious and amusing, and well calculated to excite a desire to emigrate. Two years before this, Mahlon Stacy wrote an account of the country, which the people of our day would scarcely be able to match. "I have seen," he says, "orchards laden with fruit to admir- ation; their very limbs torn to pieces with weight, most delicious to the taste, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 47 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 gathering. 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 from one bushel sown. From May to Michaelmas great store of very good wild fruit, as strawberries, cranberries and hurtleberries, which are like our bilberries 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 herrings as I ever saw. And as to beef and pork, here is a great plenty of it, and good sheep. The common grass of the country feeds beef very fat. Indeed, the country, take it as a wilderness, is a brave country." If the denizens of England were to accept this description as a true picture of the productions and possibilities of the New World, they might well conclude with this writer that, "for a wilderness," it was a "brave country," and we can well understand why they flocked to the new El Dorado. But lest any might be tempted to go without sufficient consider- ation, Penn issued a pronunciamento, urging every one who contemplated going thither to consider well the inconveniences of the voyage, and the labor and privation required of emigrants to a wilderness country, "that so none may move rashly, or from a fickle, but from a solid mind, having above all things an eye to the providence of God in the disposing of themselves." And that there should be no misunderstanding in regard to the rights of property, Penn drew up "Certain Conditions and Concessions," before leaving England, which he circulated freely, touching the laying out of roads and highways, the plats of towns, the settling communities on ten-thousand- acre tracts, so that friends and relatives might be together; declaring that the woods, rivers, quarries and mines are the exclusive property of those on 48 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. whose purchases they are found; for the allotments of servants; that the Indians shall be treated justly; the Indian's fur shall be sold in open market; that the Indian shall be treated as a citizen, and that no man shall leave the province without giving three weeks' public notice, posted in the market place, that all claims for indebtedness might be liquidated. These and many other matters of like tenor form the subject of these remarkable concessions, all tending to show the solicitude of Penn for the interests of his colonists, and that none should say that he deceived or overreached them in the sale of his lands. He foresaw the liability that the natives would be under to be deceived and cheated by the crafty and designing, being entirely unskilled in judging of the values of things. He accordingly devotes a large proportion of the matter of these concessions to secure and defend the rights of the ignorant natives. If it was possible to make a human being conform to the rights and privileges of civilized society, and make him truly an enlightened citizen, Penn's treatment of the Indian was calculated tO' make him so. He accepted the natives as his own people, as citizens in every important particular, and as destined to an immortal inheritance. He wrote to them, "There is a great God and power that hath made the world and all things therein, to whom you, and I, and all 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 cornmanded to love and help and do^ good to one another. Now the 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 1 am very sensible of the unkindness and injustice that have been too much exercised towards you by the people of these parts of the world, who. sought themselves, and to make gfeat advantages 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 grudges 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 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 49 in my 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 in anything any shall ofifend 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 largely and freely confer and discourse of these matters. In the meantime, I have sent my commissioners to treat witli you about land, and form a league of peace. Let me desire you to be kind to them and their people, and receive these tokens and presents 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." Such was the mild and gentle attitude in which Penn came to the natives. Had the Indian character been capable of being broken and changed, so as to have adopted the careful and laborious habits which Europeans possess, the aborigines might have been assimilated, and become a constituent part of the population. Such was the expectation of Penn. They could have become citizens, as every other foreign race have. But the Indian could no more be tamed than the wild partridge of the woods. Fishing and hunting were his occupation, and if any work or drudgery was to be done, it was shifted to women, as being beneath the dignity of the free savage of the forest. Two hundred and fifty years of intercourse with European civilization and customs have not in the least changed his nature. He is essentially the savage still, as he was on the day when Columbus first met him four hundred years ago. But this fact does not change the aspect in "which we should view the pious and noble intents of Penn, and they must ever be regarded with admiration as indicative of his loving and merciful purposes. He not only provided that they should be treated as human beings, on principles of justice and mercy, but he was particular to point out to his commissioners the manners which should be preserved in their presence. "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 own tongue, that they may see we have their good in our eye. Be grave. They love not to be smiled on." CHAPTER V. CONTROVERSY OVER THE BOUNDS OF THE COLONY. THE Colony of Pennsylvania was one of the last to be settled, yet scarcely had a century elapsed before it had outstripped in popula- tion all the others, and stood at the head of the thirteen which linked together in the patriotic struggle for independence. The census of 1800 shows a white population for Pennsylvania of 586,095; New York, 557,731 ; Virginia, 514,280; Massachusetts, 416,393; North Carolina, 337,764; Con- necticut, 244,721; Maryland, 216,326; South Carolina, 196,255; New Jersey, 194,325; New Hampshire, 182,998; Kentucky, 179,873; Vermont, 153,908; Maine, 150,901;" Georgia, 102,261; Tennessee, 91,709; Rhode Island, 65,438; Delaware, 49,852; Ohio, 48,028; Indiana, 5,343; Missis- sippi, 5,179. The growth of the province was something remarkable, and caused Penn to say, in a spirit of exultation unusual to him, "I must,* without vanity say, I have led the greatest colony in America that ever any man did upon a private credit." Bancroft very justly observes, "There is noth- ing in the history of the human race like the confidence which the simple virtues and institutions of William Penn inspired. The progress of his province was more rapid than that of New England. In August, 1683, Philadelphia consisted of three or four little cottages. The conies were yet undisturbed in their hereditary burrows. The deer fearlessly bounded past blazed trees, unconscious of foreboded streets; the stranger that wandered from the river bank was lost in thickets of interminable forests; and two years afterward the place contained about six hundred houses, and the school-master and the printing press had begun their work. In three years from its foundation Philadelphia had gained more than New York had done in half a century. It was not long till Philadelphia led all the cities of America in population." Though Penn felt a just pride in the growth of his colony, the fertility of the soil, and the mild and salubrious nature of the climate, yet he was so OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 51 not ^yithout deep anxiety about the establishment of the boundaries of his province. Language could not by any possibiHty be made more exact and definite than that employed by Charles II. in perfecting the great charter. That there might be no question as to its place on the face of the earth, hnes of latitude and longitude from which there could be no variableness nor shadow of changing, were made to encompass it. The sun in his course, and the stars themselves were made to stand sentinels. Commencing at the beginning of the 40th parallel of north latitude, it was to extend to the beginning of the 43rd, and from the Delaware River, which was to fort^i the eastern boundary, westward along these parallels five degrees of longitude, the western bound being such a meridian when ascertained by actual survey. It would seem that nothing could be more distinct and definite, absolutely incapable of varying, not dependent upon a monument subject to removal, or disintegration by .time, but dependent upon the heavenly bodies, whose places change not from generation to generation, and from age to age. Penn was undoubtedly solicitous to have the southern boundary of his province the beginning of the 40th parallel^ in order that he might have free access to the ocean by the Delaware Bay and River, as this would give him his only port of entry, which he could not be sure of if the two shorfcs of, this river were in the absolute possession of others. Besides, considerable settlements had already been made along the south bank, which were known as the three lower counties originally a part of Pennsylvania, now the State of Delaware. These three counties had been granted by King Charles to his brother James, Duke of York. Intent upon having an open waterway to the ocean, Penn bought these three counties from the Duke, and secured a firm title duly recorded in the English ofifiice. Believing now that he had his title as secure as human foresight and legal forms could make it, he sent his cousin,- William Markham, with three ship-loads, to take possession of his province. But the ink was scarcely dry upon the parchment which recorded the gift before the whisperings jf counter claims were heard, and had all the claims that were subsequently made been verified he would have had scarcely a moiety left on which to have planted his own family. Markham, who, as Lieutenant Governor, was to take possession and commence surveys, had hardly shaken the salt spray from his locks before he was visited at Chester by Lord Baltimore, from Maryland, who presented his claim to all that country. 52 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The royal gifts of land in the New World in the early days of settle- ment were lavish beyond comparison, the one overlapping another in the most lawless manner, the object seemingly being to secure the settlement of the country. There were no reliable maps of the continent, and the royal secretaries had little conception of the lands they were describing when they drew the royal charters. No one in England at this time seemed to have any conception of the width or extent of the continent. The shores of the Gulf of Mexico had been observed,- and Balboa, ascending the mountain chain which skirts the narrow neck of land that joins North with South America, had beheld the vast expanse of peaceful waters which he named the Pacific, and it would seem that the popular belief was that the continent as it extended northward was comparatively narrow, and that when the royal gifts were made to extend from ocean to ocean, there was no conception that they stretched away three thousand miles. On the 20th of June, 1632, just fifty years before Penn had received the charter for his province, the King had granted to Lord Baltimore a charter for Maryland, named' for Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV., and wife of Charles I., bounded by the ocean, the 40° of north latitude, the meridian of the westeYn fountain of the Potomac, the river Potomac from its source to its mouth, aiid a line drawn east from Watkin's Point to the ocean, the place of beginning, on the thirty-eighth parallel. This territory was given to him, his heirs and assigns, on the payment of a yearly rental of two Indian arrows. Lord Baltimore exhibited to Governor Markham his claim, and to convince the Governor that his claim was valid, he made an observation of the heavens, which showed the latitude of Chester to be twelve miles south of the 41° north to which he claimed. Should this claim be allowed, the whole of the south shore of Delaware Bay and River, and hence the entire control of the navigation to the ocean bed, the three lower counties which Penn had bought from the Duke of York, now the State of Delaware, the sites of the cities of Philadelphia, York, Chambersburg, Gettysburg, indeed the whole tier of southern counties would have been cut off from Pennsyl- vania. As it will be seen, the allowance of this claim would have swallowed all. the settlements that had been made for three-quarters of a century, all the wonderful emigration and growth which had now set in, including the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 53 great city which Penn had projected with so much satisfaction and cherished with his pains and prayers, the fairest section of his territory, and more than all, the way of navigation to the sea. Markham, on his part, exhibited the great charter of Penn, which ex- plicitly provides that the southern boundary shall be "the beginning of the 40th degree of north latitude. But this would have included the city of Baltimore, and even as far south as the District of Columbia, embracing all the growth of Maryland for half a century, and would have left for Mary- land a modicum of land east of the Potomac and south of the 39th degree north along either shore of the lower Chesapeake, an area about equal to the present State of Delaware. This Lord Baltimore regarded as an un- endurable hardship, and as his charter antedated that of Penn by fifty years, he held that the charter of the latter was invalidated, and that his own claim could be maintained. It was evident that neither of these claims could be justly vindicated in its integrity, as, if either were allowed, the oth^r was virtually destroyed. In this condition, things rested until the coming of Penn. The new pro- prietary, soon after his arrival, learning of the claims put forth by his neighbor at the head of the Chesapeake, determined to visit him, and for two days the clashing demands of the two Governors were talked over and canvassed. But, as the weather became cold, so as to preclude the possi- bility of taking observations to fix accurately the latitude, it was agreed to postpone further consideration of the question for the present. A picture of these two eminent men in this opening controversy would be one of great historical interest. We can well imagine that, while the representative of Pennsylvania preserved throughout the conference a demeanor that was "child-like and bland," there was in the brain which the broad-brim sheltered, and in the heart which the shad-bellied coat kept warm, an unalterable pur- pose not to yield the best portion of his heritage. Early in the spring Penn invited Lord Baltimore to come to the Delaware for the settlement of their differences, but it was late in the season before he arrived. Penn proposed that the hearing 'be had before them in the nature of a legal investigation, with the aid of council and in writing. But this was not agreeable to Baltimore, and now he complained of the sultriness of the weather. Before it was too cold, and now it was too hot. Accordingly, the conference again broke up without anything being accom- 54 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. plished. It was now plainly evident that Baltimoi-e did not intend to come to any agreement with Penn, but would carry his cause before the royal tribunal in London. Penn now understood all the conditions of the controversy, and that there were grave difficulties to be encountered. In the first place, his own charter was explicit, and would give him, if allowed, three full degrees of latitude and five of longitude. On the other hand, the charter of Baltimore made his northern boundary the 40th degree, but whether the beginning or the ending was not provided. If the beginning, then Maryland would be crowded down nearly to the northern limits of the city of Washington, and I'ennsylvania would embrace the city of Baltimore and the greater portion of what is now Maryland, and westerly beyond Maryland a solid portion of Virginia, now West Virginia. On the other hand, if the ending, then Philadelphia and all its southern tier of counties would have to be given up. By the usual interpretation of language, the charter of Lord Baltimore would only give him to the beginning of the fortieth degree. But he had boldly assumed the other interpretation, and had made nearly all his settlements above that line. Again, it was provided in his charter that the boundaries prescribed should not include any territory already settled by any Christian prince. But it was well known that the settlements along the right bank of the Delaware, from the first visit of Hudson, in 1609, long before the charter of Lord Baltimore was given, had been made on the territory now claimed by him, settlements in which he had no interest, which he had done nothing to promote, and over which he had exercised no governmental control. On the other hand, there were difficulties in construing one portion of the charter of Penn, doubtless caused by the ignorance of the royal sec- retaries of the geography of the country, there having been no accurate maps made at this time. Consequently, when they commenced to describe the southern boundary of Pennsylvania they said, "and on the south by a circle drawn at twelve miles distance from New Castle, northwards and west- wards unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern latitude, and then by a straight line westwards to the limit of longitude above men- tioned," that is, to the panhandle line, as now ascertained. But this circle, which is here described at twelve miles distant "from New Castle northwards and westwards," to reach the beginning of the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 55 fortieth parallel, would not only have to be extended northward and west- ward but southward, and the radius of twelve miles southward would by no means reach the beginning of the fortieth degree, and hence would have to be extended from an indefinite point and in an arbitrary direction un- provided for in the charter. The royal secretaries seemed to have labored under the impression that "New Castle town," named in the charter, was about on the beginning of the fortieth parallel, whereas it was nearly two- thirds of a degree to the north of that line. It must be confessed that there were many grave difficulties in the way of a satisfactory adjustment of these counter claims, and it is reported that Lord Baltimore, on his first visit to Markham, after having found by stellar observation the true latitude of New Castle, and heard the provisions of Penn's charter read, dolefully but very pertinently asked: "If this be allowed, where then is my province?" Baltimore, from the very moment that he discovered what the claims of Penn were, had evidently resolved not to make any effort to come to an agreement with Penn, which is abundantly shown by his frivolous excuses for not proceeding to business in their several interviews, but had determined to pursue a bold policy in pushing the sale of lands on the disputed tract, constantly assuming that his interpretation was the true one, and even opening an aggressive poUcy, trusting to the maintenance of his claims before the officers of the crown in England. Accordingly, Baltimore issued proposals for the sale of lands in the lower counties, now the State of Delaware Territory, which Penn had secured by deed from the Duke of York, after receiving his charter from the King, offering cheaper rates for land than Penn had done. Penn also learned that Baltimore had sent a surveyor to take an observation and find the latitude of New Castle, had prepared an ex parte statement of his case, and was actually, by his agents, pressing the case to a decision before the Lords of the Committee of Plantations in England, without giving any notice to Penn. Believing in the strong point of possession, Baltimore determined to pursue a vigorous policy. He accordingly drew up a sum- mons to quit, and sent a messenger. Colonel Talbot, to Philadelphia to "demand of William Penn all that part of the land on the west side of said river that lieth to the southward of the fortieth degree of north latitude." Penn was absent at the time, and the summons was delivered to the acting 56 . OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Governor, Nicholas Moore. But upon his return, the Proprietary made answer in strong but earnest terms, showing the grounds of his own claim, and repelling any counter claim. The conduct of Baltimore alarmed him, for he saw plainly that if settlers from Maryland entered his province under claim of protection from its Governor, it would soon lead to actual conflict for possession. What he feared came to pass sooner than he anticipated, for in the spring of 1684, in time to put in their crops, a company from Maryland came in force into the lower counties, drove off the peaceable Pennsylvania settlers, and took possession of their farms. Taking the advice of his council, Penn sent a copy of his reply to the demand that Talbot had brought, which he ordered to^ be read to the intruders, and directed William Welch, Sheriff of the county, to reinstate the lawful owners. He then issued his laroclamation reiterating and defending his claims, and warning all intruders to desist in future from such unlawful acts. To the peaceful and loving disposition of Penn, this contention was exceedingly distasteful. As for quantity of land, he freely declared that he would have had enough if he had retained only the two degrees which would have remained after allowing Baltimore all that he claimed. But he was unwilling to give up the rapidly growing city which he had founded and colonies which he had rightfully acquired, and, more than all, to yield pos- session of Delaware Bay and River, the only means of communication with the ocean. He foresaw that if the two shores of this noble stream were in the possession of hostile States, how easy it would be for them to make harassing regulations governing its navigation. But Penn was a man of just and benevolent instincts, and he was willing to make reasonable con- cessions and compromises to secure peace and satisfy his neighbor in Mary- land. Accordingly, at one of their interviews, Penn asked Baltimore what he would ask per square mile for the territory south of the Delaware and reaching to the ocean, though he already had the deed for this same land from the Duke of York, secured by patent from the King, and Baltimore's own patent expressly provided that he could not claim territory already settled by any Christian prince. But this generous offer to purchase what he already owned was rejected by the proprietor of Maryland. Penn now saw but too plainly that there was no hope of coming to a peaceful and equitable composition of their differences in this country, and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 57 that if he would secure a decision in his interests he had no time to lose in repairing to London, and personally defending his rights before the royal commission. There is no question but that he came to this decision with unfeigned regret. His colony was prosperous, the settlers were contented and happy in their new homes, the country itself was all that he could wish, and he no doubt fondly hoped to live and die in the midst of his people. But the demand for his return to England was imperative, and he prepared to obey it. He accordingly empowered the Provincial Council, of which Thomas Lloyd was President, to act in his stead, and on the 6th of June, 1684, sailed for England. From on board the vessel before leaving the Delaware, he sent back an address to the Council, in which he expi-essed his regret at being com- pelled to leave them, and pointed out to them the only true source of light in the management of the affairs of the colony: "Dear Friends," he said, "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 yoUj and served you with unfeigned love, and you are beloved of me and near to me beyond utterance. ... Oh that you would eye Him in all, through all, and above all the works of your hands, for to a blessed end are you brought hither. . . . You are now cgme to a quiet land; pro- voke not the Lord to trouble it, and now that 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 service and what travail has there been to bring thee forth, and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee!" Upon his arrival in England, on the 6th of October, he took an early opportunity to pay his respects to the King, and the Duke of York, "who received me very graciously, as did the ministers very civilly. Yet I found things in general with another face than I left them — sour and stern, and resolved to hold the reins of power with a stiffer hand than before." In a letter to Lloyd in America, of the i6th of March, 1685, he says: "The King (Charles II.) is dead, and the Duke (James II.) succeeds peaceably. He was well on the First-day night, being the first of February, so called. 58 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. About eight next morning, as he sat down to shave, his head twitched botli ways or sides, and he gave a shriek and fell as dead, and so remained some hours. They opportunely blooded and cupped him, and plied his head with red hot frying pans. He returned and continued till Sixth-day noon, but mostly in great tortures. He seemed very penitent, asking pardon of all, even the poorest subject he had wronged. . . . He was an able man for a divided and troubled kingdom. The present King was proclaimed about three o'clock that day." The new King, being a personal friend of Penn, he had hopes of favor at court, and did secure many indulgences for his oppressed Friends in the kingdom, but the ministry was bitterly hostile to dissenters, and he found his controversy with Lord Baltimore very difficult of adjustment. He con- cluded that the longer it was allowed to run the less likely he would be to secure justice, and accordingly pressed for a final settlement, and in Novem- ber, 1685, a decision was made in the English court compromising the claims of the two Governors, and providing that the territory between the Delaware and the Chesapeake should be divided by a line through the center, and that the portion bordering upon the Delaware should belong to Penn, and that upon the Chesapeake to Lord Baltimore. This settled the dispute in theory for the time, but upon attempting to measure and run a dividing line, the language of the act was so indefinite that the attempt was abandoned, and the old controversy was again renewed, for farmers on either side found portions of their farms lying upon either side of the line, and the act made no provision for running the line west- ward. Not wishing to press his suit at once while the memory of the decision already made was green. Lord Baltimore suffered the controversy to rest, and each party laid claim to the territory adjudged to him by the royal decree, but without any division line. This was unsatisfactory to the inhabitants, and on the 28th of April, 1707, the government of Maryland presented to the Queen an address ask- ing that an order should be made requiring the authorities of the two colonies, Maryland and Pennsylvania, "to run the division lines, and ascer- tain the boundaries between them, for the ease of the inhabitants, who have been much distressed by their uncertainty." It would appear that the con- troversy, — after William Penn, in 1685, had secured the lands upon the right bank of the Delaware, — was left to work out its own cure, as a definite OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 59 agreement was entered into in the life time of the founder that the author- ities in neither colony should disturb the settlers already located in the other, Penn no doubt believing that in the race for settlers he could dis- tance his antagonist. Repeated conferences were held and lines run, but nothing satisfactory was accomplished during the lives of the founders. But on the 4th of July, 1760, Frederick, Lord Baron Baltimore, and Thomas, and Richard Penn, sons of William Penn, entered into an elaborate and formal treaty by which the limits of the two provinces were finally settled, so far as these two provinces were concerned. The boundary lines were made mathematically exact, so that there could by no possibility be further controversy, provided surveyors could be found who had the skill and the instruments necessary for determining them. The line was to commence at Cape Henlopen, on the Atlantic coast. This cape, as originally located, was placed on the point opposite Cape May, at the entrance to Delaware Bay, and Cape Henrietta was fifteen miles down the coast. By an error in the map used by the parties, the names of these two capes had been interchanged, and Henlopen was placed fifteen miles be- low Henrietta. At this mistaken point, therefore, the division commenced. When this was discovered, a complaint was made before Lord Hardwick, but in a formal decree, promulgated in 1750,' it was declared "that Cape Henlopen ought to be declared and taken to be situated at the place where the same is laid down and described in the maps or plans annexed to the said articles, to be situated." The point of beginning having been settled, the dividing lines were to be as follows: Commencing at Cape Henlopen on the Atlantic, a due west line was to be run to the shore of Chesapeake Bay, found to be sixty-nine miles, 298 perches. At the middle point of this line, a line was tO' be run northwardly till it should form a tangent to the west side of a circle drawn with a radius of twelve miles from the spire of the New Castle court house as a center. From this tangent point a line was to be run due north to a parallel drawn from a point fifteen miles south of the most southern extremity of, the boundary line of the city of Philadelphia, and the point thus reached should be the northeast corner of Maryland, and was in fact five miles, one chain and fifty links due north from the tangent point. If the due north line from the tangent point should cut o£f the segment of a circle from the twelve-mile circuit, then the slice thus cut ofif should be 6o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. adjudged a part of New Castle County, and consequently should belong to Pennsylvania. The corner-stone at the extremity of the due north line from the tangent point was to be the beginning of the now famous Mason and Dixon line, and was to extend due west to the western limit of Maryland. This settled the long dispute so far as it could be on paper, but to execute its provisions in practice was more difficult. The primeval forest covered the greater part of the line, stubborn mountains stood in the way, and instruments were imperfect and liable to variation. Commissioners were appointed to survey and establish the lines in 1739, but a controversy having arisen whether the measurement should be horizontal or superficial, the commission broke up and nothing more was done until 1760, when the fol- lowing-named surveyors were appointed: John Lukens and Archibiald McLean on the part of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Garnett and Jonathan Hall for Maryland, who commenced to lay off the lines as provided in the indenture of agreement entered into by the proprietaries. Their first care was to clear away the vistas, or narrow openings, twenty-four feet wide through the forest. Having ascertained the middle point of the Henlopen line, as required, they ran an experimental line north until opposite New Castle, when they measured the radius of twelve miles and fixed the tangent point. There were so many perplexing conditions, that it required much time to perfect their calculations and plant their bounds. After these surveyors had been three years at their work, the proprie- taries in England, thinking the reason of their long protracted labors in- dicative of a lack of scientific knowledge on their part, or lack of suitable instruments, employed, on the 4th of August, 1763, two surveyors and mathematicians to go to America and conduct the work. They brought with them the best instruments procurable, an excellent sector "six feet radius, which magnified twenty-five times, the property of the Hon. Mr. Penn, the first which ever had the plumb line passing over and bisecting a point at the center of the instrument." They obtained from the Royal Society a brass standard measure, and standard chains. These surveyors were none other than Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, names forever blazoned upon the political history of the United States, magnates at home, but no more skilled nor more accurate in their work, over mountains and valleys, through the tangled and interminable forests of the American con- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 6i tinent, than our own fellow citizens, McLean and Lukens, and Garnett and Hall, who had preceded them. The daily notes of Mason and Dixon commence November 15th, 1763, and the first entry is: "Arrived at Philadelphia;" "i6th, attended meeting of the commissioners appointed to settle the bounds of Pennsylvania;" "22d to 28th, landed and set up instruments, and found they had received no damage." "December 5th, directed carpenter to build an observatory near the point settled by the commissioners to be the south point of the city of Philadelphia," which was to be one of the initial points of the line. When the observatory was finished, the instruments were mounted and observations taken to fix the latitude of the place. Nearly one whole year was spent in ascertaining the middle point of the due east and west Hne across the peninsula from Cape Henlopen on the Atlantic to the Chesapeake Bay, and running the line northward to find the tangent point on the twelve-mile periphery of a circle measured from the center of the Court House at New Castle as a center, and on the 13th of November, 1764, they make the following entry in their notes: "From data in minute of ye 27th of August, we computed how far the true tangent would be distant from the post (show us to be the tangent point as ascer- tained by the home surveyors, McLean, etc.), and found it would not pass one inch to the eastward or westward. On measuring the angle of our last line, with the direction from New Castle, it was so near a right angle that on a mean from our lines the above-mentioned post is the true tangent point. Thus it was shown that notwithstanding all the difificulties encountered by the original appointees, the English surveyors found, after a year's carefiil labor, that the work of their predecessors was correct. On the i8th of June, 1765, Mason and Dixon made this entry in their notes: "We set seven stones, viz.: one at the tangent point, four in the perififery of the circle round New Castle, one in the north line from the tangent point, and one at the intersection of the north line (from ye tangent point), and the parallel fifteen miles south of the southermost point of the city of Philadelphia, The Gent. Commissioners of both provinces present." Having now ascertained the exact location of the northeast corner of Maryland, which was to be the beginning of the dividing line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, which was found to be 39° 43' 26", these sur- veyors. Mason and Dixon, commenced running the line due west on 62 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. this parallel. Along a portion of this line were clearings and cultivated fields, but for the most part the dense forest was unbroken, necessitating the employment of a considerable company of axmen to open a vista and clear away the cuttings. This line thus formally determined extended over hill and dale, across streams, everywhere rugged, and up the precipitous sides of the mountains. To keep on a due west line, observations had to be made nightly of the stars. That the reader may observe the methods by which these surveyors conducted their work, there is subjoined a table of one night's observations : PLANE OF THE SECTOR FACING THE EAST. Capella 4 59 5 So— ( 6 24 3 0.0 5 47 24.0 N mm 'pa a S!* U >o^ 5 3_ =: a 2 030. % 5'Ei ^ g-^ > ""■ 3" a 3'33 O D- S O n> 3 ^ 5.0- h. ' ° ' r. " r. " o / » a Lyrse 18 29 I 20+ J 9 29^ 2 17.5 I 22 1.5 b < " 47 y AndromedK.. i 49 i 15— J 7 32 o 9.0 i 14 5i-0 N ' 7 41 /S Persei 2 53 o S+ j 10 16^ o 25.0 o 5 25.0 N ( 9 43J4 5 Persei 3 26 7 S— ( 8 43 o 43.5 7 4 16.5 N ( 9 34^ 6 24 . 9 24>^:: c/ AurigjE 5 42 4 55+ ( S 40j4 2 29.5 5 57 13.5 N i 3 II CHA: MASON. JERE: DIXON. On the 27th of October, 1765, the following entry was made: "Captain Shelby again went with us to the summit of the mountain (when the air was very clear) and showed us the northermost bend of the Potowmack at the Conoloways; from which we judge the line will pass about two miles to the north of the said river. From hence we could see the Alleghany Mountains for many miles, and judge it by its appearance to be about fifty miles distance in the direction of the line." On the 26th of September, 1766, the following important entry was made: "From an eminence in the line where fifteen or twenty miles of the visto can be seen (of which there are many), the said line, or visto, very OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 63 apparently shows itself to form a parallel of northern latitude. The line is measured horizontal (that is as though the surface was one dead level and not over hill and through valley) the hills and mountains with a i6i-feet level, and beside the mile posts we have set posts in the true line (marked W on the west side) all along the hne opposite the stationary points, where the Sector and Transit instruments stood. The said posts stand in the mid- dle of the Visto, which in general is about eight yards wide. The number of posts in the west line is 303." It will be understood that this "visto," or vista, properly,' was a straight east and west belt of some twenty-five feet wide, cleared by the axmen through the dense forest for the purpose of the survey. The view from these eminences to which they refer must have been grand, the forest for the most part resting undisturbed, as it had been for ages, the two sides of the clearing seeming in the distance to approach each other and join, the silver current of the river showing here and there, and the noisy- brook tumbling down the mountain side. In the spring time the surveyors were often awakened in the morning by the gobbling of the wild turkeys, and the rattle of their chains chimed melodiously with the distant drumming of the partridge. On the 14th to i8th of July, 1767, they make the following entries: "At 168 miles 78 chains is the top of the great dividing ridge of the Alle- ghany Mountains. At 169 m. 60 ch. crossed a small branch of the Httle Yochio Geni. The head of Savage River, distant about a mile. This day (i6th) we were joined by fourteen Indians deputized by the chiefs of the Six Nations to go with us on the Hne. With them came Mr. Hugh Craw- ford, interpreter." August 17th: "At this station Mr. John Greene, one of the Chiefs of the Mohock Nation, and his nephew left us in order to return to their own country." September 27th are the following notes: "About a mile and a half north of where the Sector stands the rivers Cheat and Manaungahela joyn. The mouth of Redstone Creek, by information, bears due north from this station, distant 25 miles. Fort Pit is supposed to be due north, distant about 50 miles." September 30th: "At 222 miles 34 chains 50 links the east bank of ye River Manaungahela, breadth about 5 chains." It was deemed necessary to have delegations from the Six Nations, and from other tribes which had an interest in these lands, to accompany the -64 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. surveyors, as they would doubtless have taken offense at what they might have conceived this clearing the forest from a track over mountain and through valley by this long vista to be an inexcusable interference with their rights of soil, and would doubtless have had recourse to the scalping knife before many monuments had been planted, or the gobble of many turkeys had been disturbed. In securing the co-operation of the Indians, Sir William Johnson of New York, who had much influence with the Six Nations, was of great advantage. In all the work of the surveyors the Indians had preserved an attitude of* awe and superstitious dread. They could not understand what all this peering into the heavens, and always in the dead of the night, portended (as all astronomical observations must be made at that time of night when the particular star desired came into view). They looked with special distrust on those curious little tubes provided with glass windows at each end, through which the surveyors stood, patiently watching somebody away in the far-off heavens. The Six Nations, who were supreme in those parts, had given permission by treaty to run this line; but when they heard of the methods adopted we may well imagine their speculations in their far-away council chambers, in the deep shadows of the wood, touching the purpose of these nightly vigils. They entertained a suspicion that the surveyors were holding communication with spirits in the skies, who were pointing out the track of their line. So much had their fears become wrought upon that when Mason and Dixon had reached the summit of the Little Alle- ghany, the Six Nations gave notice upon the departure of their agents that the survey must cease at that point. But by the adroit representations of Sir William Johnson they were induced to allow the survey to proceed. No further interruption was experienced until they reached the bottom of a deep dark valley on the border of a stream, marked Dunkard Creek, on their map, where they came upon an ancient Indian warpath winding through the dense forest. Here- the representatives of the Six Nations de- clared was the limit of the ground which their commission covered, and refused to proceed further. In the language of the field notes, "This day the Chief of the Indians, which joined us on the i6th of July, informed us that the above mentioned War Path was the extent of his commission from the Chiefs of the Six Nations, that he should go with us to the line, and that he would not proceed one step further." OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 65 ■ For some days previous the Indians had been giving intimations of trouble, and when arrived at the banks of the Manaungahela "twenty-six of our men left us," say the notes. "They would not pass the river for fear of the Shawnees and Delaware Indians. But we prevailed upon fifteen ax-men to proceed with us; and with them we continued the line westward." There would have been no safety tO' the surveyors without the Indian escort, as they would have been at the mercy of wandering bands of savages who knew not the meaning of the word compassion or mercy, but who would dash the brains out of a helpless infant and tear the scalp from the head of a trembling and defenseless female with as keen a relish as they ever sat down to a breakfast of hot turtle soup. Therefore there was no alterna- tive, and though they were now within thirty-six miles of the end of the line, and in a few days more would have reached the limit, they were forced to desist; and here on the margin of Dunkard Creek, on the line of the famous Indian war-path, in Greene County, Mason and Dixon set up their last monumental stone 233 m. 13 ch. 68 links from the initial point of this now famous line which bears their name, and ended the survey. Returning to Philadelphia they made their final report to the commissioners of the two States, and received their final discharge on the 26th. of December, 1767. The work of these surveyors was tedious and toilsome, being conducted in the primeval forest through which a continuous vista had to be cleared as they went, and in which they were obliged to camp out in all weathers of a changeable climate. To keep on a due east and west line they were exclusively guided by the stars, and their rest had to be constantly broken by these necessary vigils. By the terms of the agreement of 1732, and the order of the Lord High Chancellor Hardwick, every fifth mile of this line was to be marked by a stone monument engraved with arms of the Proprietaries, and the interme- diate miles by similar stones marked by a P on the side facing Pennsylvania, and an M on the side facing Maryland. These stones were some twelve inches square, and four feet long, and were cut and engraved in England ready for setting. The fixing the exact location of these stones gave no little vexation to the surveyors. This formal marking, as directed, was ob- served till the line reached Sidelong Hill; but all wheel transportation ceas- ing for lack of roads, the further marking was by the " 'visto,' eight or nine yards wide," "and marks were set up on the tops of the high hills and moun- 66 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. tains. Their entry on the igth of November, 1767, was: "Snow twelve- or fourteen inches deep; made a pile of stones on the top of Savage Moun- tain, or the great dividing ridge of the Alleghany Mountains." Mason and Dixon were paid twenty-one shillings a day for their labor, the entire expense to Pennsylvania being £34, 200, or $171, 000. It should here be observed that so far as Maryland was concerned the work of the survey should have ended where the western boundary of that State meets the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, though Maryland paid its share of the expense of the survey as long as Mason and Dixon were employed. Why the authorities continued the survey beyond the limits of their State is not evident, though it is probable that the western bound of the State had not yet been surveyed and determined, as it was to be depend- ent upon the most western source of the Potomac River, which had not probably been definitely ascertained, and they may have hoped that a more western spring than any then known would be found which might possibly carry them as far west as Pennsylvania. It is not clear either why the au- thorities of Pennsylvania proceeded further with the survey than the ending of Maryland; for their charter would give them to the beginning of the 40th degree for all territory beyond the limits of Maryland. ON •* t> o O V Xi o 8 V V s CU •o fa CHAPTER VI. THE PLANTING OF THE LEADEN PLATES BY CELERON. AS HAS been previously observed, it was held as a principle, of the law of nations that the discovery and occupancy of the mouth of a river entitles the discoverer to all the land drained by that river, and its tributaries, even to their remotest sources. By reason of the discoveries of Marquette and La Salle, and the formal possession taken of the Mis- sissippi River by them under the French Flag, France now laid claim to all the territory drained by this river. Had this claim been enforced all that portion of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia lying to the westward of the watershed formed by the Alleghany Mountains would have been in the possession of the French, and Crawford County would have been settled by a French-speaking people, subjects of the French King. In the early settlement of the North American Continent by Europeans, the French showed the greater spirit and enterprise, the propagators of the Catholic religion manifesting a zeal rarely equaled in any land. In 1688 France commenced a wasting war against England, its allies, which was finally concluded by the treaty of Ryswick, by which France was confirmed in possession of Hudson Bay, Canada, and the valley of the Mississippi; but it was provided that neither party should interfere with the Indian allies of the other. Both parties laid claim to the Six Nations as allies. Jesuit priests were active in endeavoring to win these Indians over to the French which induced the New York Legislature, in 1700, to pass an act "to hang every popish priest that should come voluntarily into- the province." In 1698, through the offices of Count Pontchartrain, DTberville was appointed Governor, and his brother, De Bienville, intendant of Louisiana, and were sent with a colony direct to the mouth of the Mississippi to make a settle- ment there. Peace between France and England was of short duration, and in 1701 war broke out again between them, which was waged along the border in 67 68 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. America witH sanguinary ferocity and cruelty. It was concluded by the peace of Utrecht in 1713, by which England obtained control of the fish- eries, Hudson Bay, and its borders, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, or Acadie, and it was expressly stipulated that "France should not molest the Five Nations, subject, to the dominion of Great Britain, whose posses- sions embraced the whole of New York and Pennsylvania, though the French did not allow them that much territory. But the valley of the Mis- sissippi still remained to the French, the English Ambassadors not being alive to the importance of this magnificent stretch of country. William Penn had advised that the St. Lawrence River should be made the boundary line on the north, and that the English claim should include the great valley of the continent. It "will make a glorious country," said Penn. This advice was given by Penn when he had the ear of the English Monarch, and when he was much relied upon for private counsel. The failure to fix definitely the bounds caused another half century of bitter contention and bloody strife, in which the ignorant savages were used as agents by either party. In 1748 a four years' war was concluded between the old enemies, P'rench and English, by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, by which England was confirmed in her possessions in North America. But the boundaries were still indefinite. France claimed the Mississippi Valley in its entirety; that is, all the land drained by the tributaries of the great river. The British .crown claimed the territory on the upper Ohio on the ground of a treaty executed at Lancaster, Pa., in 1744, at which the share paid by Virginia was £220 in goods, and that paid by Maryland £200 in gold. On this purchase the claim of the Iroquois as allies, and the claim of the settlements on the At- lantic coast of territory westward from ocean to ocean, rested the right of the English in this imperial valley. The fact is, however, that the party which could show most strength in men and money was destined to hold it. By the middle of the eighteenth century the English, in respect to force, had greatly the advantage. As early as 1688 a census of French North America showed a population of 11,249, while the English population at this time was estimated at a quarter of a milHon. During the next half cen- tury both nationalities increased rapidly, but the English much, the more rapidly. Previous to the execution of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle adventurous OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 69 traders from Pennsylvania had explored the passes of the Alleghany Moun- tains and pushed out to the borders of the Monongahela and the Ohio. By the good offices of the colonial Governors of New York and Pennsylvania, the Six Nations had been kept in firm alliance with the English. The French had sought to win them over to their power, and had distributed many showy presents. Thinking that the simple natives would never know the difference, the French had made a large gift of bright looking hatchets, but which, instead of being made of fine steel, were only soft iron. The Indians soon discovered the difference, and were more incensed than ever against the French. Lest the latter, who were active and vigilant, might gain an ad- vantage on the Ohio, Conrad Weiser was sent to Logstown, a few miles below Pittsburg, on the Ohio, in 1748, with valuable and useful presents to win the favor of the natives. It was seen, however, that the valuable trade with the Indians at this time was in the hands "of unprincipled men, half- civilized, half-savage, who, through the Iroquois, had from the earliest pe- riod penetrated to the lakes of Canada and competed everywhere with the French for skins and furs." More with the purpose of controlling and legiti- mizing this trade than of effecting permanent settlements, it was proposed in the Virginia colony to form a great company which should hold the lands on the Ohio, build forts for trading posts, import English goods and estab- lish regular' traffic with the Indians. Accordingly, Thomas Lee, President of the Council of Virginia, and twelve other Virginians, among whom was John Hanbury, a wealthy London merchant, formed in 1749 what was known as the "Ohio Company," and applied to the English government for a grant of land for this purpose. The request was favorably received, and the Legislature of Virginia was authorized to grant to the petitioners a half million acres within the bounds of that colony, "west of the Alleghenies, between the Monongahela and Kanawha Rivers; though part of the land might be taken up north of the Ohio should it be deemed expedient." As it will be seen this act of the Virginia Legislature gave away this vast body of land, the most of which was within the State of Pennsylvania, and was the beginning of bitter contention between the two colonies for many years. It was about this period, in March, 1748, that a boy of sixteen years set out. from the abodes of civilization with his theodolite to survey wild lands in the mountains and valleys of the Vii-ginia colony. In a letter- to one of his young friends he says: "I have not slept above three or four nights 70- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. in a bed, but after walking a good deal all day I have lain down before the lire upon a little straw, or fodder, or a bear skin, which ever was to be had, v,ith man, wife and children, like dogs and cats; and happy is he who gets the berth nearest the, fire." The youth thus early inured to hardship and toil was none other than George Washington, destined to great labors for his country, and a life of patriotism and unbending devotion scarcely matched in the annals of mankind. A condition of the grant of the "Ohio Company" was that two hundred thousand acres should be located at once. This was to be held ten years free of rent, provided the company would put there one hundred families within seven years, and build a fort sufficient to protect the settlement. This the company prepared to do, and sent a ship to London for a cargo of goods suited to the Indian trade. Upon the death of Thomas Lee, the President of the Ohio Company, which soon took place, Lawrence Washington, a brother of George, was given the "chief management" of the company, a man of enlightened views and generous spirit. But the organization of this company, and the preparations to take pos- session of the Ohio country, did not escape the vigilant eye of the French, and if they would hold the territory claimed by them they must move at once, or the enterprising English would be there, and would have such a foothold as would render it impossible to rout them. Accordingly, early in 1749, the Marquis de la GaHsonniere, Governor- General of Canada, dispatched Celeron de Bienville with a party of some two hundred French and fifty Indians to take formal possession of the Ohio country, the Allegheny River being designated by the French by that name. Father Bonnecamps acted as chaplain, mathematician and historian of the party. The expedition started on the 15th of June, 1749, from La Chine, on the St. Lawrence. Passing up the river through the network of islands and along the shore of Ontario to Niagara Falls, they commenced the labor of debarking and transporting their entire outfit around the cata- ract. In this work they were engaged for nearly a week; by the 13th of July they were again afloat; but now on the waters of Lake Erie. At a point nearest to Chautauqua Lake they landed and commenced transport- ing their boats and stores overland a distance of eight miles, and over a water shed more than eight hundred feet above the waters of Lake Erie. The party was accompanied by the two sons of Joncaire (Jean Coeur) who OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 71 ' had lived with the Indians in this locality, and knew every path and water course. To them Celeron looked, for guidance in this novel voyage over- land. When surveyors had marked the track, pioneers cut and cleared a road, over which the whole was transported to the shores of Chautauqua, where they again embarked, and passing down the Conewango Creek, the outlet of the lake, made their way to the confluence with the Allegheny River, near the town of Warren. Here they paused to commence the work of possessing the country. It may be proper to observe in this connection that this experience in reaching Chautauqua Lake, with all their impedimenta, over the high ridge was so toilsome that in future expeditions they abandoned this route and went by the way of Presque Isle (Erie) and Waterford, where they struck French Creek, or the Venango River, down which they floated to the Alle- gheny, at Franklin. In the deposition of one Stephen Coffin before Colonel Johnson of New York, he says: "From Niagara Fort we set ofif by water, being. April, and arrived at Chadakoin (Chautauqua) on Lake Erie, "where they were ordered to fell timber and prepare it for building a fort there, ac- cording to the Governor's instructions; but M. Moraug, coming up with five hundred men and twenty Indians, put a stop to erecting a fort at that place, by reason of his not liking the situation, and the river Chadakoins being too shallow to carry any craft with provisions to Belle Riviere. The deponent says there arose a warm debate between Messieurs Babeer and Moraug thereon, the first insisting on building the fort there agreeable to his instructions, otherwise on Moraug's giving him an instrument in writing to satisfy the Governor on that point, which Moraug did, and then Mon- sieur Mercie, who was both commissary and engineer, to go along said lake and look for a good situation, which he found in three days. They were then all ordered thither; they fell to work, and built a square fort of chest- nut logs and called it Fort le Presque Isle. ... As soon as the fort was finished they marched southward, cutting a wagon road through a fine level country twenty-one miles [15] to the river aux Boeufs [Water- ford]. Thus, though the distance to Chautauqua Lake was not so great as to Waterford, the road tO' the latter was "through a fine level country," and not over a rugged ridge, as at the former. Thus it was settled that the gi-eat traveled route to Fort du Quesne should be by Presque Isle and Ve- nango River, rather than by Chautauqua and the Conewango. ^72 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Celeron and his party had not left the shores of Chautauqua, where he had encamped, probably in the neighborhood of Lakewood, before he dis- covered that his movements were being watched by the natives. Parties were sent out by Celeron to intercept the dusky warriors, but were unsuc- cessful. Having reached the Allegheny River at or near Warren, as we have seen, Celeron, with religious ceremony, took possession of the river country and buried a leaden plate on the south bank of the Allegheny River, opposite a little island, at the mouth of the Conewango, in token of French possession. Upon the plate was the following inscription in French; we give the English translation: "In the year 1749, of the reign of Louis XIV., King of France, We Celeron, commander of a detachment sent by Monsieur the Marquis de la Galissoniere, Governor-General of New France, to re-establish tranquillity in some Indian villages of these cantons, have buried this plate of lead at the confluence of the Ohio with Chautauqua the 29th day of July, near the river Ohio, otherwise Belle -Riviere, as a # monument of the renewal of the possession we have taken of the said river Ohio, and of all those which empty into it, and of all the lands on both sides as far as the sources of the said river, as enjoyed, or ought to have been enjoyed, by the King of France preceding, and as they have there maintained themselves, by arms and treaties, especially those of Rys- wick, Utrecht and Aix la Chapelle." All the men and officers were drawn up in military order when the plate was buried, and Celeron proclaimed in a strong tone, "Vive le Roi!" and declared that possession was now taken of the country in behalf of the French. A plate with the lilies of. France inscribed thereon was nailed to a tree near by. All of this officious ceremony did not escape the keen eyes of the ever vigilant and superstitious natives, and scarcely were Celeron and his party well out of sight in their course down the Allegheny before the leaden missive with the mysterious characters engraved thereon was pulled from its place of concealment, and fast runners were on their way to the home of the Iroquois chiefs, whO' immediately dispatched one of their number to take it to Sir William Johnson, at Albany. Mr. O. H. Marshall, in his admirable historical address on this subject, says: "The first of the leaden plates was brought to the attention of the public by Governor George Clin- ton to the lords of trade in London, dated New York, Dec. 19th, 1750, in which he states that he would send to their lordships in two or three OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 73 weeks a plate of. lead full of writing, which some of the upper nations of Indians stole from 'Jean Coeur, the French interpreter 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 plates gave the Indians so much uneasiness that they immediately dispatched some of the Cayuga chiefs to him with it, saying 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 plates 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 December, 175c [49], at his residency on the Mohawk by a Cayuga sachem. Governor Clinton also wrote to Governor Ilamilton of Pennsylvania: "I send you a copy of an inscription on a leaden plate stolen from Jean Coeur some months since, in the Seneca's country, as he was going to the Ohio River, which plainly demonstrates the French scheme by the exorbitant claims therein mentioned; also a copy of a Cayuga Sachem's speech to Colonel Johnson, with his reply." The Sachem's speech was as follows: "Brother Corlear and War-ragh-i-ya-ghey ! I am sent here by the Five Nations with a piece of writing which the Senecas, our brethren, got by some artifice from Jean Coeur, earnestly beseeching you will let us know what it means, and as we put all our confidence in you, our brother, we hope you will explain it to us ingeniously." (The speaker here delivered the square leaden plate and a wampum belt, and proceeded): "I am ordered further to acquaint you that Jean Coeur, the French interpreter, when on his journey this last summer to Ohio River, spoke thus to the Five Nations, and others in our alliance: 'Children — Your Father, having, out of a ten- der regard for you, considered the great difficulties you labor under by carrying your goods, canoes, etc., over the great carrying place of Niagara, has desired me to acquaint you that, in order to ease you all of so much trouble for the future, he is resolved tO' build a house at the other end of said carrying place, which he will furnish with all necessaries requisite for your use!' He also told us that he was on his way to the OhiO' River, where he intended to stay three years; .... that he was sent thither to build a house there; also at the carrying place between said river Ohio and 74 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Lake Erie (Presque Isle and Waterford), where all the western Indians should be supplied with whatever g'oods they may havfe occasion for, and not be at the trouble and loss of time of going so far to market as usual (meaning Oswego). After this he desired to know our opinion of the affair, and begged our consent to build in said places. He gave us a large belt of wampum, thereon desiring our answer, which we told him we would take some time to consider of." Assuring the Indian chieftains of the unalterable friendship of the Eng- lish towards their people, and the enmity and dupHcity of the French, of which many examples were cited. Sir William Johnson said: "Their scheme now laid against you and yours, at a time when they are feeding you up with line promises of serving you several shapes, is worse than all the rest, as will appear by their own writing on this plate." Here Johnson translated the French writing on the plate, commenting as he proceeded on the force and intent of the several parts, and explaining the purpose of the French in burying the plate. Proceeding, he said: "This is an affair of the greatest importance to you, as nothing less than all your lands and best hunting places are aimed at, with a view of secluding you entirely from us and the rest of your brethren, viz: the Philadelphians, the Virginians, who can always supply you with the necessaries of life at a much lower rate than the French ever did or could, and under whose protection you are and ever will be safer and better served in every respect than under the French. These and a hundred other substantial reasons I could give you to convince you that the French are your implacable enemies; but as I told .you before, the very instrument you now brought me of their own writing is sviflficient of itself to convince the world of their villainous designs; therefore, I need not be to the trouble, so shall only desire that you and all the nations in alliance with you seriously consider your own interest, and by no means submit to the impending danger which now threatens you, the only way to prevent which is to turn Jean Coeur away immediately from Ohio, and tell him that the French shall neither build there, nor at the carrying place of Niagara, nor have a foot of land more from you. Brethren, what I now say I expect and insist it being taken notice of and sent to the Indians on the Ohio, that they may know immediately of the vile designs of the French." Having presented a belt of wampum, by way of emphasis, and to con- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOTLE. 75 vince the natives of the honesty and fidelity with which he spoke, the sachem repHed: "Brother Corlear and War-ragh-i-ya-ghey, I have with great attention and surprise heard you repeat the substance of the devih'sh writing which I brought you, and also with pleasure noticed your just re- marks thereon, which really agree with my own sentiments on it. I return you my most hearty thanks in the name of all the nations for your brotherly love and cordial advice, which I promise you sincerely, by this belt of wam- pum, shall be communicated immediately and verbatim to the Five Nations by myself, and, moreover, shall see it forwarded from the Seneca's castle with belts from each of our own nations to the Indians at Ohio, to strengthen vour desire, as I am thoroughly satisfied you have our interest at heart." This incident of the planting of the first leaden plate, and its possession ^y the Indians, and bringing it to the attention of the English government, -hrows a flood of light upon the struggle for the possession of the Mis- sissippi Valley between the English and the French, and shows the temper of the Six Nations. Better than whole chapters of description of the atti- tude of the two nations is the translation of the inscription, and the speech of this native orator of the forest. From this scene of the first planting Celeron floated on down the Allegheny till he reached the Indian God, some nine miles below Franklin (Venango), an immense boulder, on which had been cut rude figures held in superstitious awe by the natives, and here he planted the second of his plates with the same formal ceremonies, which were continued at each burial. At Logstown, some twelve miles below the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela (Pittsburg), the third was planted. This had become a place of some importance. Here the agents of the English colonies upon the Atlantic were accustomed to meet the sachems of the surrounding tribes, and make their formal talks, smoke the pipe of peace, distribute the high piled presents and ratify solemn treaties. Here, too, the traders brought their goods and bartered them for valuable skins and furs, and, shame to say it, here these conscienceless fraders brought kegs of fire-water, and when the poor Indians were made drunken were cheated and abused. Discovering a number of the English trading with the Indians Celeron's wrath was kindled. He expelled these "intru- ders," as he termed them, and made a speech to the assembled Indians of many tribes, telling them that all the country along the "Beautiful River" belonged to the French, and that they would supply the Indians with all the 76 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. goods they needed. He forbade them to trade with the English, and sent a curt letter to Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, informing him that he was here by authority of the Marquis de la Galissioniere, Commandant Gen- eral of New France, warning him against allowing English traders to tres- pass upon this country, which was clearly the rightful possessions of France, and threatening force if this notice was not heeded. Continuing his journey down the Ohio, Celeron and his party took formal possession of the country by burying plates at the mouth of the Mus- kingum River, another at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, and the sixth and last at the mouth of the Great Miami. Believing that he had now cov- ered all the territory that was likely, for the present, to be claimed by the English, Celeron paused in his course, and toilsomely ascended the Miami River till he reached the portage, where he burned his boats, and, procur- ing ponies, crossed over to the Maumee, down which he moved to Lake Erie, by which and Ontario he returned to P'ort Frontenac, arriving on the 6lh of November. These metal plates, planted with so much formality, regarded as sym- bols of French power, which they were to defend by force of arms, remained for a long time where they were originally planted, with the exception of the first, which, as we have seen, was immediately disinterred and sent to Sir William Johnson. That buried at the mouth of the Muskingum was washed out by the changing of the banks in the floodtides, and was dis- covered in 1798 by some boys who' were bathing at low water in summer time, and having ho idea of its value, or the purport of the characters cut on its surface, they cut of? a portion of it, and run it into bullets. The re- maining portion was sent to Governor De Witt Clinton, of New York, and is still preserved at Boston, Mass. That which was buried at the mouth of the Kanawha was found in 1846 by a son of J. W. Beale, of Point Pleasant, Va. In playing along the river bank, he saw the edge of it protruding from the sand a little below the surface, where it had been carried by the current. It was dug out, and has been preserved in its original form. The intelligence of this expedition of Celeron, with the purpose of taking possession on this whole Ohio country for the French, aroused the attention of the proprietary of Pennsylvania, who at once brought it to the attention of the Duke of Bedford and Lord Halifax in London, and wrote to Governor Hamilton in Pennsylvania that if a house with thick walls of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. yj stone with small bastions could be built at Logstown or vicinity he would be willing to contribute four hundred pounds for the building, and one hun- dred pounds toward the expense of keeping up a small force and providing arms and ammunition. This recommendation looked to the building a fort on the Ohio, as was afterward done at Fort Pitt. Governor Hamilton conferred with his council ; but the legislative body was at this period swayed by the Quaker element, which was. opposed to spending any money which looked to the use of carnal weapons, and the Governor found^himself powerless to accom- plish the purpose of the recommendation. It will be observed that the proprietary himself had no scruples against the employment of force in maintaining his just rights, the sons of Penn having forsaken the religion of their father, John Penn, the grandson of the founder, showing a vigorous war spirit against the Indians, even going so far as to offer, without scruple, graduated bounties for their capture, scalping or death. It was ascertained through traders and 'scouts that the French had built forts at Presque Isle, at Aux Boeuf (Waterford), at Venango (Frank- lin), and that in the following spring they were intending to come in force to build a strong fort on the Ohio. Jean Coeur, whO' labored in the interest of the French, made a journey to Logstown, and after laboring with the Indians sent the following missive to Governor Hamilton: "Sir — Monsieur, the Marquis de la Galissonier, Governor of the whole of New France, hav- ing honored me with his orders to watch that English make no treaty in the country of the Ohio, I have directed the traders of your government to withdraw. You cannot be ignorant, sir, that all the lands of this region have always belonged to the King of France, and that the EngHsh have no right to come here to trade. My superior has commanded me to ap- prise you of what I have done, in order that you may not affect ignorance of the reasons of it, and he has given me this order, with so much the greater reason because it is now two years since Monsieur Celeron, by order of the Marquis de la Galissonjere, then Commandant General, warned many English who were trading with the Indians along the Ohio against so doing, and they promised him not to return to trade on the lands, as Monsieur Celeron wrote you." CHAPTER VII. THE EMBASSAGE OF WASHINGTON TO ST. PIERRE. THE goodly lands along the "Beautiful River," and its many tribu- taries, seemed now more attractive than ever, and the next few- years succeeding the planting of the plates by Celeron witnessed a vigorous and sanguinary struggle for their occupancy. And now com- mences the active operations of the Ohio Company, chartered by the Vir- ginia Legislature, by authority of the English government, previously de- tailed, for the settlement and permanent occupancy of this coveted country. How Virginia could lay claim to this section, so clearly embraced in the charter of Penn, is difficult to comprehend. Boldly assuming the right, the company sent out from Virginia, in 1750, as its agent, Christopher Gist, with instructions to explore the territory and sound the temper of the Indians towards its settlement by the whites. During this and the following year he traversed the country on either bank of the Ohio, as far down as the present site of city of Louisville, going even further than Celeron had done with his pewter plates, and making a far more extensive and thorough exploration of the country. In 1752 he was pres- ent at Logstown as commissioner, with Colonel Fry, in concluding the treaty with the chiefs of the Six Nations, which secured rights of settlement in this country. The French were ever watchful and the provisions of the treaty were not unknown to them, as well as the explorations of Gist. The English commanding officer at Oswego sent a missive to Sir Wil- liam Johnson in these words: "Yesterday passed by here thirty odd French canoes, part of an army going to Belle Riviere to make good their claim there. The army is reported to consist of six thousand French." This intel- ligence was communicated to the Governors of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. It was found later that as to^ the numbers it was incorrect, as there were but twenty-four hundred, and eight pieces of brass cannon. This force was intended for manning the works at Presque Isle, Le Bceuf and 78 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 79 Venango, and it was the intent to go in the following spring with a large force to build a fort on the Ohio. The systematic operations of the French in building a Hne of forts and providing cannon and a strong military force at each, substantially on the same line as Celeron had taken possession of with his plates, finally aroused the attention of the British government, and the Secretary of State, Earl Holderness, addressed the Governors of the several colonies urging that they be put in a state of defense. The communication to the Governor of Virginia was considered of so much importance as to be sent by a govern- ment vessel. It reached its destination in October, 1853, and was regarded of such pressing import as to require the sending of a special messenger to the French commandant, on this side of the great lakes, to remonstrate with him in an official capacity for intruding upon English territory, but probably more especially to ascertain precisely what had been done, and with what forces the French were preparing to contest their claims. Robert Dinwiddie, then Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, made no delay in selecting a suitable person for this embassage, and his choice fell upon George Washington, then Adjutant-General of the Northern^ Division of the Virginia militia, and only twenty-one years of age. It should here be observed that Lawrence Washington, the brother of George, who was President, and a leader in the Ohio company, had died July 26, 1752, and that by his will a large share of his estates and interests had fallen to George. He, consequently, had a pecuniary interest in holding the lands of the Ohio Company, in addition to the patriotic one of discharging a public trust. It should also be observed that Dinwiddie was a large stockholder in the Ohio Company. The youthful Washington made no delay in accepting the trust imposed on him, and though now the inclement season of the year, he quickly had his preparations completed for his departure. It appears from the follow-. ing note to the Lords of Trade that the Governor had previously sent a messenger on a similar erf and: "The person [Captain William Trent] sent as a commissioner to the commandant of the French forces neglected his duty, and went no further than Logstown, on the Ohio. He reports the French 'were then one hundred and fifty miles up the river, and I believe was afraid to go to them." But there was no fear on the past of George Washington, though then but a mere boy, and he was soon on his way. 8o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. That we may understand precisely the nature of his mission, we present the commission and instructions which he received: "Whereas, I have re- ceived information of a body of French forces being assembled in a hostile manner on the river Ohio, intending by force of arms to erect certain forts on said river within the territory, and contrary to the dignity and peace of our sovereign, the King of Great Britain. These are, therefore, to requii'fe and direct you, the said George Washington, forthwith to repair to Logs- town, on the said river Ohio, and having there informed yourself where the French forces have posted themselves, thereupon to proceed to such place, and being there arrived to present your credentials, together with my letter, to the chief commanding officer, and in the name of his Britannic Majesty to demand an answer thereto. On your arrival at Logstown you are to address yourself to the Half King, to Monacatoocha, and the other Sachems of the Six Nations, acquainting them with your orders, to visit and deliver my letter to the French commanding officer, and desiring the said chiefs to appoint you a sufficient number of their warriors to be your safeguard as near the French as you may desire, and to await your further direction. You'are dihgently to inquire into, the numbers and force of the P'rench on the Ohio, and adjacent country, how they are likely to be assisted from Canada, and what are the difficulties and conveniences of the com- munication, and the time required for it. You are to take care to be truly informed what forts the French have erected and where, how they are garrisoned and appointed, and what is their distance from each other, and from Logstown, and from the best intelligence you can procure you are to learn what gave occasion to this expedition of the French, how they are likely to be supported, and what their pretensions are. When the com- mandant has given you the required and necessary dispatches you are to desire of him a proper guard to protect you as far on your return as you may judge for your safety against any straggling Indians or hunters that may be ignorant of your character and molest you." It will be observed that the ship bearing the royal dispatch reached Virginia in October. This letter of instructions was dated October 30, 1753, and on the same day the youthful envoy left Williamsburg, reaching Fredericksburg on the 31st. Here he engaged his "old master of fence," one Jacob Van Braum, a soldier of fortune, as interpreter, though, as Irving observes, "the veteran swordsman was but indifferently versed in the French OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 8i or English." Purchasing horses and tents at Winchester, he bade good- bye to the abodes of civiHzation, and pushed on over mountain and across stream, through the wilderness, on his imiDortant and perilous mission. At Will's Creek, now Cumberland, he engaged Mr. Gist, who had been the agent of the Ohio Company in exploring all that region and negotiating with .the natives, to pilot him on, and secured the services of John Davidson as Indian interpreter, and four frontiersmen. With this escort he set out on the 15th of November, but found his way impeded by storms of rain and snow. Passing Gist's cabin, now Mount Braddock, and John Frazier's place at the mouth of Turtle Creek on the Monongahela River, and finding the river swollen by recent rains, he placed his luggage in a canoe, thus relieving the horses, and himself rode on to the confluence of the Monon- gahela with the Allegheny. "As I got down before the canoe," he writes in his journal, "I spent some time. in viewing the rivers and the land at the fork [now Pittsburg], which I think extremely well suited for a fort, as it has the absolute command of both rivers. The land at the point is twenty to twenty-five feet above the common surface of the water, and a con- siderable bottom of flat, well-timbered land all around it, very convenient for building. The rivers are each a quarter of a mile or more across, and run here nearly at right angles, Allegheny bearing northeast, and Monon- gahela southwest. .The former of these two is a very rapid and swift-running water, the other deep and still, without any perceptible fall." It had been proposed, by the agents of the Ohio Company, to build a fort two miles below the forks on the south side, where lived Shingiss, chief Sachem of the Delawares. But Washington says in his journal, "As I had taken a good deal of notice yesterday of the situation at the fork, my curiosity led me to examine this at Shingiss more particularly, and I think it greatly inferior, either for defence or advantages." The good judgment of Washington in preferring the forks for a fort was subsequently confirmed by the French engineers, who adopted the site at the forks. At Logstown, which was twelve miles below the forks, Washington met ten Frenchmen, deserters from a party of one hundred, who had been sent up from New Orleans, with eight canoe-loads of provisions, to this place, where they expected to meet a force from Lake Erie. This showed un- mistakable evidence that the French were determined to take forcible pos- session of the country. The wily chieftains asked Washington why he 6 82 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. wanted to communicate with the French commandant, and being naturally suspicious that they had not fathomed all the purposes and bearings of this mission they delayed him by their maneuvers. Indeed, an old Indian Sachem had previously propounded to Mr. Gist, while surveying the lands south of the Ohio, this question: "The French claim all the land on one side of the Ohio, the English claim all the land on the other side, — now, where does the Indian's land lie?" There was, undoubtedly, a suspicion in the minds of these dusky kings that the English as well as the French were pixparing to occupy this delectable country. "Poor savages!" ex- claims Mr. Irving. "Between their 'fathers,' the French, and their 'brothers,' the English, they were in a fair way of being most lovingly shared out of the whole country." Finally, after having been detained about a week by Indian diplomacy, Washington -set out on the. 30th of November with an additional escort of three of the Indian chiefs, — Half King, Jeskakake, and White Thunder, — and one of their l>est hunters. A toilsome journey of five days brought the party to Venango, at the mouth of the Venango River, or French Creek, where the French flag was floating upon a cabin which had been occupied by the same John Frazier visited on the Monongahela, where he had plied the trade of a gunsmith, but from which he had been driven by the French. Captain Jean Coeur was in command here, who said he was also in com- mand on the Ohio, but he advised Washington to present his credentials for an answer to a general officer, who had his headquarters at "a near fort." "He invited me to sup with them," the journal proceeds, "and treated ns with the greatest complaisance. The wine, as they dosed themselves pretty plentifully with it, soon banished the restraint which at first appeared in their conversation, and gave a license to their tongues to reveal their senti- ments more freely. They told me that it was their absolute design to take possession of the Ohio, and by G — d they would do it, for that, though they, were sensible the English had two men to their one, yet they knew their motions were too slow and dilatory to prevent any undertaking of theirs." But the French had yet something to learn of the temper and steady endurance of the English in America. Washington ascertained that there had been some "fifteen hundred men on this side of Ontario Lake, but, upon the death of the General, all were recalled to about six or seven hundred, who were left to garrison four forts, one on a little lake at the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 83 headwaters of French Creek, now Waterford, another at Presque Isle, or Erie, fifteen miles away. Jean Coeur was adroit in his influence over the Indians, and used his best arts to win the chiefs, who had accompanied Washington, from their allegiance to them, plying them with Hquor, and refusing to receive back the wampum belt which the Half King offered as a token of his tribe's allegiance to the French. But, after long parleying, they finally got off on the 7th. Washington records in his journal: "We passed over much good land since we left Venango, and through several very extensive and rich meadows, one of which I believe was nearly four miles in length and considerably wide in some places." This passage un- doubtedly refers to the valley where is now spread out the city of Mead- ville. At the fort at Le Boeuf, now Waterford, Washington was courteously received by the general in command of all the forces south of the lakes. "The Commander," proceeds the journal, under date of December 12, "is a knight of the military order of St. Louis, and named Legardeur de St. Pierre. He is an elderly gentleman, and has much the air of a soldier. He was sent over to take the command immediately upon the death of the late General, and arrived here about seven days before me." In the letter which Dinwiddie had entrusted to Washington the claim of the English to all this Ohio territory was reiterated, and a demand made that the French should depart from it, and no more molest its peaceful occupancy. The answer of the Chevalier was .courteous, but firm. He said that the ques- tion of the rightful occupancy of this territory was not one which he could properly argue, that he was an officer commanding a detachment of the French army in America, but that he would transmit the letter of the Governor of Virginia to his general, the Marquis Du Quesne, "to whom it better belongs than to me to set forth the evidence and reality of the rights of the King, my master, upon the lands situated along the river Ohio, and to contest the pretensions of the King of Great Britain thereto. His answer shall be law to me. ... As to. the summons you send me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it. Whatever may have been your instructions, I am here by virtue of the orders of my general, and I entreat you, sir, not to doubt one moment but that I am determined to conform myself to them with all the exactness and resolution which can be expected from the best ofiicer." 84 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Governor Dinwiddie had added to the business part of his commu- nication the following request: "I persuade myself you will receive and entertain Major Washington with the candor and politeness natural to your nation, and it will give me the greatest satisfaction if you can return him with an answer suitable to my wishes for a long and lasting peace between us." In his response, the- Chevalier added in reply to this clause: "I made it my particular care to receive Mr. Washington with a distinction suitable to your dignity, as well as his own quality and great merit. I flatter myself that he will do me this justice before you, sir, and that he will signify to }fou, in the manner I do myself, the profound respect with which I am, sir," etc. His mission over, he sent his horses on in advance, and himself and party took to canoes, in 'which they floated down French Creek to Fort Venango, now Franklin. It may be observed, in passing, that Washington, in going upwards from Fort Venango, followed the Indian path, which crossed the river at a ford near the Mercer Street bridge in the city of Meadville. But finding the stream swollen by recent storms, he decided not to cross, but kept on up on the Meadville side, and a spring within the northern limits of the citjr is pointed out where he stopped to lunch and take a draft of the pure water, and a little hillock on the turnpike which overlooks Woodcock Creek as the place where he encamped for a night. In returning he took the more comfortable way by floating down in canoes, while the horses returned by the path over which they had come. On arriving at Fort Venango, finding his horses jaded and reduced, he gave up his own saddle horse for transporting the baggage. Equipped in an Indian hunting dress, he accompanied the train for three days. Finding the progress very slow, and the cold becoming every day more intense, he placed the train in charge of Van Braam, and, taking his necessary papers, pulled off his clothes and tied himself up in a watch coat. Then, with gun in hand and pack on his back, he set out with Mr. Gist to make his way back on foot to the Ohio. Falling in with a party of French and Indians, he engaged one of them for a guide, who proved treacherous, leading them out of their way, and finally turned upon and fired at Washington, "not fifteen steps off." But he missed, or the Great Spirit guided the bullet aside. Ridding themselves of him, they traveled all night to escape pursuit. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 85 Being obliged to cross the Allegheny River, with "one poor hatchet" they toilsomely made a raft. "Before we were half way over," proceeds the journal, "we were jammed in the ice in such a manner that we expected evei-y moment our raft to sink and ourselves to perish. I put out my setting pole to try to stop the raft that the ice might pass by, when the rapidity of the stream threw it with so much violence against the pole that it jerked me out into ten feet of water. Notwithstanding all our efiforts, we could not get to either shore, but were obliged, as we were near an island, to quit our raft and make to it. The cold was so extremely severe that Mr. Gist had all his fingers and some of his toes frozen, and the water was shut up so hard that we found no dififaculty in getting off the island on the ice in the morning." Arrived at the Gist settlement, Washington bought a horse and saddle, and on the i6th of January, 1754, he records, "We met seventeen horses loaded with materials and stores for a fort at the fork of the Ohio, and the day following some families going out to settle. This day we arrived at Will's Creek, after as fatiguing a journey as it is possible to conceive, ren- dered so by excessive bad weather. From the first day of December to the fifteenth, there was but one day on which it did not rain or snow incessantly, and throughout the whole journey we met with nothing but one continued series of cold, wet weather, which occasioned very uncomfortable lodgings, especially after we had left behind us our tent, which had been some screen from the inclemency of it. . . . I arrived at Williamsburg on the i6th, when I waited upon his Honor, the Governor, with the letter I had brought from the French commandant, and to give an account of the success of my proceedings. This I beg leave to do by offering the foregoing narrative, as it contains the most remarkable occurrences which happened in my journey. I hope what has been said will be sufficient to make your Honor satisfied with my conduct, for that was my aim in undertaking the journey and chief study throughout the prosecution of it." It must be confessed that this embassage, undertaken in the dead of winter, through an almost trackless wilderness, infested by hostile savages, by a boy of twenty-one, was not only romantic, but arduous and dangerous in the extreme, and in its execution showed a discretion and persistent resolution remarkable for so youthful a person, giving promise of great future usefulness. The information which he obtained, and which was 86 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. embodied in a modest way in his journal, was of great importance. The journal was published and widely circulated in this country and in England, It plainly disclosed the fact that the French, in building strong forts and providing cannon and a military force for garrisoning them, meant to hold this whole Ohio country by force of arms, and that if the English would foil them in this design they must lose no time in preparation to oppose force to force. The lateness of the season and the com.ing on of severe weather alone prevented the French from proceeding down the Allegheny and taking post on the Ohio in the fall of 1753. The following spring would doubtless witness such a hostile movement. Here is the opening of one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the North American continent. Here are two great, proud European nations standing face to face, preparing to contend for the possession of the great Mississippi valley, well apprised that before the blossoms of another spring shall come will be heard the clash of arms. Thus far, the French had shown much the greater military activity, and their strong positions had been selected by competent engineers detailed from the French army, who had superintended the erec- tion of their strong forts. Arrived at the threshold of a great era, the near future will witness the decision whether this fair land, in the midst of which is what is now the County of Crawford, shall be peopled by the French, and be under the control of the lilies of France, or an English-speaking people shall spread over this broad domain, the whole Mississippi valley, the pride of the continent. CHAPTER VIII. WASHINGTON'S FIRST BATTLES. AS WE have seen, Washington met a train on its way to commence the building- of a fort at the present site of Pittsburg. After his return, orders were given by the Governor of Virginia to enlist a conipany of a hundred men and proceed without delay to the forks of Ohio and complete the fort there begun. Washington was empowered to raise another company of like number with which to collect supplies and forward to the working party at the fort. In the meantime, Governor Dinwiddle convened the Virginia Legislature, asked for money with which to conduct the military operations, and called upon the other colonies to join him. Lack of funds, want of royal authority to enter upon this warfare and other excuses kept the other colonists from engaging immediately, but the Virginia Legis- lature voted money, and the number of troops authorized was increased to 300, to be divided into six companies, of which Washington was- offered the command. But, on account of his youth, he declined it, and Joshua Fry was made Colonel, and Washington Lieutenant-Colonel. On the 2d of April, 1754, Washington set out with two companies of 150 men for the fort on the Ohio, Colonel Fry with the artillery, which had just arrived from England, to follow. But before Washington had arrived at Will's Creek intelligence was received that Captain Contracoeur, acting under authority of the Governor General of New France, having embarked a thousand men with field pieces upon sixty batteaux and three hundred canoes at the flood- tide in the Allegheny River, had dropped down and captured the meager force working upon the fort at the forks, both Trent and Frazier, the two highest in command, being at the tim.e absent. The garrison, of about fifty men, were allowed to depart with their working tools. Though bloodless, this was an act of hostility. The war was begun which was greatly to modify the map of this continent. "The seven years' war " says Albach, "arose at the forks of the Ohio; it was waged in all 87 8S OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. quarters of the world; it made England a great imperial power; it drove the French from Asia and "America and dissipated their scheme of empire." Contracoeur immediately proceeded with the building of the fort which the Virginians had begun. He had issued before the surrender what he was pleased to denominate a summons, in which he "sirs" every sentence, and orders the Eng-lish out of the Ohio country in the most absolute and authoritative way. "Nothing," he says, "can surprise me more than to see you attempt a settlement upon the lands of the King, my master, which obliges me now, sir, to send you this gentleman. Chevalier Le Mercier, captain of the artillery of Canada, to know of you, sir, by virtue of what authority you are conie to fortify yourself within the dominions of the King, my master. . . . Let it be as it will, sir, if you come out into this place charged with orders, I summon you in the name of the King, my master, by virtue of orders which I got from my general, to retreat peaceably with your troops from off the lands of the King and not to return, or else I will find myself obliged to fulfill my duty and compel you to it. . . . I prevent you, sir, from asking one hour of delay." Washington, though but a stripling, determined to move boldly for- ward, although his force was but a moiety of that of the French, and intrench upon the Redstone. To add to his perplexity, he received intelligence that a reinforcement of 800 men was on its way up the Mississippi to join Con- tracoeur at the forks. Sending out messengers to the Governors of Penn- sylvania, Virginia and Maryland to ask for reinforcements, he pushed on to the Great Meadows, arriving on the 27th. Here he learned that a scout- ing party of the French was already in this neighborhood. Not delaying a moment, he started with forty picked men, and though the night was dark and the rain fell in torrents, he came up with the French before morning, encamped in a retreat shielded by rocks and a broken country. Order of attack was immediately formed, the English on the right and the friendly Indians on the left. The French aroused, flew to arms, when a brisk firing commenced, which lasted for some time, and the French, seeing no way of escape, surrendered. In this spirited skimiish, Jumonville, the commander, and ten of his men were slain, and twenty-two were taken prisoners. Wash- ington's loss was one killed and two wounded. This was the young com- mander's first battle, and, if we may judge of it by the measure of success, it was the presage of a brilliant career. He naturally felt a degree of pride OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 89 and exultation. In a letter to his brother, he added a postscript in these words: "I fortunately escaped without any wounds, for the right wing, where I stood, was exposed to and received all the enemy's fire, and it was the part where the man was killed and the rest wounded. I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming- in the sound." When this was reported to the EngHsh King, George II., he dryly remarked, "He would not say so if he had been used to hear many." At the Great Meadows a fort was marked out and partially fortified, which was designated Fort Necessity. Supplies were scarce, and could be brought up with difificulty. Not satisfied to stop here, Washington pushed on to Gist's, at the headwaters of the Redstone, where som,e entrenchments were thrown up. But learning that the French were approaching in force, and seeing that no sufficient supply of provisions could be had, he was obliged to return to Fort Necessity, which he proceeded to strengthen. On the morning of the third of July, the French, under ' Captain de Villiers, a brother-in-law of Jumonville, with a force 900 strong, commenced an attack upon the fort. Outnumbered nearly three to one, Washington boldly ac- cepted the wager of battle, and all day long and until late at night made a gallant fight, when the French commander asked for a parley and de- manded a surrender, which was refused. Again the demand was made and again refused. Exhausted by the fatigues of the day and suffering for lack of provisions, Washington, on being offered the privilege of marching out with honors of war, decided to accept the terms, and on the 4th of July, a day memorable in the future annals of the country, though of humiliation now, departed with drums beating and colors flying. In this, engagement of 300 under Washington's command, twelve had been killed and forty-three wounded. The loss in Captain Mackay's independent company of South Carolinians was not known, nor the loss of the French, which was believed to have been much more serious. Returning to Will's Creek, a strong work, designated Fort Cumber- land, was constructed, which should be a rallying point. In the meantime. Colonel Fry had died, and Colonel Innes, of North Carolina, had been promoted to the chief command. The army which came under his orders was composed of the Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland Militia, and independent companies of South Carolina, New York and Virginia, under the pay of the King, and officered by soldiers bearing his commission. And 90 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. now succeeded months of negotiation carried on between London and Paris; but nothing was definitely settled, and in the early spring of 1755 it was decided in the British Cabinet to prosecute an active campaign against the French in America, with four objects in view: To eject the French from Nova Scotia, to drive them from Crown Point, on Lake Champlain; to gain possession of Fort Niagara, and to recover the Ohio country. For the accomplishment of these purposes Major General Edward Braddock was dispatched to America, with two regiments of the line, the Forty-fourth and Forty-Eighth, commanded by Sir Peter Halket and Colonel Dunbar, with directions to take the supreme command of all the forces. Two shipfe of war and several transports were in the Chesapeake. Alexandria was made the rallying point, and here the regulars encamped. Commodore Keppel furnished four heavy pieces of ordnance, with a detail of tars, to man the prolongs in passing the streams and mountains. Before starting on his campaign, the General held a conference at Alexandria with the Governors of the several colonies, — Shirley, of Massachusetts; Delaney, of New York; Sharpe, of Maryland; Dinwiddle, of Virginia; Dobbs, of North Carolina, and Morris of Pennsylvania. This conference considered little more than the question of furnishing troops and supplies for the expe- ditions. The force against Nova Scotia was earliest in the field, and was entirely successful, the country being reduced and placed under martial law, and two French men-of-war were captured by the English admiral, Boscawen. The force destined against the French on . the Ohio, to be commanded by General Braddock in person, was slow in moving. Wagons and horses were not in readiness, and could not be procured. Two hundred wagons and two thousand horses must be had, or the General would not move ; and when the expedition was on the point of failure for lack of them, Benjamin Franklin, theii postmaster of Pennsylvania, appeared and assured the General that he would provide the desired transportation if authorized to do so. That authority was quickly and joyfully given, and the desired horses and wagons were soon forthcoming. It should be observed that Braddock had studied the military art as practiced in the open countries of Europe, where smooth, hard roads everywhere checkered the landscape, and he made his requisitions for baggage, artillery and ammunition as though his expedition was to be made over such a country, instead of over OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 91 one bristling with mountains and torrent streams through a trackless wilder- ness. Had he gone in light marching order, with ammunition and pro- visions on pack-horses, he would have been better prepared to meet the obstacles which impeded his way. But instead of this, the impedimenta of his little force of less than 3,000 men was greater than was taken by a full army corps of 20,000 men in many of the campaigns of the late War of the Rebellion. Before starting, Braddock organized his force in two divisions. The hrst, under Sir Peter Halket, was composed of the Forty-fourth regulars. Peyronie's and Waggoner's Virginia companies, Dagworthie's Maryland company, Rutherford's and Gate's New York companies, and Poison's pioneers. The second, under Colonel Thomas Dunbar, consisted of the Forty-eighth regulars, and the balance of the force. General William Shirley acted as secretary to the General, and Orme, Washington and Morris as aids-de-camp. On the gth of April, Sir Peter Halket, with six companies of the Forty- fourth, moved by way of Winchester for Fort Cumberland, at Will's Creek, leaving Lieutenant Gage with four companies to escort the artillery. By the advice of Sir John Sinclair, who had been sent forward in advance to Winchester and Fort Cumberland to prepare the way for the march, the second division, under Colonel Dunbar, accompanied with the artillery and heavy trains, moved by way of Frederick, Maryland. But though the roads were better approaching Frederick than by Winchester, there were abso- lutely none beyond there crossing the Alleghany Mountains, and accord- ingly this wing was obliged to recross the Potomac and gain the Winchester road. They now marched on with all the "pride and circumstance" of glorious war. "At high noon," says the chronicler, "on the loth of May, while Halket's cominand was encamped at the common destination, the Forty-eighth was startled by the passage of Braddock and his staff through their ranks with a body of light horse, one galloping each side of his travel- in o" chariot, in haste to reach Fort Cumberland. The troops saluted, the drums rolled out the Grenadier's March, and the cortege passed. An horn- later these troops heard the booming of artillery which welcomed the General's arrival at Fort Cumberland, and a little later themselves encamped on the hill sides alaout the post. In place of this vain display, Braddock should by this time have been knocking at the gates of Fort Du Quesne. 92 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. But arrived at Fort Cumberland, he sat down one whole month of the very best campaigning season, preparing for the execution of his plans after the methods of European warfare. His utter lack of appreciation of the kind of warfare he was to wage is given in that delightful piece of auto- biography left us by Dr. Franklin: "In conversation with him one day, he was giving me some account of his intended progress. 'After taking Fort Du Quesne,' said he, 'I am to proceed to Niagara; and, having taken that, to Frontenac if the season will allow time; and I suppose it will, for Du Quesne can hardly detain me above three or four days, and then I can see nothing that can obstruct my march to Niagara.' Having before resolved in my mind," continues Franklin, "the long line the army must make in their march by a very narrow road, to be cut for them through the woods and bushes, and also of what I had heard of a former defeat of fifteen hun- dred French, who invaded the Illinois country, I had conceived some doubts and some fears for the event of the campaign; but I ventured only to sa)', 'To be sure, sir, if you arrive well before Du Quesne with these fine troops, so well provided with artillery, the fort, though completely fortified and assisted with a very strong garrison, can probably make but a short resist- ance. The only danger I apprehend of obstruction to your march is from the ambuscades of the Indians, who, by constant practice, are dextrous in laying and executing them; and the slender line, nearly four miles long, which your army must rhake, expose it to be attacked by surprise on its flanks, and to be cut like thread into several pieces, which, from their dis- tance, cantlot come up in time to support one another.' He smiled at my igfiorance, and replied: 'These savages may indeed be a formidable enemy to raw American Militia, but upon the King's regular and disciplined troops, sir, it is impossible they should make an impression!' I was conscious of an impropriety in my disputing with a military man in matters of his profession." It was June before the army was ready to set forward. The wagons and artillery were a great hindrance in crossing the mountains, and it was soon found necessary to send them back, especially the King's wagons, which were very heavy. The horses became weakened by incessant pulling over rough and untraveled roads, and' many died. The Little Meadows was not reached until the i8th of the month. Through the advice of Washington the General decided to change the order of march, and with a force of his OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 93 picked men, with as little incumbrance of trains as possible, to push forward. According'ly, with a force of 1,200 men, Braddock set out, leaving Colonel Dunbar with the balance of the command to bring on the heavy artillery and trains. At the camp near the crossing of Castleman's River, on the 19th, Washington was taken violently ill. "Braddock," said Washington, in relating the circumstance afterward, "was both my general and my physician. I was attacked with a dangerous fever on the march, and he left a sergeant to take care of me, and James' fever powders, with the directions how to give them, and a wagon to bring me on when I would be able, which was only the day before the battle." The army was attended on its march by a small body of Indians under command of Croghan. They had come into camp at Fort Cumberland attended by their squaws. "These," says Irving, "were even fonder of loit- ering than the men about the British camp. They were not destitute of attractions, for the young squaws resemble the gypsies, having seductive forms, small hands and feet, and soft voices. Among those who visited the camp was one who, no doubt, passed as an Indian princess. She was the daughter of the Sachem, White Thunder, and bore the dazzling name of Bright Lightning. The charms of these wild-wood beauties were soon acknowledged." "The squaws," writes Secretary Peters, "bring in money plenty; the officers are scandalously fond of them! The jealousy of warriorswas aroused; some of them became furious. To prevent discord, the squaws were forbidderi to come into the British camp. Finally, it be- came necessary to send Bright Lightning, with all the women and children, back to Aughquick." Washington was disappointed by the manner in which Braddock acted upon his advice to move rapidly with his best troops, and leave the heavy portion of his impedimenta to be moved more leisurely. Washington had given up his own horse for the use of the trains, and traveled with his bag- gage, half filling a portmanteau. But the officers of the line could not bring themselves to this simpHcity. "Brought up," says Irving, "many of them in fashionable and luxurious life, or the loitering indulgence of country quarters, they were so encumbered with what they considered indispensable necessaries that out of two hundred and twelve horses generally appro- priated to their use, not more than a dozen could be spared by them for the public service." Nor was the progress even with these drawbacks at 94 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. all in consonance with the wishes of Washington. "I found," he says, "that instead of pushing on with vigor, without regarding a little rough road, they were halting to level every mole-hill and to erect bridges over every brook, by which means we were four days in getting twelve miles." He had been about a month marching a hundred miles. Indeed, his movements were so sluggish as to cause impatience by his friends in Europe. "The Duke of Brunswick," who had planned the campaign, writes Horace Walpole, "is much dissatisfied at the slowness of Braddock, who does not march as if he was at all impatient to be scalped." Though still weak, Washington had come up with the advance; but on the 23d of June, at the great crossing of the Youghiogheny, he was unable to proceed. Here General Braddock interposed his authority, and forbade his young aid to go further, assigned him a guard, placed him under the care of his surgeon, Dr. Craig, with directions not to move until the surgeon should consider him sufficiently recovered to resume the march with safety, at the same time assuring him that he should be kept informed of the progress of the column and the portents of a battle. He was, how- ever, impatient at the restraint, and regarded with distress the departure of the army, leaving him behind, fearful lest he might not be up in time for the impendiiig battle, which, he assured his brother aid-de-camp, he would not miss for five hundred pounds." Indications of the presence of a hostile force of French and Indians,' hovering upon the flanks of the column, hourly multiplied. On the 24th, a deserted Indian camp of 170 braves was passed, where the trees had been stripped of bark, and tauntifig words in the French language and scurrilous figures were painted thereon. On the following morning three men, ven- turing beyond the sentinels, were shot and scalped. These hostile parties were often seen, but they always managed to elude the parties sent out to capture them. In passing over a mountain quite steep and precipitous, the carriages had to be raised and lowered by means of halyards and pulleys by the assistance of the sailors. Such was the nature of the hurried march with his best troops which Braddock had consented to make. On the 26th, only four miles were marched, and the halt was at another Indian camp, which the warriors had but just left, the brands of their camp-fire still burn- ing. "It had a spring in the middle, and stood at the termination of the Indian path to the Monongahela. . . . The French had inscribed their OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 95 names on some of the trees with insulting bravadoes, and the Indians had designated in triumph the scalps they had taken two days previously. A party was sent out, with guides, to follow their tracks and fall on them in the night, but without success. In fact, it was the Indian boast that throughout this march of Braddock they saw him every day from the mountains, and expected to be able to shoot down his soldiers 'like pigeons.' " Still -the column went toiling on, in one whole day making barely two miles, men and officers alike all unconscious of the fact that a pitfall was being prepared for them into which they would plunge to destruction, and laying no adequate plans to^ guard and shield themselves from such' a fate. On the 8th of July, Washington found himself sufficiently recovered to join the advance of the army, at its camp about two miles from the Monongahela, and fifteen from Fort Du Quesne. Though they were now on the same side of the river as the fort, yet not far in advance, a precipitous blufif extended down close in upon the river bank, leaving little room for the march, and where a column would be exposed for a distance of two miles to a sudden attack from the heights. Accordingly, it was deter- mined to cross to the left bank of the river by a ford, move down five miles, recross to the right bank, and then move on to the attack of the fort. According to orders. Gage, with twO' companies of Grenadiers, the company of Captain Gates, and two six-pounders, before daylight on the morning of the 9th, crossed and recrossed the river as planned, and took up a position favorable for covering the moving the remainder of the column. A party of some fifty Indians rushed out upon them, but were soon put to flight. Knowing now the nature of the ground upon which they had come, and realizing the hazards from a covert attack to which they were exposed, having come in such close proximity to the enemy, and doubtless recalling the buzz of the bullets and buck-shot about his ears in his fight at Fort Necessity, Washington ventured to suggest that as the Virginia rangers were accustomed to Indian warfare, they be given the advance. But the proposition was received with a sharp rebuke by the General, believing, no doubt, that the young provincial aid was ignorant of the principles of high art in warfare, and indignant that any subordinate should pretend to advise him. Braddock was now near enough to the fort to anticipate the battle at 96 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. any moment. He according-ly prepared to make a fine show. At sunrise the main body, all under his immediate command, turned out in full uniform. Their arms had been brightened the night before, and at the beating of the general, were charged with fresh cartridges. At the crossings of the stream, where it was supposed, that the enemy would be on the watch to observe them, in order that they might make the greatest show of power and strength, they moved with fixed bayonets, colors gayly given to the breeze, the trumpet sounding and the fife and drum marking the measured tread. "Washington," says Irving, "with his keen and youthful relish for military affairs, was dehghted with their perfect order and equipment, so different from the rough bush-fighters to which he had been accustomed. Roused to new life, he forgot his recent ailments, and broke forth in expressions of enjoyment and admiration, as he rode in company with his fellow aids-de- camp, Orme and Morris. Often in after life he used to speak' of the effect upon him of the first sight of a well-disciplined European army marching in high confidence- and bright array on the eve of a battle." Having now all crossed to the right bank, as was supposed within nine miles of the fort, the column was in battle order, Gage with his force pre- ceded by the engineers and guides, and six light horsemen leading; St. Clair; with the working party flanked with soldiers, and the wagons and two six-pounders following; then the General, with the main body, and the provincial troops bringing up the rear. Along the track they were to pursue was a plain for some distance, then rising ground flanked on either side by wooded ravines. At two o'clock the advance under Gage, having crossed this plain, was ascending the rise, the General himself having given the order to the main body to march, and being now under way, suddenly a heavy firing was heard at the head of the column, accompanied by un- earthly yells. Colonel Burton was immediately ordered forward to the support of Gage, who had been attacked by an unseen foe lurking in ambush, but drawn out in most advantageous order for extending their attack upon the flanks of the advancing English. They were commanded by a Frenchman, Beaujeu, attired in a "gayly-fringed hunting shirt," who led them on and directed the fight. The Indians observed no order, but, extending rapidly down the ravines on the flank of the column, poured in a murderous fire upon the regulars and pioneers, who stood out boldly, presenting themselves as targets for the concealed foe, who used their rifles OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 97 with deadly effect. The firing on both sides was brisk. The Indian was accustomed to see his foe dodge behind trees and seek cover wherever he could. He had never seen such fine sport before, where the victim stood up boldly, giving a fair chance to shoot him down. The Indian war-whoop was something appalling, and the regulars seemed to dread it more than the bullets. Gage ordered his men to fix bayonets, and form for a charge up a hill whence was the heaviest fire; but all tO' no purpose. They were being surrounded by an unseen foe, which crept stealthily along the hills and ravines, keeping up a most deadly fire. A panic seized the pioneers, and many of the soldiers. Braddock and his officers behaved in the most gallant manner, exposing themselves to the fire of their dusky foes in their attempts to reform the shattered ranks and advance them to the attack. Washington suggested that the Indian mode of skulking be resorted to. But Braddock would listen to no advice, being reported to have said upon this occasion, "What! a Virginia colonel teach a British general how to fight!" But that young Virginian counseled wisely in this dire necessity. For three long hours Braddock saw the work of slaughter go on, while he attempted to form his troops in platoons, in the open ground, and advance them upon the concealed foe. The provincial troops, in spite of the General, shielded themselves behind trees and did greater execution upon the foe than all the firing of the regulars. The latter were thrown into great con- fusion by this savage style of warfare, where no foe could be seen, and where they were only guided in directing their fire by the flashes and smoke from the rifles of the skulking enemy. The English soldiers huddled to- gether and fired at random, sometimes shooting down their own friends. The carnage of the regulars was terrible. Nearly one-half of all those who had marched forth in faultless uniforms, and whose bright armor had re- flected the morning sunlight, before nightfall lay stark and stiff in death, or were suffering from ghastly wounds. The foe was largely made up of Indians, and only about half of the number of the English, who were utterly defeated. Finally, General Braddock himself was mortally wounded, and immediately gave orders for the troops to fall back. Fortunately, the Indians fell to plundering the dead, and neglected to pursue the retreating army. General Braddock had five horses shot under him before receiving his death wound. It has been currently reported that he was shot by Thomas Faucett, one of the independent rangers. Braddock had given orders that 98 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. none of his soldiers should take shelter behind trees or cover. Faucett's brother had sheltered himself, when Braddock, to enforce his order, struck the refractory soldier to the earth with his sword. Seeing his brother fall, Faucett shot the General in the back, and thereafter the provincials fought as they pleased, and did good execution. Sir Peter Halket was instantly killed, Shirley was shot through the head; Colonel Burton, Sir John St. Clair, Colonel Gage, Colonel Orme, Major Sparks and Major Halket were wounded. Five captains were killed, and five wotmded; fifteen lieutenants were killed, and twenty-twO' wounded. The killed and wounded of the privates amounted to seven hundred and fifteen. Over four hundred were supposed to have been killed. The very large and unusual number killed outright can only be accounted for on the supposition that the badly wounded, who were unable to get away, were murdered by the Indians when they came upon the field, as all were stripped and scalped. When the two aids, Orme and Sparks, were wounded, all orders upon the field had to be carried' by Washington, who was conspicuous upon every part, behaving in the most gallant manner. He had two horses shot under him, and four bullet-holes through his coat. In a letter to his brother he wrote: "As I have heard, since my arrival at this place, a circumstantial account of my death and dying speech, I take this opportunity of contra- dicting the first, and of assuring you that I have not composed the latter. By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected be- yond all human probability or expectation, for I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me, and escaped unhurt, though death was levelling my companions on every side of me." Many of the remarkable stories told of eminent men are of doubtful authenticity, but the following is unquestionably true. Dr. Craig, the intimate friend of Washington, who had attended him in his sickness on the march, and was present in this battle, relates that some fifteen years afterward, while traveling with Washington near the junction of the Great Kanawha and Ohio Rivers in exploring wild lands, they were met by a party of Indians with an interpreter, headed by a venerably chief. The old Sachem said he had come a long way to see Colonel Washington, for in the battle of the Monongahela he had singled him out as a conspicuous object, had fired his rifie at him fifteen times and directed his young warriors to do the same, but not one could hit him. A superstitious dread seized him, and he was satisfied that the Great Spirit OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 99 protected the young hero, and ceased firing at him. It is a singular cir- cumstance that in all his campaignings Washington was never wounded. Of the conduct of the regulars in this battle some diversity of opinion exists. Washington, in a letter to his mother, which he never suspected would be made pubHc, and in which he would be expected to tell his real sentiments, writes: "In short, the dastardly behavior of those they call regulars exposed all others who were inclined to do their duty to almost certain death; and at last, in despite of all the efforts of the officers to the contrary, they ran as sheep pursued by dogs, and it was impossible to rally them." Braddock, though mortally wounded, was still able to give orders. After having brought off the remnant of his force and recrossed the river, he posted his command in an advantageous position, and put out sentinels in the hope of still making a successful advance when his reinforcements, under Dunbar, should come up ; . but before an hour had elapsed most of his men had stolen away, and fled towards Fort Cumberland. Indeed, the teamsters had, from the beginning of the battle, taken out the best horses from their teams. and rode away.' Seeing that no stand could be made, the retreat was continued, and Colonel Gage coming up with eighty men, whom he had rallied, gave some show of order. Washington was directed to pro- ceed to Dunbar's camp, forty miles away, and order forward trains and sup- plies for bringing off the wounded. This was executed. At Gist's plan- tation he met Gage escorting Braddock and a portion of the wounded. At Dunbar's, Camp a halt of one day was made, when the retreat was resumed, and at the Great Meadows, on the night of the 13th, Braddock breathed his last. He had been heard to mutter: "Who would have thought it?" and "We shall better know how to deal with them another time," as if he still hoped to rally and to fight. Lest the Indians should be watching and know of his death and burial place, the ceremony of his interment took place just before dawn in the morning. The chaplain had been wounded, and Wash- ington read the burial service over his grave. He was buried in the road- way, and the trains were driven over the grave, so that the savages should not discover his last. resting place. The grave is a few yards north of the present National road, between the fifty-third and fifty-fourth .mile stone from Cumberland, and about a mile west of Fort Necessity at the Great Meadows. "Whatever may have been his [Braddock's] faults and errors," lOO OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. says Irving, "he in a manner expiated them by the hardest lot that can befall a brave soldier, ambitious of renown — an unhonored grave in a strange land." Dunbar seems to have been completely cowed by the misfortunes of the day and the death of his general. He hastily burst all the cannon, burned the baggage and gun-carriages, destroyed the ammunition and stores, and made a hasty retreat to Fort Cumberland. When all were got together he found he had fifteen hundred troops, a sufficient number to have gone forward and taken the fort. But the war-whoop of the savage seemed to be still ringing in his ears, and the fear of losing his scalp over- shadowed all. He continued to fall back, and did not seem quite at ease till he had reached Philadelphia, where the population could afiford him entire security. The result of the campaign was humiliating to British arms, and Franklin observed in his biography, "The whole transaction gave us the first suspicion that our exalted ideas of British regular troops had not been well founded." Had Braddock moved in light marching order, using pack horses for transportation, and taken only so much baggage as was neces- sary for a short campaign, or, had he, when attacked, taken shelter and raked the ravines with his artillery, the fort would have been his with scarcely a struggle. It has since been disclosed with how slender a force Braddock was defeated. "The true reason," says Irving, "why the enemy did not pursue the retreating army, was not known until sometime afterwards, and added to the disgrace of the defeat. They were not the main force of the French, but a mere detachment, 72 regulars, 146 Canadians, and 637 Indians, 855 in all, led by Captain de Beaujeu. De Contrecceur, the commander of Fort Du Quesne, had received information through his scouts that the English, three thousand strong, were within six leagues of his fort. Despairing of making any effectual defense against such a superior force, he was balanc- ing in his mind whether to abandon his fort without awaiting their arrival or to capitulate on honorable terms. In this dilemma Beaujeu prevailed upon him to let him sally forth with a detachment to form an ambush and give check to the enemy. De Beaujeu was to have taken post at the river, and have disputed the passage at the ford. For that purpose he was hur- rying forward, when discovered by the pioneers of Gage's advance party. Gage was a gallant officer, and fell at the beginning of the fight. The whole ' OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. io\ number of killed and wounded of French and Indians did not exceed seventy. Such was the scanty force which the imagination of the panic- stricken army had magnified into a great host, and from which they had fled in breathless terror, abandoning the whole frontier. No one could have been more surprised than the French commander himself, when the ambus- cading party returned in triumph with a long train of pack horses laden with booty; the savages uncouthly clad in the garments of the slain — grena- dier caps, officers' gold-laced coats and glittering epaulettes — flourishing swords and sabres, or firing- off muskets and uttering fiend-like yells of vic- tory. But when De Contrecoeur was informed of the utter rout and de- struction of the much dreaded British army, his joy was complete. He ordered the guns of the fort to be fired in triumph, and sent out troops in pursuit of the fugitives. Braddock lost all of his papers, orders and correspondence, even to his own commission, his military chest containing £25,000 in money, and one hundred beeves. Washington lost his journal and the notes of his cam- paign to Fort Necessity of the year before. Indeed, with the exception of Orme's journal, and a seaman's diary, no papers were saved. In a letter to his brother, Augustine, Washington recounted his losses and privations in his several public services, in a repining strain: "I was employed to go a journey in the winter, when I believe few or none would have undertaken it, and what did I get by it? My expenses borne. I was then appointed with trifling pay to conduct a handful of men to the Ohio. What did I get by that? Why, after putting myself to a considerable expense in equip- ping and providing necessaries for the campaign, I went out, was soundly beaten, and lost all! Came in and had my commission taken from me; or, in other words, my command reduced, under pretense of an order from home (England). I then went out a volunteer with General Braddock, and lost all my horses and many other things. But this being a voluntary act, I ought not to mention it ; nor should \ have done it were it not to show that I have been on the losing order ever since I entered the service, which is now nearly two years." Ah! George, this does look like a sad case to you now! You did lose a few horses and their trappings; you did suffer on a winter tramp through the forest, and were fired on by the savage, and hurled into the icy cur- rent of the deep flowing river. You did get entrapped at Fort Necessity. I02 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE: and on Braddock's field innumerable bullets were aimed at you, when, pale with sickness, you rode up and down that bloody ground. But, my young friend, did you ever cast up your gains in these campaignings? You did suffer some losses in horses and bridles and the like. But there was not a true breast in all America that did not swell with pride when it knew the fidelity and resolution you displayed in the trusts imposed upon you, and the gallant manner in which you acted on that fatal field, when all around were stricken with terror and dismay, and your General was bleeding with a mortal hurt. You did, indeed, lose some sleep, and disease preyed upon your system in consequence of exposure; but there was not an English- man in all the civilized world who was not touched with some share of your anguish when the story of your heroism was rehearsed; not a Chris- tian in all the land who could not join with the President of Princeton Col- lege, the Rev. Samuel Davis, who referred in a sermon preached not long after the event, to "that heroic youth. Colonel Washington, whom I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preserved in so signal a manner for some important service to his country." CHAPTER IX. CRAWFORD COUNTY SHALL BE AN ENGLISH AND NOT A FRENCH SPEAKING PEOPLE. THE disaster to Braddock touched the pride of the British nation, and war was promptly declared against France on the 17th of May, 1756. Preparations were made to conduct a vigorous campaign. Ten thousand men were to attack Crown Point, six thousand to advance upon Niagara, three thousand to move against Fort Du Quesne, and two thousand were to descend from Kennebec upon the French upon the Chau- diere River. But before any movement could be made, the French, under Montcalm, crossed Lake Ontario, captured Fort Ontario, killing the com- mander, Colonel Mercer, took fourteen hundred prisoners, a quantity of arms and stores, and several vessels, and having destroyed the forts, re- turned to Canada without serious loss. This threw the whole frontier of New York and the Six Nations, who had remained loyal to the English, open to the French. The English army, upon the death of Braddock, having completely retired from the field, the whole frontier of Pennsylvania was open to the savages, who, having had the taste of blood, like wild beasts, would not be satisfied till they were gorged. The chieftain, Shingiss, with ,his> braves, in their war paint, crossed the summits of the Alleghany Mountains and de- scended upon the defenseless pioneers. Being now upon the warpath, with stealthy step, the savage came upon the unsuspecting settler, and his stony heart was untouched by the cries for pity. The tender infant and trembling aged were mercilessly tomahawked and scalped, and their cabins burned. Many women and children were borne away into savage captivity, and never returned to know home or friends again. The torch of savage warfare hghted up all the border, and even penetrated far into the settled portions of the country. An express to Governor Sharpe of Maryland says: "The 103 I04 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Indians destroy all before them, firing houses, barns, stock yards, and everything that will burn." ^ "The people," says Governor Morris of Penn- sylvania, in a communication to the Governor of Virginia, "are mostly with- out arms, and struck with such a panic that they flee as fast as they can from their habitations." Pushing forward at every point, they finally compassed the whole fron- tier east of the mountains, stretching from the Delaware Water Gap to the Potomac waters, a distance of 150 miles, and a breadth of 20 to 30 miles. So deadly had the Indian incursions become, and so threatening to the peace and safety of the colony, that the Governor, on the 14th of April, issued his proclamation declaring war against the Delawares, and offering a reward for Indian scalps and prisoners. Troops were raised, through the influence of Franklin, and a line of forts was erected along the Kittatiny Hills, extending from the Delaware to the Potomac, at a cost of £85,000, those on the east bank of the Susquehanna being Depui, Lehigh, Allen, Everitt, Williams, Henry, Swatara, Hunter, Halifax and Augusta, and those on the west bank Louther, Morris, Franklin, Granville, Shirley Lyttleton and Loudoun. Much dififrculty was experienced in overcoming the scruples of the Qua- kers; but Franklin issued and circulated a dialogue answering the objec- tions to a legalized militia, and at the earnest solicitation of the Governor he was put in command of the troops raised. Colonel John Armstrong, who was in command of the second regiment, stationed west of the Sus- quehanna, was ordered to proceed against King Shingiss, who had his home at Kittanning, on the banks of Allegheny River. Here he had quite a town, and here dwelt Captain Jacobs, chief of the Delawares. The French si^- plied them plentifully with arms and ammunition. The march was a toil- some one over mountains and unbridged streams. Armstrong's advance reached the Allegheny River "about one hundred perches below the main body of the town, a little before the setting of the moon, to which, rather than by pilots, we were guided by the beating of the drum, and the whoop- ing of the warriors at their dances. It then became us to make the best use of our moonlight; but we were aware that an Indian whistled in a very singular manner, about thirty perches from our front, in the foot of a corn- field, upon which we immediately sat down, and, after passing silence to the rear, I asked one Baker, a soldier, who was our best assistant, whether that was not a signal to their warriors of our approach. He answered, 'No ;' OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 105 and said it was the manner of a young fellow calling a squaw, after he had done his dance, who, accordingly, kindled a fire, cleaned his gun, and shot it off before he went to sleep." The night was warm, and the Indians pre- pared to sleep in different parts of the cornfield, building some light fires to drive away gnats. Sending a part of his force along the hills to the right to cut off retreat in that direction, Armstrong himself led the larger part below and opposite the cornfield, where he supposed the warriors lay. At the break of day the attack was made, advancing rapidly through the corn and sending a detachment to advance upon the houses. Captain Jacobs then gave the warwhoop, and, with other Indians, cried, "The white men have at last come; we will have scalps enough," but at the same time ordered the squaws and children to flee to the woods. The fire in the cornfield was brisk, and from the houses, which were built of logs and loopholed, the In- dians did some execution without exposing themselves. Accordingly, tht order was given to fire the houses, and as the flames spread the Indians were summoned to surrender, but one of them made answer, "I am a man, and will not be a prisoner." He was told that he would be burned. To this he replied "that he did not care, for he would kill four or five before he died." As the fire began to approach, and the smoke grew thick, one of the Indian fellows, to show his manhood, began to sing. A squaw in the same house, and at the same time, was heard to ciy and make a noise; but for so doing was severely rebuked by the men ; but by and by, the fire being too hot for them, two Indian fellows and a squaw sprang out and made for the corn- field, who were immediately shot down; then, surrounding the houses, it was thought Captain Jacobs tumbled himself out at the garret or cockloft window, at which he was shot — our prisoners offering to be qualified to the powder-horn and pouch, there taken off him, which they say he had lately got from a French officer. "During the burning of the houses," says Colonel Armstrong, "which were nearly thirty in number, we were agreeably entt^r- tained with a quick succession of charged guns gradually firing off as they were reached by the fire; but more so with the vast explosion of sundry bags and large kegs of gun powder, wherewith almost every house abounded. The prisoners afterward informed us that the Indians had frequently said they had a sufficient stock of ammunition for ten years to war with the English." Great was the rejoicing at Philadelphia at the result of this expedition; io6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the councils voted thanks for the success attending- the enterprise, and the sum of £150 for the purchase of presents for the officers, and for the relief of the families of the killed. On the commander was bestowed a medal bearing- on one side the words, "Kittanning destroyed by Colonel Ann- strong, September, 1756," and on the other, "The gift of the corporation of Philadelphia." On the 29th of June, 1757, WilHam Pitt was called to the head of the British ministry, and the inefficiency which had marked the management of the war in America was at an end. Twelve thousand additional regulars were dispatched to America, and the colonies were asked to raise twenty thou- sand more, Pitt promising, in the name of Parliament, to furnish arms and provisions, and to reimburse all the money expended in raising and clothing them. The word of Pitt was magical, fifteen thousand volunteering from New England alone. Louisburg, Ticonderoga and Fort Du Quesne were to be the points of attack in the campaign of 1758. Admiral Boscawen arrived at Halifax in May with forty vessels of war and twelve thousand men. Louisburg was invested, and though a vigorous defense of fifty days was maintained by the French, it was compelled tO' surrender with a loss of five thousand prisoners, a large quantity of munitions of war and the destruc- tion of all the shipping in the harbor. But not so well fared the advance upon Ticonderoga, which was made by General Abercrombie and the young Lord Howe. With seven thousand regulars, nine thousand provincials and a heavy artillery train, an advance was made upon the fort defended by Montcalm, with scarcely four thousand French. The attack was vigorously made, but Lord Plowe was killed in a skirmish with a scouting party, and after four hours of severe fighting, and the loss of two thousand men, Aber- crombie, finding the work stronger than he had anticipated, fell back dis- comforted, and after sending out a force under Colonel Bradstreet, who captured Fort Frontenac, and subsequently built Fort Stanwix, and gar- risoned Fort George, he retired with the main body to Albany. The fall of Frontenac, with the loss of a thousand prisoners, ten armed vessels, fifty serviceable cannon, sixteen mortars, a large quantity of ammunition and stores, and valuable magazines of goods designed for trade with the Indians, was a heavy blow to the French, as it deprived them of their great store- house for supphes. The campaign against Fort Du Quesne was entrusted to General John a OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 107 Forbes, with about nine thousand men, including the Virginia militia, under Washington. Forbes was a sick man, and was detained on that account in Philadelphia, while Boquet, who was second, moved forward with his forces. Washington lavored an advance by the Braddock road, but Boquet chose line more direct, further north. The labor of cutting an entirely new road through the trackless forest, and over craggy steeps, was toilsome. Colonel Boquet, who had prevailed upon General Forbes to allow him to cut a new road over the mountains, wholly in Pennsylvania, had made so slow prog- ress that so late as September he was still, with six thousand men, not over the Alleghany Mountains. At Raystown, now Bedford, General Forbes, already stricken with a mortal sickness, led by relentless resolution, came up with the column, and was joined by Washington from Fort Cumberland. To ascertain the condition of the country in front, and the temper of the foe. Major Grant, accompanied by Major Andrew Lewis of the Virginia forces, with a detachment of eight hundred men, was sent forward on the nth of September to reconnoiter. On the third day out Grant arrived close in upon the fort without meeting any foe. With his main force Grant ap- proached under cover of darkness within a quarter of a mile, overlooking the fort. Early in the morning Major Lewis was sent, with four hundred men, to lay in ambush along the path by which they had come, and the re- maining force, with Grant, was formed along the hill facing the fort. Then, sending out a company under Captain McDonald, with drums beating, in the hope of drawing on the enemy, he awaited the result, hoping that the garrison was weak. But in this he was mistaken; for they followed the decoy in great numbers, and boldly attacked. The regulars stood up boldly and were shot down from the coverts. The Americans took to the woods and fought In- dian style. Major Lewis joined in the fight. Major Grant showed the most intrepid bravery, exposing himself to the enemy's fire, but to no purpose. Many were drowned in attempting to cross the river. Seeing that he was outnumbered and hemmed in by the enemy standing on commanding ground, Grant retired to the baggage, where Captain Bullet had held his com- pany, and as the French came on with assurance, his little force made a deter- mined stand, doing good execution. Here Grant exideavored to rally his broken columns, but the terror of the scalping knife had seized hitmen, and one by one they slipped away. Bullet, finding his force dwindling, finally gave the order to retire; the resolute stand he had made enabled the main io8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. body to move without molestation, and the hail of bullets he had poured into the faces of the foe left them no stomach to pursue. The loss in this engage- ment was two hundred and seventy-two killed, forty-two wounded, and many, including Grant, taken prisoners. The loss in killed was out of all proportion to the wounded and the number engaged. Gathering confidence by the great slaughter and rout which they had inflicted, the French determined to follow up their advantage, hoping to find the main body thrown into confusion and ready to retreat, as the Brad- dock army had done under the timid Dunbar. Accordingly, they carrie on, rejoicing in their strength, twelve hundred French and two hundred Indians, led by De Vetri, and boldly attacked the camp of Boquet, on the 12th of October. From eleven in the morning until three in the afternoon the battle was maintained with great fury, when the French, finding that the English were not likely to run, withdrew, but at night renewed the attack, hoping, between the terrors of the night and the wild whoop of the Indian bi-andishing his scalping knife, to start a stampede. But Boquet was pre- pared, and, "when, in return for their melodious music," says the chron- icler, "we gave them some shells from our mortars, it soon made them retreat." The loss in this engagement was twelve killed, seventeen wounded and thirty-one prisoners. General Forbes now pushed forward with the main body of the army from Bedford to Loyalhanna, where he arrived about the first of November. Here the wintry weather set in unusually early, and the summits were already white with snow. A council of war was held, and it was decided that it was impracticable to prosecute the campaign further before the open- ing of spring. But it having been learned from captives that the garrison at Fort Du Quesne was weak, the Indians having mostly gone off on their autumn hunt, preparatory for the winter, the decision of the council was reversed, and Forbes gave orders to push on with all possible dispatch. Colonel Washington was sent forward with a detachment to open the road. When arrived within twelve miles of the fort a rumor was current that the French, either by accident or design, had blown up the fort, and all had been burned. This was soon confirmed by the arrival of Indian scouts who had been near enough to see the ruins. A company of 'cavalry was dispatched with instructions to extinguish the flames and save all the property possible. The whole army now pushed forward with joyous step, and arrived on the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 109 29th of November; but only the blackened chimneys of the quarters and the walls of the fort remained. It was found that a strong work had been built at the point between the two rivers, and a much larger one apparently unfinished, some distance up the Allegheny River. There were two maga- zines, one of which had been blown up, and in the other were found sixteen barrels of ammunition, gun-barrels, a quantity of carriage iron and a wagon of scalping knives. The cannon had all been removed, probably taken down the Ohio tO' New Orleans. The garrison, which consisted of some five hundred French, had separated, a part having gone down the Ohio, a hundred had gone to Presque Isle by an Indian path, and the remainder, with the Governor, de Lignery, had moved up the Allegheny to Fort Ve- nango. A somewhat more spirited account of this important event is given by Mr. Ormsby, as quoted in the Western Annals. "At Turtle Creek a coun- cil of war was held, the result of which was that it was impracticable to proceed, all the provisions and forage being exhausted. The General, being told of this, he swore a furious oath that he would sleep in the fort or in a worse place the next night. It was a matter of indifiference to him where he died, as he was carried the whole distance from Philadelphia and back on a litter. About midnight a tremendous explosion was heard fro^m the westward, on which Forbes swore that the French magazine was blown up, which revived our spirits. This conjecture of the 'Head of Iron' was soon confirmed by a deserter from Fort Du Quesne, who said that the Indians, who had watched the English army, reported that they were as numerous as the trees in the woods. This so terrified the French that they set fire to their magazine and barracks, and pushed ofif, some up and some down, the Ohio." Forbes now saw himself in possession of the fort and the commanding ground, which, for four long years, the English had been struggling for. Knowing -that he could not subsist his army here, he rapidly threw up an earthwork on the Monongahela bank, and leaving Colonel Mercer in com- mand, with two hundred men, he retired with the army to Loyalhanna, where he built a block house, which he stocked with stores and manned with a gai-rison, and th^n moved back across the mountains. General Forbes died in the following March. The Gazette said of him: "His services in America are well known. By 'a steady pursuit of well concerted measures, oo OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. in defiance of disease and numberless obstructions, he brought to a happy- issue a most extraordinary campaign, and made a willing sacrifice of his own life to what he valued more — the interests of his King and country." The campaign of the English, in 1758, had proved very successful. Louisburg, Frontenac and Du Quesne were in their hands. Pitt had now- become master of Parliament and the nation. Elated by his successes in America, he formed the bold plan of not only holding the Ohio Valley, but of conquering and possessing the whole of Canada. His plan was a bold one. Twenty thousand provincials and a strong detachment of land and naval forces of regulars, under command of General Amherst, stood ready to execute his orders. Amherst took the field, and with 11,000 men moved upon Fort Ticonderoga, which the French abandoned without a struggle. Amherst pursued to Crown Point, which the French likewise abandoned. Deterred from pursuing further by the heavy storms that now, October nth, began to prevail, he retired to Crown Point, where he built a fortress and placed his army in winter quarters. General Prideaux, with Sir William Johnson second in command, moved by transport from Oswego, by Lake Ontario, to Niagara, and laid siege to the fort. Prideaux was almost immediately killed by the bursting of a gun, and the command devolved upon Johnson. For three weeks the closely beleaguered garrison of French held out, when, on the 24th of July, a force of 3,000 French came to their relief. But Johnson so met them that they were put to rout after a desperate and sanguinary engagement, and on the following day the garrison, some seven hundred men, surrendered. General Wolfe, with 8,000 troops, and a fleet under Holmes and Saunders, moved up the St. Lawrence, and landed on Orleans Island, a little below Quebec, on the 27th of June. Montcalm, with a strong body of French regulars, held the town, which, in the upper part, comprising a local plateau 300 feet above the water, known as the Plains of Abraham, was fortified. By throwing hot shot from Point Levi, opposite the town, the English nearly destroyed the lower town, but could not reach the upper portion. An at- tempt to force the passage of the Montmorenci failed, with a loss of 500 men. For eight weeks all attempts to take the city proved fruitless. Finally, by the advice of Genei-al Tonsend, his faithful lieut^ant, he determined to scale the rugged bluff which hems in the river, by secret paths. Accordingly, on the evening of the 12th of September, ascending the river with muffled OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. in oars to the mouth of a ravine, and following trusty guides, Wolfe brought his whole army, with artillery, by sunrise", upon the plains of Abraham, much to the surprise and discomfiture of the French, whose attention had been diverted by a noisy demonstration where a previous attempt had been made. Montcalm immediately drew up his entire force to meet the ofifered wager of battle. Long and fiercely the contest raged, but everywhere the French were worsted. Both generals were mortally wounded. When, at length, Wolfe heard the glad accents of victory, he asked to have his head raised, and when he beheld the French fleeing on all sides, he exclaimed, with his failing breath, "I die content." The campaign of 1759, like the preceding, ended gloriously for the combined English and American arms, yet the French were not entirely dispossessed of power in Canada. Early in the spring of 1760 Vaudreuil, Governor-General, sent General Levi, successor to Montcalm, with six frigates and a strong force, to retake Quebec. He was met three miles from the city by General Murray, and a sanguinary battle was fought on April 28th, in which the English were defeated, Murray losing a thousand men and all his artillery. Levi now laid siege to the city, and just when its condition was becoming perilous, from the lack of supplies, a British squadron with reinforcernents and supplies appeared in the St. Lawrence. Whereupon Levi hastily raised the siege, and losing most of his shipping fled to Montreal. Vaudreuil now had but one stronghold left, that of Mon- treal, and here he gathered in all his forces and prepared to defend his "last ditch." Early in September three English armies met before the city. First came Amherst, on the 6th, with 10,000, accompanied by Johnson, with a thousand of the Six Nations, and on the same day came Murray, with 4,000 from Quebec, and on the following day Colonel Haviland, with 3,000, from Crown Point. Seeing that it would be useless to hold out against such a force, Vaudreuil capitulated, surrendering Montreal and the entire Domin- ion of Canada, into the hands of the English. Thus ended the war upon the land. But upon the ocean, and among the West India Islands it was prosecuted until 1763, when a treaty of peace was signed at Paris on Feb- ruary loth, whereby France surrendered all her possessions in America east of the Mississippi and north of the latitude of the Iberville River, and Spain at the same time ceded to the English East and West Florida. Thus was the Indian war, virtually commenced by planting the leaden plates by the 112 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. French along the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, and commonly designated in history as the Seven Years' Waf, brought to a close, by the vast plans of empire formed by the comprehensive mind of Pitt, though at a cost to the British nation of five hundred and sixty millions of dollars. And now was forever settled the question whether the population about to spread over the beautiful valleys bordering upon the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers — La Belle Riviere — should be an English or a French speaking people. CHAPTER X. FINAL STRUGGLES OF THE ABORIGINES. THE treaty of Paris put a period to the sanguinary campaigns of the Seven Years' War, so far as treaty stipulations could. But the In- dians, who had confederated with the French, could not be reached nor bound by stipulations made 3,000 miles away across the ocean, in which they had no voice. Though some of the tribes assembled and smoked the pipe of peace with the English, yet they had grown suspicious. The French had poisoned the minds of the savages against the English, telling them that the desire to obtain the fine lands was the mofive which incited this deadly warfare, and that if the French were finally beaten, then the Enghsh would turn upon the natives and drive them from all their pleasant hunting grounds. Though the French in America had accepted the conditions of the treaty, and^were, as a nation, willing to be bound by it, yet there were individuals in whose breasts the recollection of sore defeats still rankled, and who saw in the hostility of the red men a means of wreaking their ven- geance. The thoughtful Indians saw, or fancied they saw, that daily coming to pass which the French had told them. They asked themselves, not with- out reason, why the English were so intent to drive the French from the Ohio Valley, spending freely hundreds of millions of money and sacrificing countless lives, if they did not expect to occupy these luxuriant valleys themselves; and when they saw the surveyor with his Jacob stafif and chain advancing as the armies retired, blazing his way through the forests, and setting up his monuments to mark the limits of tracts, they were strongly confirmed in their suspicions. The English contemplated doing, so far as reclaiming. the forests and settling the country, what was eventually done; but they indulged the hope that the red man and the pale-face could dwell together in peace and unity. But that dream had a baseless fabric. Hunt- 8 113 114 ' OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ing, fishing and war were the occupations of the one, while the arts of peace on farm, in workshop and mill, were the delight of the other. The mutterings of discontent were heard among the Indians during the seasons of 1760- 1-2, and secret enterprises of dangerous consequence had been detected and broken up. Major Rogers, who, with a small de- tachment, had been sent to receive the surrender of the French posts along the great lakes of the Northwest, and raise the English colors, had met on his way the chief of the Ottawas, Pontiac, who dwelt on the Michigan Pe- ninsula, who demanded from Rogers why he was entering upon the land of the Ottawas with a hostile band without his permission. Explanations en- sued, the pipe of peace was smoked, and Rogers was permitted to proceed on his way. But ill concealed disaffection existed among all the tribes as they saw the emblem of the power of Britain floating from posts along, all the lakes and the great river courses. Even the Six Nations, who had always remained the fast friends of the English, especially the Senecas, showed signs of hostility. These, with the Delawares and Shawnees, for two years had been holding secret communications with the tribes of the great Northwest, laboring to induce them to join in a war of extermination upon the English. "So spoke the Senecas," says Bancroft, "to the Delawares, and they to the Shawiiees, and the Shawnees to the Miamis and Wyandots, whose chiefs, slain in battle by the English, were still unavenged, until everywhere, from the falls of Niagara, and the piny declivities of the AUeghanies to the whitewood forests of the Mississippi and the borders of Lake Superior, all the nations con- certed to rise and put the English to death." It was not easy to rouse the tribes to united action, many feeling them- selves bound to the English by treaties, aiad some by real friendship. It was necessary to work upon their superstition. A chief of the Abenakis declared that the great Manitou had shown himself to him in a dream, saying: "I am the Lord of Life; it is I who made all men. I wake for their safety. There- fore, I give you warning that if you suffer the Englishmen to dwell among you, their diseases and their poisons will destroy you utterly and you shall all die." The leader in all these discontents was Pontiac. He was now about fifty years old. He had been taken a prisoner from the Catawbas, and had been adopted into the tribe of the Ottawas, instead of being tortured and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ' iij burned, and had, by his cunning and skill, risen to be chief, and was now asserting his authority over all the tribes of the North. Pontiac had been a leading warrior, a sort of lifeutenant-general, in the battle of the Monon- gahela, in which General Braddock had been worsted and mortally wounded. Seeing what slaughter his people had then wrought he doubtless thought that it would be easy, if all the Indians could be united, to utterly exter- minate the English and reclaim their country. Accordingly, he sent out his runners to all the tribes in the Northwest, with the black wampum, the signal for war, and the red tomahawk, directing to prepare for war, and on a day agreed upon they were to rise, overpower the garrisons, and then lay waste and utterly exterminate the English settlers. That he might rouse the entire people he summoned the chiefs to a council, which was held at the river Ecorces on the 27th of April, 1763. Pontiac met them with the war-belt in his hand, and spoke in his native and fiery eloquence. He pointed to the British' flags, floating everywhere, to the chieftains slain unavenged. He said the blow must now be struck, or their hunting grounds would be forever lost. The chiefs received his words with accents of approval, and separated to arouse their people and engage in the great conspiracy. The plan was skillfully laid. They were to fall upon the frontiers along all the settlements during the harvest time, and destroy the corn and cattle, when they could fall upon all the outposts which should hold out and reduce them, pinched with hunger. The blow fell at a concerted signal, and blood and devastation marked the course of the conspirators. So sudden and unexpected was the attack that of eleven forts only three of them were suc- cessfully defended — Venango, Le Boeuf, Presque Isle, Le Bay, St. Joseph's, Miamis, Ouachtunon, Sandusky and Michilimackinac, falling into their hands, the garrisons bping mercilessly slaughtered, Detroit, Niagara and Fort Pitt alone holding out. Among the first to feel the blow was Michilimackinac. Major Ether- ington, who was in command, felt no alarm at the assembling of an unusual number of the tribes under their chief, Menchwehna, though he had been warned of their hostihty. But, -so confident was the Major of their pacific intentions, that he threatened to send any one who should express a doubt of their friendly purposes a prisoner to Detroit. On the 4th of June, the Indians, to the number of about four hundred, began, as if in sport, to play a game of ball, called baggatiway. Two stakes are driven into the ii6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. earth something hke a mile apart, and the ball is placed on the ground midway between them. Dividing their .party into two sides, each strives to drive the ball, by means of bats, to the stake of the other. This game they commenced, and the strife became fierce and noisy. Presently the ball was sent, as if by accident, over the stockade into the fort, when the whole company rushed pell-mell into the fort. This maneuver was repeated sev- eral times without exciting any suspicion. Finally, having discovered all of « the interior desired, they again sent the ball within, and when all had gained admission, suddenly turned upon the garrison, ninety in number, and mur- dered all but twenty, whom they led away to be made subjects of torture or servitude. For several reasons the fort at what is now Detroit was among the most important of all the fortified posts. Its location on the river, which connects the upper with the lower lakes, gives it the command of these great water- ways, and along its margin ran the cliief Indian warpath into the great Northwest. Attracted by the fertility of the soil and the mildness of the climate, the French farmers had early settled here. "The lovely and cheer- ful region attracted settlers, alike white men and savages; and the French had so occupied the two banks of the river that their numbers were rated so high as twenty-five hundred souls. . . . The French dwelt upon farms, which were about three or four acres wide, upon the river, and eighty acres deep ; indolent in the midst of plenty, graziers, as well as tillers of the soil, and eiiriched by Indian traffic." All this happiness and prosperity Pontiac regarded with an evil eye. To his mind all this country of right belonged to the red man. By the cutting down of the forests, and multiplying the sounds of husbandry, the game, which was their chief resource for living, was frightened away. The favored spots by the living springs and the fountains of sweet waters were grasped by the white man to make his continual abiding place, and would conse- quently be forever lost to the red man. If, by deep-laid strategy and un- blushing deception, they could once seize upon all the stronghplds and put the defenders to the slaughter, they could then pursue their trade of blood upon the defenseless frontiers until the whole land would be cleared of the pale-face, and his race exterminated. The old fort was situated upon the banks of the river within the limits of the present city of Detroit. It consisted of a stockade twenty feet high, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 117 some two hundred yards in circumference, and inclosing seventy or more houses. The garrison, under command of Colonel Gladwin, was composed of the remains of the eightieth regiment of the line, reduced now to about one hundred and twenty men and eight officers. Two six-pounder and one three-pounder guns, and three useless mortars constituted the arma- ment of the fort, and two gunboats lay in the stream. Against this, Pon- tiac, with a smile on his face, but treachery in his black heart, came in per- son with fifty of his warriors on the first of May. He announced his pur- pose to come in a more formal manner in a few days for the purpose of brightening the chain of Friendship — which usually meant that the chiefs were ready to receive high piled up presents, and to renew pledges of lasting peace. As this was a ceremony of frequent occurrence Gladwin had no sus- picion of treachery. Tribes of the Pottawattamies and Wyandots dwelt a few miles below the fort, and at a short distance above, on the western side, the Ottawas, Pontiac's own tribe. The day was drawing near when the universal uprising, which had been agreed upon in council, should take place. Pontiac had laid his scheme skillfully, and as he thought there could be no possibility of failure. He had already been admitted to the fort, and had spied out its strength and appointments and had bespoken admittance with his warriors. He had agreed with his confederates that when he should rise to speak he would hold in his hands a belt of wampum, white on one side and green on the other, and when he should turn the green side upper- most that should be the signal for the massacre of the garrison. But, in savage as in civilized diplomacy. The best laid schemes of mice and men Gang aft a-gley. A dusky maiden of the forest had formed an abiding friendship for Colo- nel Gladwin. She had often visited the fort, and had, with native art, executed pieces of her handiwork for the use of the Colonel. She had received from his hands a ciuious elk skin, from which she had wrought with her cunning art a pair of moccasins, arid on the night previous to the contemplated mas- sacre she had visited the fort to carry the work and return the unused portion of the skin. So pleased was Gladwin with her skill that he asked her to take the skin and make him another pair, and if any were then left she might appropriate it to her own use. Having paid her for her work, she was sup- ii8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. posed to have gone to her wigwam. But when the watchmen, whose duty it was to clear the fort and shut the gates, went at the evening signal gun, they found this maiden lingering in the enclosure, and unwilling to depart. On being informed of this Galdwin ordered her to be led to his presence, and, in answer to the inquiry why she did not go away, as had been her custom, she made the lame excuse that she did not like to take away the skin which the Colonel seemed to set so high a value on, lest some injury or destruction might come to it. When asked why she had not made that objection before, seeing that she must novv disclose her trouble, she in- genuously declared, "If I take it away I shall never be able to return it to you." Inferring that something unusual was foretold in this answer, she was urged to explain her meaning. Whereupon she revealed the whole se- cret; that Pontiac and his chiefs were to come to the fort on the morrow, and while the dusky warrior was delivering his pretended speech of peace he was to present a white and green belt which, on being turned in a peculiar way, was to be the signal for the murder of the commandant and all the garrison. That the hostile intent might be entirely hidden beneath the garb of peace the ingenious sa-\'ages had cut off a piece from the barrels of their guns, so that they could carry them concealed beneath their blankets. Hav- ing given the particulars of the conspiracy she departed. Having been thus put in possession of the horrible purpose, Gladwin communicated the intelligence to his men, and sent word to all the traders to be on their guard. At night a cry, as of defiance, was heard, and the gar- rison anticipated an immediate attack. The fires were extinguished, and the men silently sought their places in readiness to meet the onset. But none came, and it was supposed that the chiefs were acting their parts by their camp fires, which they were to play on the morrow. At the appointed hour Pontiac came, accompanied by thirty-six chiefs and a cloud of dusky warriors bearing his speech belt and the pipe of peace. Gladwin was prepared to receive him, his men all under arms, guns cleaned and freshly loaded, and officers with their swords. On entering the fort Pon- tiac started back uttering a cry of anguish, convinced that he had been be- trayed by the evidences of preparation about him; but there was no way of retreat now. When the number agreed upon had been admitted the gates were closed. When arrived at the council chamber Pontiac coimplained that the garrison was all under arms, a thing unusual in an embassage of peace. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 119 Gladwin explained that the g-arrison was that morning holding a regimental drill. But Pontiac knew better than that. He commenced his speech with that air ol dissimulation which he had the ability to command, and expressed the desire for peace and friendship with the English, which he hoped would be as lasting as the coming and going of the night and morning. But when he advanced to present the belt the officers grasped their swords and drew them partially from their scabbards. Seeing that his treachery was known, but not in the least disconcerted, he did not give the signal that he had , agreed upon, and closed his speech in the most friendly and pacific tone. When Colonel Gladwin came to reply he boldly charged the chieftain with his black-hearted perfidy. But the latter protested his innocence, and expressed a sense of injury that he should be suspected of so base a crime; but when Gladwin advanced to^ the nearest chieftain, and, pulHng aside his blanket, disclosed his shortened gun with which each of them was secretly armed, his discomfiture was complete. He was suffered to depart; but unwisely has been the unanimous judgment of historians. Indeed, so little reliance has come to be placed on the word of an Indian, that it has been declared that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian." Hoping still to dis- arm the suspicions of the commandant, and gain admission to the fort through treachery, Pontiac came again on the following morning accom- panied by only three of his chiefs, and smoked the pipe of peace in the most innocent garb, and declared that his whole Ottawa nation desired to come on the following morning- to smoke. But Gladwin declared that this was unnecessary, as he was willing to accept the word of the chiefs, and if they were so anxious to be at peace their own conduct would be the best pledge of their pacific intentions. Seeing that his treacherous purposes were understood, and that he could not gain admission to the fort by any professions of friendship, he threw off the cloak of deceit, under which he had intended to slaughter the garrison and possess the post, and attacked the fort with all his warriors. The few English who were outside were murdered, all communication was cut ofif, death was threatened to any who should attempt to carry supplies to the garrison, and the keenest strategy was employed to tempt the troops to open combat. Carts loaded with combustibles were pushed up to the palisades in the attempt to burn them; but all to no purpose. Gladwin was wary, and met every artifice of the wily foe with a counter check. In one 120 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. part the savages attempted to gain entrance by chopping down the picket posts. In this Gladwin ordered his men to assist them by cutting on the in- side. When these fell a rush was made by the Indians to enter; but a brass four-pounder, which had been charged with grape and canister, and so planted as to command the breach, was discharged at the opportune mo- ment, which effected great slaughter. Pohtiac now settled down to a close siege. Unfortunately Gladwin had only supplies for three weeks. The sav- age chieftain, believing that he had learned something of civilized warfare, on the loth of May summoned the garrison to surrender. Gladwin asked for a parley, intimating, through the offices of a French emissary, that he was willing to redress any grievances of the Indians, not suspecting that the attack on him was a part of a deep-laid conspiracy reaching all the posts of the frontier. Pontiac consented, and Major Campbell and Lieutenant Mc- Dougal were sent. Hostilities were suspended and Gladwin improved the opportunity to lay in ample supplies for the siege, when he ended the confer- ence. ■ Embittered by the, utter failure of his deep-laid schemes, Pontiac, who was the head and front of this far-reaching conspiracy, drew in from his tribe a heavy force of his best young braves, and watched closely for every opportunity to harass and compass the destruction of the garrison. On the 29th of July Captain Dalzell, with 200 men, marched to the relief of the garrison, and, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the dusky warriors, and entered the fort. Over- confident, he marched boldly out and offered battle. He was defeated, los- ing fifty-nine of his men, including the bold leader. The peace of Paris had been cbncluded in April, yet the French, on account of their hatred of the English, had still hope of driving them away through Indian warfare, which was still kept alive. But the stubborn de- fense of Detroit convinced the more considerate of the French that it was their best policy to submit. Accordingly, the French messenger, Neyon, informed Pontiac that no further assistance could be expected from the King of France, a tale of whose coming with a great army to annihilate the English having been persistently dinned into his ears, that peace had been concluded, that France had surrendered everything in America, and that the English were now the only rightful rulers. The sullen Pontiac received the tidings with disgust, broke the siege in no spirit of submission, and de- OUR COUNTY 'AND ITS PEOPLE. 121 clared that he would return again in the spring and renew his warfare. The settlers, supposing that the French, having surrendered in good faith, and that the Indians would not dare to continue the war on their own account, hastened back in fancied security to their cabins. But the decree of Pontiac disappointed all their hopes and made the summer of 1763 the most bloody of all the seven. The whole country in Pennsylvania west of Shippensburg became the prey of the fierce barbarians. They set fire to houses, barns, corn, hay and everything combustible. The wretched inhab- itants whom they surprised at night, at their meals or in the labors of the fields, were massacred with the utmost cruelty and barbarity, and those who fled were scarce more happy. Overwhelmed by sorrow, without shelter or means of transportation, their tardy flight was impeded by fainting women and weeping' children. Shippensburg and Carlisle became the barrier towns. On the 2Sth of July, 1763, there were in Shippensburg 1,384 of poor, dis- tressed, fleeing inhabitants, viz.: men, 301; women, 345; children, 738, many of whom were obliged to lie in barns, stables, cellars and under old, leaky sheds, the dwelling houses being all crowded, A concerted attack was arranged by the Indians on the 22d of June. Presque Isle, Le Boeuf and Venango fell. At Fort Pitt the demand for surrender was boldly made by the dusky warriors. But the commandant, Ecuyer, was of sterner stuff, and he made answer : "I will not abandon this post; I have warriors, provisions and ammunition in plenty to defend it three years against all the Indians in the woods. Go home to your towns and take care of your women and children." The siege was now pushed with redoubled vigor, digging holes by night and running their trenches close up to the walls of the fort, and keep- ing up a galling fire of musketry and fiery arrows from their safe hiding places. For the relief of the fort. Colonel Boquet was dispatched with frag- ments of Forty-seventh and Seventy-seventh regiments of Highlanders. At Bushy Run, twenty-one miles from Fort Pitt, he was suddenly attacked by an unseen foe. A charge upon the attacking party sent them fleeing, but when pushed in one direction they appeared in another, until they had the little force of Boquet completely surrounded. He accordingly formed his forces in a circle facing outward, and drew up his trains in the center. Seeing that the savages were eager to rush forward whenever . they saw the least disposition of the troops to yield, he determined to feign a retreat. He 122 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. accordingly ordered the two companies occupying the advance to retire within the circle, and the lines again to close up, as if the whole force was commencing the retreat. But he posted a force of light infantry in ambus- cade, who, if the Indians should follow the retreating troops, would have them at their mercy. The Indians, seeing the troops retreating and the feeble lines closing in behind them, as if covering the retirement, rushed forward in wildest confusion and in great numbers. But when the Grena- diers, who had been posted on either side, saw their opportunity they ad- vanced from their concealment and charged with the greatest steadiness, shooting down the savages in great numbers, who soon broke in confusion and disorderly flight. But now the companies of light infantry, which had been posted on the opposite side, rose up from their ambush and received the flying mass with fresh volleys. Seized with terror at this unexpected disaster, and having lost many of their best fighting men and war chiefs, they became disheartened, and seeing the regulars giving close pursuit, they broke and fled in all directions. All efforts of their surviving chiefs to rally and form them were unavailing. They could no longer be controlled, but breaking up they fled singly and in parties to their homes, many of them not pausing till they had reached the country of the Muskingum. General Gage, who had succeeded General Amherst in supreme com- mand of the English in America, sent two expeditions in 1764, one under command of Colonel Bradstreet to advance by Niagara, Presque Isle and Sandusky; and another under Colonel Boquet, by way of Fort Pitt and the country of the Muskingum. At Detroit, Bradstreet was met by the Ottawas, Ojibwas, Pottawattamies, Sacs and Wyandots, who made treaties of peace; but they were either unable to control their young warriors, or they never meant to comply with the terms they had agreed to, and the whole campaign proved fruitless, Bradstreet returning to Niagara and Gage issuing orders to annul all his treaties. Not so with Boquet, who knew the Indian tactics better. At Fort Pitt he had received a message from Bradstreet informing him that treaties of peace had been concluded with all the western tribes, and that it would be unnecessary to proceed further. But Boquet knew that the colonel had been duped, and pushed forward with his army. He here learned that the messenger whom he had sent to Bradstreet had been murdered, and his head had been set up upon a pole in the road. The chiefs of the Delawares, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 123 Senecas and Shawnees waited upon him and advised peace, and that he proceed no further, alleging that their young men had committed the out- rages charged without authority. Boquet boldly charged faithlessness, and asked why they did not punish their young men if they disobeyed. Disre- garding their entreaties, he marched boldly on down the Ohio into the very heart of the Indian country, and so stern were his words and so^ summary his threats, and the taste of his fighting had inspired such dread, that the tribes sent their chiefs to sue for peace. Boquet met them in the midst of his army. He charged them with constantly breaking their promises. "I give you," was his demand, "twelve days to deliver into my hands all the prisoners in your possession without any exception: Englishmen, Frenchmen, women and children, whether adopted in your tribes, married or living amongst you under any denomination or pretense whatsoever," The stem tone of the brave colonel had the desired effect. By the 9th of November, all the captives had been brought and delivered up, — Virginians, thirty-two males and fifty-eight females; Pennsylvanians, forty-nine males and sixty-seven females. The long captivity of many of those who were brought in had effaced from their minds recollection of former relatives and friends, and they pre- ferred to remain with the savages, having now come to know no other way of life. The savages religiously observed their promises, bringing in all their captives, even to the children who had been born to the women during their captivity. So wedded were many of the captives -to the Indians, that the Shawnees were obliged to bind many of them in order to bring them in. Some, after being delivered up, escaped and returned to their life in the woods. The Indians parted with their adopted famihes not without many tears. Many affecting scenes transpired when the captives were brought, and those who had lost friends and relatives recognized their own after long separation. The children who had been carried away in tender years and had grown up in savage life, knowing no other, could not recog- nize their own parents, and timidly approached them. The Shawnee's chief gave those who had recovered children some good advice: "Father, we have brought your flesh and blood to you; they have all been united to us by adoption, and, although we now deliver them up to you, we will always look upon them as our relatives whenever the Great Spirit is pleased that we may visit them. We have taken as much care of them as if they were 124 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. our own flesh and blood. They are now become unacquainted with your customs and manners, and therefore we request that you will use them tenderly and kindly, which will induce them to live contentedly with you;" Many of the Indians who had given up captives whom they loved fol- lowed the army back, that they might be with them as long as possible, bringing them com, skins, horses and articles which the captives had re- garded as their own, hunting and bringing in game for them. A young Mingo had loved a young Virginia woman and made her his wife. In defiance of the dangers to life which he submitted himself to in going aimong the exasperated settlers, he persisted in following her back. "A number of the restored prisoners were brought to Carlisle, and Colonel Boquet advertised for those whO' had lost children to come to this place to look for them. Among those that came was a German woman, a native of Reutlingen, in Wittemburg, Germany, who with her husband had emigrated to America, where two of her daughters, Barbara and Regina, were abducted by the Indians. The mother was now unable to designate her children, even if they should be among the number of the recaptured. ' With her brother, the distressed, aged woman lamented to Colonel Boquet her hopeless case, telling him she used, years ago, to sing to her little daughters hymns of which they were fond. The colonel requested her to sing one of the hymns, which she did in these words: Allein, und doch nicht ganz alleine Bin ich in meiner Einsamkeit; Dann wann ich gleich veriassen scheine, Vertreibt mir Jesus selbst die zeit: Ich bin bei ihm und er bei mir, So hommt mir gar nichts einsam fur. Alone yet not alone am I, Though in this solitude so drear; I feel my Savior always nigh. He comes my dreary hours to cheer — I'm with Him and He with me Thus I cannot solitary be. And Regina, the only daughter present, rushed into the arms of the mother. , Barbara, the other daughter, was never restored." Though Pontiac still persisted in his hostility in the Detroit country, yet he could have no prospect of success. Official notice by the French court was given of relinquishment of all power in Canada. De Noyen, the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 125 commandant at Fort Chartres, "sent belts," says Bancroft, "and peace pipes to all parts of the continent, exhorting the many nations of savages to bury the hatchet, and take the English by the hand, for they would never see him more. . . . The courier, who took the belt to^ the north, offered peace to all the tribes wherever he passed; and to Detroit, where he arrived on the last day of October, 1764, he bore a letter of the nature of a proclama- tion, informing the inhabitants of the cession of Canada to Englamd; another, addressed to twenty-five nations by name, to all the red men, and particularly to Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas; a third to the commander, expressing a readiness to surrender to the English all the forts on the Ohio and west of the Mississippi. The next morning, Pontiac sent to Gladwin that he accepted the peace, which his father, the French had sent him, and desired all that had passed might be forgotten on both sides. Thus ended the conspiracy of Pontiac, a warrior unexcelled by any of his race for vigor of intellect and dauntless courage. His end was ignoble.- An English trader hired a Peoria Indian, for a barrel of rum, to murder him. The place of his death was Cahokia, a small village a little below St. Louis. He had been a chief leader in the army of the French in the battle against Braddock at Monongahela, and he was held in high repute by the French general, Montcalm, and at the time of his death Pontiac was dressed in a French uniform presented to him by that commander. CHAPTER XI. CRAWFORD COUNTY SETTLED. NO PERMANENT settlements had been made west of the Alleghany Mountains previous to 1768. The colonial governments held that settlers had no right to occupy any lands that had not been formally purchased of the Indians, and the purchase been confirmed by treaty stipu- lations. During the pendency of the operations under Colonel Boquet against the Indians in the Pontiac war, the King of Great Britain had issued his proclamation, in the hope of pacifying the Indians, forbidding settle- ments, in these words: "Whereas, It is just and reasonable, and essential to our interest, and the security of our colonies, that the several nations or tribes of Indians with whom we are connected, and who live under our protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the possession of such parts of our dominions and territories as not having been ceded to, or pur- chased by us, are preserved to them, or any of them, as their hunting grounds; we do, therefore, with the advice of our privy council, declare it to be our royal will and pleasure . . that no Governor nor Com- mander-in-chief of our other colonies or plantations in America do presume for the present, and until our further pleasure be known, to grant warrants of survey or pass patents for any lands beyond the heads or sources of any of the rivers which fall into, the Atlantic ocean from the west or northwest, or upon any lands whatever, which, never having been ceded to or purchased by us, are reserved to the said Indians . . . and we do hereby strictly forbid, on pain of our displeasure, all our loving subjects from making any purchases or settlements whatever or taking possession of any of the lands above reserved without our special leave and license for that purpose first obtained. And we do further strictly enjoin and require all persons what- ever who have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any lands within the countries above described, or upon any other lands . . , 126 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 127 which are still reserved to the said Indians, forthwith to remove themselves from such settlements." It will thus be seen that settlement on any land west of the summits of the Alleghany range was forbidden by royal proclam- ation. But so tempting were the fine lands about the tributaries of the Ohio that venturesome frontiersmen were willing to brave the displeasure of the King on his throne and the savage arts of the roving red men of the forest that they might possess their pick of the fat acres along the margins of these beautiful streams. At the opening of the legislative session of 1768 the Governor of Pennsylvania called attention to these irregularities, and called upon the assembly to pass such a law as would effectually remedy these provocations, and the first law of the session was one providing that if any person settled upon lands not purphased of the Indians by the Proprietaries, shall refuse to remove for the space of thirty days after having been re- quested so to do, or if any person shall remove and then return, or shall settle on such lands after the notice of the provisions of this act shall have been duly proclaimed, any such persons on being duly convicted shall be put to death without benefit of clergy. But the threat of death without benefit of clergy made by colonial enactment did not deter clouds of settlers from returning, who clung to their chosen homes, fast by some crystal fountain or quick-flowing stream. The English secretary was moreover jealous of the encroachments of the Spanish at St. Louis and New Orleans, who were bidding for the fur trade of the lakes and the western settlers. By establishing the native tribes in their rights he thought tO' cut off this trade through their country, and not only stop emigration to these western lands but clear off the few who had already made improvements. Hence, this savage act of the Pennsylvania Legislature, imposing death on these settlers if they did not leave, was well- pleasing to the English secretary. There was much contention at this time, both in the colonies and at the English court, to obtain grants of these western lands. The Ohio Company, Mississippi Company, and Walpole's grants, were specimens of this grasping spirit. Franklin was in England urging these grants, and was in corres- pondence with his compeers in this country. Sir William Johnson was not without ambitious designs, and he had accordingly made arrangements for a grand conclave of Indians from far and near to be held at Fort Stanwix, now Rome, New York, in the mild October days of 1768. Thomas Walker 128 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. represented Virginia; Governor William Franklin, New Jersey; Governor Penn was present from Pennsylvania, but was obliged to retire before the business was completed. Sir William Johnson represented New York, and also the English government, orders having been transmitted to him early in the spring to make the proposed purchase of lands and settle all difficulties with the Indians. The number of savages present was extraordinary, being, according to Bancroft, a little short of three thousand. "Every art," he says, "was used to conciliate the chiefs of the Six, Nations, and gifts were lavished on them with unusual generosity. They, in turn, complied with the solici- tations of the several agents. The line that was established, began at the north, where Canada Creek joins Wood Creek; on leaving New York it passed from the nearest fork of the west branch of the Susquehanna to Kittarining, on the Allegheny, River, whence it followed that river and the Ohio. At the mouth of the Kanawha it met the line of Stewart's treaty. Had it stopped here, the Indian frontier would have been marked all the way from northern New York to Florida. But instead of following his instructions. Sir William Johnson pretended to recognize a right of the Six Nations tO' the largest part of Kentucky, and continued the line down the Ohio to the Tennessee River, which was thus constituted the western boundary of Virginia." This was in contravention of Secretary Hills- borough, and again opened the extravagant claims of Virginia. Thus was acquired by the transactions of one day, the 5th of Novem- ber, 1768, a day ever memorable in the annals of western Pennsylvania, this hilarious carnival day of the Indians, a vast tract stretcTiing away a thousand miles or more, enough for an empire of the largest proportions. Still, all territory to the north of the line of the treaty of 1768 remained in possession of the Indians, and continued so until after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, so that during all these years it was at the peril of lite that any settlement could be made in any part of what is now Crawford County. But on the 226. of October, 1784, another great concourse of Indians was assembled at Fort Stanwix, and a treaty was consummated whereby the Six Nations relinquished all claim to lands in the State of Pennsylvania up to the southern boundary of New York. This treaty was ratified in January, 1785, at Fort Mcintosh, at the mouth of the Beaver River, by the southern Indians not present at the assembly at Fort Stanwix. It will be observed that the triangle in Erie County was not included OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 129 in the lands given up by the treaties, of 1784-5 at Stanwix and Mcintosh. Massachusetts laid claim, to this; territory by virtue of her graint westward to the Pacific. But this State,; as well as New .York, yielded their claims to the United States government. By a. treaty made on the 9th of January, 1789^ with the Six Nations, they acknowledged the right of soil and juris- diction to and over the triangle, to be vested in the State of Pennsylvania. Some question having been raised as to the legality of this grant, the Legis- lature empowered the Governor to draw a warrant for $800 in favor of Complanter, Halftown and Big Tree, in trustifor the use of the tribe and in full satisfaction of all demands, in consideration of which the said chiefs, on the 3d of January, 1 791, signed a release of all claims against the State for themselves and their people forever. Oiij the 3d of March, 1792, the triangle was purchased from the United States by the Commonwealth for the sum of $151,640.25, and a month later an act of Assembly was passed to encourage its settlement by white people. ' , ; . The Indians having now been placated, and all legal enactments against; settlement having been- annulled by the terms of purchase "from the natives, enterprising frontiersmen began to turn their faces towards these delectable regions. As we "ha,v€ observed, when.Wasljington, in 1753, had passed up the vaU'ey, he noted in his. journal, "We passed over nmch good land since we left Venango, and through several extensive aimd. very rich meadows, one of which I believe was nearly four miles in length, and considerably wide in some places." This journal was published, in England and widely circulated in this country, portions finding their way into the newspapers. In: 1787, the very year in which the convention met which framed the Constitution of the United States, David and John Mead, who. had been inhabitants of the beautiful Wyoming Valley, but at this time and for two years previous had been living in the town of Sunbury, attracted by the reports of a goodly country on the borders of the Venango River, bidding adieu to their families and timiing their backs upon civilization, plunged into the then unbroken, wilderness west of the Susquehanna, and, after a wearisome journey of many days over rugged mountains and across turbu- lent streams, following Indian, trails and guided by that changeless star which glittered in the firmament then as now, finally reached that goodly valley, where since has grown the now. busy city which bears their name. I30 OUR COUNTY AND ITS.. PEOPLE. It was then covered by one dense forest; but fortunately the flats, now known as Dunham flats, to the west of the stream and above the confluence of the Cussawago with the Venango, had been cleared and cultivated by' some unknown hand, perhaps by the French or the natives, and was now covered by luxurious prairie grass, above which the brilliant wild flowers nodded a salutation to these lonely visitants from the abodes of civilization. For many days they moved up and down the valley, examining and spying out the land, but no place seemed so inviting for habitation as these fat acres on Dunham flats, and here they determined to fix their homes. They returned to Northumberland, and so attractive and roseate was the picture which they drew of this country that several sturdy pioneers determined to join them in the following spring, in returning to the new courjtry to, strengthen their foothold and secure a permanent settlement. And.now, the, way being once trod and the paths beaten, the tide of eraigra-^ tion began to set towards this land, yvhose praises were justly heralded, and in , a little time nearly every section of the broad, rolling territory known as Crawford County resounded with the. ring of the settler's ax, and the blue smoke,from the mudTchimriey of his modest cabin curled among the trees.^ But for several years the settlements about Meadville and the river valley were much disturbed by Indian hostilities. The theories which had been entertained, by Pontiac, that if the savages held out in their war lapon, the English they would eventually be driven ; away, and the natives would retaiuitheir favorite hunting grounds, were still rife. After the Revolution, the Indians still had .hopes that the. English would come with great armies and conquer the colonists. So troublesome had the tribes become, during the ten years succeeding the close of the American war of 1783 that the government : was obliged to send armed forces to hold them in check. Expeditions were sent out under Mcintosh in 1778, by Broadhead in 1780, by Crawford in 1782, by Harmer in 1789, by St. Clair in 1 791, and by Wayne in 1792, which resulted with varying fortune. During all this time the frontier was lit up by the blaze of savage warfare, and the tomahawk and scalping knife were busy with their fell work. Finally, the campaign, con- ducted by General Anthony Wayne, with his characteristic energy and skill, ended in triumph in 1795, and the treaty by him concluded forever put an end to this sanguinary struggle, wherein neither helpless infancy nor trem- bling: age was exempt, and was accompanied by every crime which debases OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 131 manhood and effaces from the human character every trace of its heaven- born attributes. Hence, though the purchase was fairly made in 1785, it was ten years later before the territory could be said to be fairly open to settlement. It was well known, however, that the lands west of the Allegheny were of excellent quality, and naturally tempted the cupidity of the adventurous, though still subject to savage sway. Three separate companies, with large capital, each sought to secure vast stretches of this territory. They were the Holland Land Company, the Population Company, and the North American Land Company. By the act of 1792, titles tO' lands could only be perfected by actual settlement for the space of five years, which must be begun within two^ years from the date of its location. But an important proviso was attached, that if settlers were prevented by armed enemies of the United States from settlement, the title was to become valid the same as if settled. This left the question open and indefinite, and gave rise to endless litigation, the Holland Company contending that Indian hostilities having prevented actual settlement for the space of two years they could then perfect their titles without actual settlement, and without waiting for the end of the five years. It may be observed here that bona fide settlers had little to complain of, and that it was the speculating class, who were endeavoring to gain titles to lands by bogus settlement, who' were loudest in their complaints. The question was decided pro and con in the lower courts repeatedly, and taken up on appeal, until it finally reached the Supreme Court of the United States, when Chief Justice Marshall delivered an opinion of the company, Mr. Justice Washington declaring: "Though the great theater of the war Hes far to the northwest of the land in dispute, yet it is clearly proved that this country during this period was exposed to the repeated eruptions of the enemy, killing and plundering such of the whites as they met with in defenceless situations. We find the settlers sometimes working out in the day time in the neighborhood of forts and returning at night within their walls for protection; sometimes giving up the pursuit in despair and returning to the settled part of the country, then returning to this country and again abandoning it. We sometimes meet with a few men daring and hardy enough to attempt the cultivation of their lands, associating implements of husbandry with the instruments of war — the character of the husbandman with that of the soldier— and yet I do not 1.32 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. recollect any instance in which, with the enterprising daring spirit, a single individual was able to make such a settlement as the law required." , Such "daring and hardy" men as are here referred to by Judge Wash- ington were those who first settled Crawford County. Upon the return ,of Pavid and John Mead, in the spring of 1788, came Thomas Martin, John Watson, James F. Randolph, Thomas Grant, Cornelius Van Horn, and jChpstopher Snyder, With the exception of Grant, they all selected lands .on, the western side of the river, now Valonia, and the tracts above. Grant ,chpse the section on which is now Meadville, and made his home at the hea.d of Water Street. ' Soon tiring of the frontier, he transferred his tract •to David Mead, who thus became the proprietor and real founder of the jcity which took his name. In the spring of the following year came the 'families of some of these men. Sarah Mead, daughter of David, was the .fij^^t, child born within the new settlerrient. Subsequently came Samuel •Ij-ord, John Wentworth, Frederick Haymaker, Frederick Baum, Robert Fitz J^andolph, and Darius Mead. There were a few families of Indians inhabit- ing- the-neighborhopd, who became the fast friends of the white men, prom- jpent among whom were Canadachta and his three sons. Flying' Cloud, Standing Stone and Big Sun, and Halftown, a half-brother of Complanter, Strike Neck and Wire Ears. ,; To the beginning of 1791 few disturbances from hostile Indians o.ccurred, and little danger was apprehended; but the defeat of the army ijnder General Harmer, and subsequently that led by St, Clair, left the ihQstile tribes of Ohio and western Pennsylvania free to prosecute their nefarious schemes of murder, arson and fiendish torture upon the defence- less frontiersmen. Early in this year. Flying Cloud, the ever-faithful friend of the vyhites, gave notice that the savages were upon the war-path. For safety, the settlers repaired to the stockade fort at Franklin. It was seed tioiCj and these provident men were loath to let the time pass for planting, land thus fail of a crop for the sustenance of their families. Accordingly, four of them, — Cornelius Van Horn, William Gregg, Thomas Ray and ; Christopher, — returned with their horses and commenced ploughing. Venge- ful, Indians came skulking upon their track, and, singling out Van Horn when the others were away at the dinner hour, seized him and his horses, and commenced the march westward. Eight miles away, near Conneaut Lake, they stopped for the night, when Van Horn managed to- elude them, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 133 and made his way back, when he found that Gregg had been killed and Ray was made captive and led away to Detroit. The party, which had come with the design of making a permanent settlement, had followed the Bald Eagle and the Ghinklacamoose path, and arrived at Meadville on the 12th of May, 1788, and passed the first night under the broad spreading branches of an old cherry tree, which stood n'e'ar the western entrance to the Mercer Street bridge. They had come in atiiple season to plant and raise crops, and had brought with them the usual 'itri- plements of husbandr>', and withal four horses. Scarcely had they ma'de a permanent camp before they commenced plowing on the flats which tliey found cleared and ready for cultivation. The four horses were brought into' service, and David Mead held the plow while Van Horn rode one oi'iM^ horses and guided the team. In this way some eight or ten acres were' broken up and planted to corn. It was up, and there was a fair prospett of ' a bountiful harvest, when a great June freshet came on, which washed otit' the entire planting. Nothing daunted, they replanted, and, favored by i\\i' golden autumn days, the favored of the whole eai-th, they harvested a' good crop. David Mead, James Fitz Randolph and Cornelius Van Horn selected i tracts that best suited their fancies, and prepared to make for theiii^elVes homes in the wilds of this then continuous forest. David Mead chose' a stretch on the west bank of the Venango River. Jaines Fitz Randolph" selected a site two miles south of Meadville on the upland east of the rivei', well suited to agriculture or fruit and landscape gardening. Thomas Gran't.. took the tract on which now Meadville is spread out. Thomas Van: Horn preferred a location nearly two miles south and west of the river, where the morning sunlight looks in with cheerful ray, and where a herd of fine cows then as now would furnish mjlk for the city yet to be. Early in the fall of this year, Tho;mas Grant, tiring of the hardship of clearing the giant forest trees that covered all these acres, where now is the busy city, abandoned his claim and returned to Northumberland. Fearing that the freshets in the river might give him trouble in the future as his experience had already been, David Mead, as we have shown, took up the tract that Grant had left, and built a substantial log-house on the bank overlooking the river, near the site of James E. McFarland's present home. It was known as the block house, and became a place of refuge when threatened by 134 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Indian hostilities. In the autumn of 1788, David and John Mead returned to Northumberland for their famihes, and brought them to their new homes on the Venango. In the following year, 1789, Darius Mead, the father of John and David, Robert Fitz Randolph and Frederick Baum brought out their families. In this year occurred the first birth in the settlement, Sarah, daughter of David and Agnes (Wilson) Mead. She grew to woman- hood, and in 1816 was married to Rev. James Satterfield, of Mercer- County. In deciding upon this location for settlement, the Meads were influenced by several distinct considerations. In the first place, a fine valley some five miles long and "considerably wide in some places," says Washington in his journal. Here, then, was ample room for a great city. Then, there were three considerable streams here flowing into, the Venango River that could be easily dammed and used for mill privileges, — Mill Run, Cussawago Creek, and , Van Horn Run, — each of which have been extensively employed for mill purposes. The river itself could in time be used, but a vast expense would have to be incurred to build a dam to hold a stream, so strong and turbulent as it is at some seasons of the year. By a very simple and inex- pensive device, Mill Run was harnessed to yield power. By placing a log so as to turn most of the water into a race, and in times of flood allow the great body to escape, with scarcely any expense the water was held in a pond, where Park Avenue cuts through it between Randolph and North Streets, and the necessary power was secured. David Mead built a saw^mill Just below the intersection of Water and Randolph Streets very shortly after arriving, which was a great convenience to the early settlers for a wide 'circuit. The saw-mill was standing and in use as late as i860. He also built a grist-mill, using the same power. ■ The question was early agitated what should be the name of the new town? David Mead had given it the name of Cussawago, which was quite appropriate. But here was Mead saw-mill, and Mead grist-mill; why should not the new town be Mead-ville? So thought the new settlers, and so it was, and has been to this day. The Mead family came originally from Devonshire to the County of Essex, England, during the reign of Henry VI., A. D. 1422, and first settled in Elmdon. There appears to have been eight distinguished, fami- lies of the name in England, known by their respective coats-of-arms, four OUR COUNTY' AND ITS PEOPLE. 135 bearing the pelican and four the trefoil as their heraldic designs. Of the distinguished individuals who appeared arriong these English farriilies wiere Rev. Matthew Mead, a celebrated divine 'in the reign of Charles I., arid his son, Dr. Richard Mead, who 'was appointed Physician in Oi"dinary by King George II., and who first practiced inocculation in England. Tke name is spelled with and without' the final "k."' The descendants of the Irish branch of the family, from whom the Meads of Virginia are derived, always used the final "e." The first record of any of the name in this country is the following, among the Stamford, Connecticut, town records: "December 7th, 1641, WilHairi Mayd received from the town of Stamford a house lot and five acres of land." This' William Mead, in company with his brother, John Mead, emig'rated from England about' the year 164.0. William Mead settled in Stamford, where he died about 1670. His wife was Ruth Hardy, who died September 19th, 1657. John Mead, the brother, in 1650 removed to Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut. I. John Mead, son of William, born about 1616; died in 1696. His wife Was Hannah Potter, daughter of'Williatn Potter of Stamford. The^ had issue, — i, John; 2, Joseph; 3, Hannah; 4, Ebenezer; 5, Jonathan;: 6, David; 7, Benjamin; 9i'Samtiel; 10, Abigail; li, Elizabeth; 12, Mary,. — all Scripture names, a family no doubt of devout' ChHstiaris! II. David Mead, of this family, bom 1666, settled in Bedford^ West- minster County, in the colony of Niew York. Of his children' we have; the names of William, David, Ebenezer. III. Ebenezer was in the direct line the father of David, born 1702. IV. David Mead' married and had ifesue: i, Darius, born March 25, 1728, and married Ruth Curtis;' 2, Ebenezer; 3, John; 4, 'William; 5,. Eli, born 1740. ,• V. Darius Mead> sixth in descent, born' March 28, 1728,' in Stamford; Connecticut. In the year 1750 he settled in Hudson, New 'York. About 1770 he removed with his children to the Wyoming settlement, Pennsyl- vania, but subsequently fbllovved his sons, David and John,tathe hew lands on the Venango River, where he was killed by the Indians in 179 1. " His wife, Ruth Curtis, born May 27, 1734; in Connecticut, and died at Mead- ville in the summer of 1794', 'being'' the first death 'which octurred from natural causes among the 'while skiers of Crawford County. They had a large family of children',' of 'whdrii we have only' the names of the follow- 136 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ing: David, born January iy, 1752; Jeanette Finney; Agnes Wilson; Asahel, barn August 9, 1754, killed at Wyoming, July 3, 1778; Joiin,' born July 22, 1756, married Katharine.Forster; Ruth, born April 16, 1761; Darius, born Diecember 9, 1764; Elizabeth, born June i, 1769. * David, eldest son of Darius, removed to Wyoming Valley in 1770, and obtained a tract bf land under the Pennsylvania title, from which he was subsequently evicted by the "Connecticut Intruders." He then took up his residence on the west bank of the north branch of the Susquehanna River, six .n^ile.s north of the town of Northumberland; He served, in the Revolutionaiy Waras an- officer, and Kyas a justice of the peace. In 1795, General Mead's wifeild^ied, and in the following year he was married -tei Jeanette, a da.iiighter bf Robert Finney, to wlipm were born six children,- fiv^ —Robert,, Aflexaijdery Catheriiie; Jane and^Maria-^-f-growing to maturity. OM the 31st of ;March, f796,..he was appointed by' Governor Mifflin justice of the peace for the township of Mead for a term- "so long as he shall live and behave himself well." Mead Township at that time embraced the ^vhole of Crawford and Erie ■ Counties. The- block- house erected by Mead was designateid as the placed for holdii'^ elections; Upon the organizatTOn of Crawford Cauni-y, in 1800, he was ., 'appointed on^ of the associate judges; an office which he' held,: with the exception of a brief period, continuously until his death. He-was appointed iniajor-:genetial.Jof' the Fourteenth, and afterward -of the Sixteenth ©ivisloii of the PenjiSyJyania; Militia by Govern©iF McKean, and was reappointed by Goveraor. SAyder. During =the wariOil 1812-15, he renderefl impoi-tant services:. to iCotnmadoi"e Perry, in promptly marching. with lijs command to the;defence bf Erie in the summer of 181 3, when the fleet in process ;gf. constrtretion in Presque Isle Bay was threatened with destruction by the enemy. In 1797, General Mead built a spacious and substantial residence: oii the xommaading ground at the head of Water Street, where: he lived until his diealh, on the 23d of August, 1816, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. His appearattee Iwas ' strikinig, being siix. feet three and a.half inche$ in height, welb proportioned, ahd possessed of .great bodily -streiTigth. '. ■ .W ' >;,'.. - • i ', , -CorneHiis Van Horti^ one ofLthe most enterprisii-ig and active in the new: settlement, was- born in Huntihgtori County, New Jersey, December i6th, 1750, a son of Thomas and Jane (Ten Eyck) Van Home. Heiser^ed in the Revolutionary 'War, and- upon the death of his father inhe^rited OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 137 several hundred acres of land in the Wyoming Valley. This land was located in Northampton County, and was held under Pennsylvania title, being a tract over which so much trouble arose between Pennsylvania and Connecticut claimants. In 1784, he removed from Sussex County, New Jersey, to his land in the Wyoming Valley; but in the fall of that year he, with other Pennsylvanians, was driven ofif their lands by the claimants from Connecticut. In the fall of 1793, the Indians being troublesome in the Venango settlement. General Wilkins wrote to Van Home, asking him to raise a sergeant's command of fifteen men for guard duty, which he did, and continued in sendee to the close of the year. In the summer of 1794, General Gibson sent him an ensign's commission, with instructions to enlist forty or fifty men for frontier duty. This company, to which nearly all the settlers on the Venango belonged, finding that the stockade and log-house which General Mead had erected on the west side of Water Street on the river bank was insecure^ as the Indians might undermine it, erected a more substantial and secure log; block-house on the northeast corner of Water Street and Steer's Alley. It was two stories, the second projecting over the first, and supplied with a small cannon capable of being moved to either cor- ner for service. Tliis command was in active siervice, from August 4 to Decem- ber 31, 1 794, scouting through the surrounding forests and guarding against Indian surprises. In 1795, General Gibson fotwardedi to him- a' captain's commission, with orders to raise a company iwhich 'was tO' assist in pro- tecting surveyors and workmen then engaged; in laying out- and building a road from Waterford to Erie. Upon the expiration of this term of (service he settled permanently on his farm of over 400 acres belO'^Meadvillej where he spent the remaining years of his life. He was married September 27; 1798, to Sarah Dunn, daughter of James and Priscilla Dunn, and they had' issue Jane, James, Priscilla, Harriet, Thomas and Cornelius.. He lived to nearly ninety-six years, and died July 24, 1846. Robert Fitz Randolph was born in Essex County, New Jersey, in 1741^ of Scotch ancestry. He removed with his family to Northampton County in 1 77 1, and two years later to Northumberland County. Driven from his' home by Indian hostilities, he fled, in 1776, to Berks County, but returned in the following year, and joined the regiment of Colonel William Cook, and with it fought in the battle of Germantown, October 3d, 1777. Having been discharged soon afterwards, he returned to his home; but the savages 13& OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. having made another fierce attack upon the settlement, he returned \vith his family to^ his native State, where he again enlisted in the Continental army, with which he served to the end of the Revolutionary War. At the return of peace, he returned to Northumberland County, and settled on Shamokin Creek, where he resided until 1789, when he removed to the Venango Valley with his family; and settled upon the tract which had been patented by his son James, one of the party of nine who were the original settlers. He was in his seventy-second year when the war of 181 2 broke out. The blood of his younger days was stirred, and at the first call for troops he started for Erie, with four of his sons and two grandsons, to offer his services to his country. Upon his arrival at Lake Conneauttee, near Edinboro, he was persuaded by some of his friends to return home on account of his age. He died on the i6th of July, 1830, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. Of Robert Fitz Randolph's children, Edward took a prominent part in the early settlement of the county. He was born in Lehigh County, March i, 1772, and was in his eighteenth year when the family removed to this county. He served as a volunteer in 1791. In 1792, he went to Pittsburg in the government employ, in transporting provisions to Fort Venango, hear Franklin. In September of 1793, he was engaged to go down the Ohio, with Colonel Clark, in charge of a boat-load of ammunition for General Wayne's arrhy, then organizing at Fort Washington, now Cin- cinnati. ' In the spring of 1795, Captain Russell Bissell commenced the erection of a fort at Erie, and in August, Edward and Taylor Fitz Randolph were employed as teatristers to go to Erie to assist in the construction of the fort. Their father furnished three yokes of oxen, and Conftelius Van Horn one yoke, for this purpose. Mr. Fitz Randolph was married, in 1797, to Elizabeth Wilson, daughter of Benjamin Wilson, and settled on a farm in Vernon Township, where he lived until his removal to the west, where- he died. CHAPTER XII. VIRGINIA AND PENNSYLVANIA CONTROVERSY FINALLY SETTLED. "\ T 7 HEN THE Virginia convention, on the escape of Lord Dun- Y y more, the Royal Governor, took the supreme authority of the Virginia colony in its own hands, measures were adopted for re- taining the district of Pittsburg west of the Laurel Hills in its control, as though the matter of jurisdiction was already settled in favor of Virginia. Captain John Neville was authorized to raise a company of one hundred men and march to and take possession of Pittsburg. Another company was summoned from the Monongahela country. The colony of Virginia was divided into sixteen districts, of which West Augusta was one, com- prising all the territory drained by the Monongahela, Youghiogheny and Kiskiminitas and streams falling into the Ohio. A proposition was made by certain commissioners sent out by the Continental Congress, — ^Joseph Yates and John Montgomery for Pennsylvania, and Dr. Thomas Walker and John Harvey for Virginia, — to Pittsburg to treat with the Indians, that in ordei- to settle the disputed authority temporarily, county courts should be held under the authority of Pennsylvania north of the Youghiogheny River, and of Virginia south of that stream; but no attention was paid to this advice, probably being equally distasteful to each party. At the session of the Virginia Assembly, held in 1776, the western por- tion of what is now Pennsylvania was divided into three counties, viz.: Ydhigania, Ohio, and MononighaJia, and courts were established to be held monthly under justices of Virginia appointment. The Revolutionary War was now fairly inaugurated, and as the British were using every endeavor tO' enlist the Indians in their cause against the eolonists, issuing commissions freely to disaffected Americans to lead them, and to fit out expeditions from Canada tO' attack the settlers from the rear, : ' 139 ■ I40 OUR' COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. it became evident near the close of 1776 that the Indians were standing in hostile attitude. Accordingly, Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia, wrote, under date of December 13th, to Lieutenant Dorsey Pentecost, advising him of the hostile temper of the savages, and that he had ordered six tons of lead for the West Augusta district, and counseling that he call a meeting of the militia officers of the district tO' determine on safe places of deposit. "I am of opinion," he says, "that unless your people wisely improve this winter you may probably be destroyed. Prepare, then, to make resistance while you have time." According tO' the request of Governor Henry the militia officers desig- nated the points suitable for magazines, and called fcjr three tons of gun- powder, ten thousand flints and one thousand rifles. On the 28th of February, 1777, Governor Henry again wrote, request- ing that a detail be made of a hundred men "to escort safely to Pittsburg the powder purchased by Captain Gibson. I suppose it is at Fort Louis, on the Mississippi, under the protection of the Spanish government. I have ordered four four-pound cannons to be cast for strengthening Fort Pitt, as I believe an attack will be made there ere long. Let the provisions be stored there, and consider it as the bulwark of your country." It will be observed, that all this legislation and military' preparation is had under the authority of the assembly and the Governor of Virginia, for the govern- raeiit and protection of territory rightfully belonging to Pennsylvania, which was at this time, and remained until 1780, a part of Virginia, which the authorities of Pennsylvania determined not to quarrel about until such time as its charter limits could be fixed and vindicated by competent authority. We come now to a passage in this early history which shows a phase that might have been realized, which would have changed the whole future of western Pennsylvania,— no leSs than the project for a new State, which was to be designated by the euphonious title of Westsylvania. A very elaborate petition was drawn, which recited the inconveniences on account of distance from the seats of government of Virginia and Pennsylvania, of the necessity of having to cross lofty and interminable ranges of mountains, of claims and counter claims to land, and the unsettled boundaries between the two States. This petition was presented to the Continental Congress, was received and ordered filed, but was never acted on, probably because a life and death struggle for existence with the mother country demanded OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 141 all the attention of that body, and for the reason that the Congress had no jurisdiction as yet over territory beyond the united colonies. The language of, this petition is unique, and, in detailing wrongs, cumulative. In reciting the effect of the authority of the two colonies, it proceeds to point out "the pernicious effects of discordant and contending jurisdictions, innumerable frauds, impositions, violences, depredations, feuds, animosities, divisions, litigations, disorders, and even with the effusion of human blood to the utter subversion of all laws — human and divine — of justice, order, regularity, and in a great measure even of liberty itself." It details "the fallacies, violences and fraudulent impositions of land jobbers, pretended officers and partisans of both land offices and others under the sanction of the jurisdiction of their respective provinces, the Earl of Dun- more's warrants, officers' and soldiers' rights, and an infinity of other pre- texts." It gives the details of claims of private parties and companies to fabulous tracts of land, the titles to which rest on the pretended purchase of the Indians. "This is a country," it proceeds, "of at least of 240 miles in length, from the Kittany to opposite the mouth of the Scioto, seventy or eighty miles in breadth from the Alleghany Mountains to the Ohio, rich, fertile and healthy even beyond credibility, and peopled by at least 25,000 families since 1768." It concludes by asking that "the territory embraced in the limits set below be known as the province and government of West- sylvania . . . the inhabitants be invested with every other power, right, privilege and immunity vested, or to be vested, in the other American colonies; be considered as a sister colony, and the fourteenth province of the American Confederacy: beginning at the eastern bank of the Ohio, opposite the mouth of the Scioto, and running thence to the top of the Alleghany Mountains, thence with the top of the said mountains to the north limits of the purchase made from the Indians in 1768 at the treaty of Fort Stanwix aforesaid; thence with the said limits to the Allegheny, or Ohio River, and thence down the said river as purchased from the said Indians at the aforesaid treaty of Fort Stanwix to the beginning." There was another project for a new State to be known as Vandalia or Walpole, but none so formal or enforced with such elaborate arguments as in this petition for Westsylvania, though many members of the Walpole Com- pany were influential and possessed of wealth, both in England and the colonies. 142 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The interest which Virginia manifested for this Monongahela and Ohio country was first aroused by the reports of the beauty of the scenery, the fertility of the soil, and the salubrity of the dimate. The desire to obtain vast tracts of this country led tO' the formation of the Ohio Company with a grant of a half-million acres, which was subsequently swallowed up in Walpole's grant of fabulous extent. To defend these grants against the French, Washington's embassy to Le Boeuf was authorized, and military expeditions of Washington, Braddock, Forbes, Boquet and Stanwix were undertaken. After the French had been finally expelled, Virginia was more eager than ever to hold these claims, to justify them, and to establish Virginia civil polity. But the failure of the British government tO' vindicate its authority broke the validity of the claims of these companies, and for eight years, while the Revolutionary War lasted, it was left in doubt, whether these titles would eventually be established or lost. During that period, therefore, Virginia continued anxious tO' assert its authority. But when the surrender of Cornwallis and the breaking of the military force of Britain upon this continent led to a treaty of peace, which left the Continental Congress in supreme authority, then the titles of the Ohio and Walpole Companies, which claimed their legal status from the British government, were left without validity, and were valueless. When Lord Dunmore assumed the Governorship of Virginia, he pro- posed to assert his authority with a high hand, regardless of the rights of other parties, and Patrick Henry, ' who' succeeded to^ the gubernatorial power, seemed disposed to take up the cudgels which Dunmore had dropped. But when the delegates from Virginia to the Continental Con- gress met those from Pennsylvania, the whole subject of disputed authority and mutual boundary seems to have been fairly and candidly canvassed and more moderate views entertained. And, as we have seen, the paper drawn up by the combined wisdom of these delegates was the first word that had a quieting efifect. There were very able men in those delegations. John Dick- inson, the author of the Farmer's Letters, was an accomplished scholar and statesman, and Benjamin Franklin was possessed of practical sense amounting to genius. Besides, the congress sat at Philadelphia, where a strong influence centered favorable to the claims of Pennsylvania. A senti- ment was early manifested on the part of both colonies to have commission- ers appointed to settle the dispute. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 143 The terms of the settlement between Pennsylvania and Maiyland were very explicit, with one exception. The terms proceeded upon the supposi- tion that the perimeter of the circle drawn with a radius of twelve miles from New Castle would at some point cut the beginning of the 40° of north latitude; whereas, this parallel fell far to the south of it. This left the be- ginning of the boundary unfixed and uncertain, and was the cause of much wrangling and contention, not only on the part of Virginia, but also of Maryland. But the matter of five degrees of longitude and three of latitude was as definite and unchangeable as the places of the stars in the heavens. Earthquakes might change the surface, and the subsidence of the land liiight yield the place to the empire of the waves, yet the boundaries unchanged could be easily identified. Some observations had been made at Logs- town, a few miles below Pittsburg, on the Ohio, by which it was evident that this place was considerably within the boundaries of Pennsylvania, both from the west and south. On any clear night the altitude of certain stars would give the latitude of the place, and a good chronometer would show by difference in time, the longitude. The Virginia delegates in Congress were scholars enough to understand that.^ It is probable that they saw at the outset that the Pennsylvania title was good, and would eventually pre- vail. This accounts for the conciliatory temper manifested in that com- munication quoted above. During the past few years the government of Pennsylvania have had commissioners engaged in i-ectifying the boundary lines of the State and planting monuments to mark them. By an act approved on the 7th day of May, 1885, the reports and maps of these commissioners, together with the complete journal of Mason and Dixon, from December 7, 1763, to January 29, 1768, have been published. From that volume many facts upon this subject have been drawn. It appears that as early. as the i8th of December, 1776, the assembly of Virginia passed a resolution agreeing, to fix the southern boundary of Pennsylvania from the western limit of Maryland due north to the begin- ning of the 41st parallel, and thence due west to the western Hmit of the State. This was a concession on the part of Virginia, as it had previously claimed all west of the summits of the Alleghany Mountains to the New York line. This would have made a break northward from the western boundary of Maryland, and would have left the counties of Fayette and 144 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Greene, and a portion of Washing.ton, in Virginia. The Pennsylvania au- thorities would not agree to this. Propositions and counter propositions continued to pass between the assemblies of the two colonies, resulting in nothing until the sessions of 1779, when it was determined to submit the whole matter in controversy to the arbitrament of commissioners. In a letter of 27th of May, 1779, Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia, com- municated to the council of Pennsylvania the intelligence that commission- ers had been appointed. On the 27th of August, 1779, the commissioners of the two States met at Baltimore- — ^James Madison and Robert Andrews on the part of Virginia, and George Bryan, John Ewing and David Ritten- house for Pennsylvania. Their proceedings were in writing. The first paper was drawn by the Pennsylvania delegates, in which the points in controversy were fully argued, and this demand made: "For the sake of peace and to manifest ovu^ earnest desire of adjusting the dispute on atmcable terms, we are willing to recede from our just rights [the beginning of the 40° north] and therefore propose that a meridian be drawn from the head springs of the north branch of the Potomac to the beginning of the 40° of north latitude, and from thence that a parallel be drawn to the west- ern extremity of the State of Pennsylvania, to continue forever the boundary of the State of Pennsylvania and Virginia." This would have made a break southward at the western extremity of Maryland and would have carried into Pennsylvania a large tract of what is now West Virginia, nearly the whole of the territory drained by the Monongahela and its tributaries, a tract equal to four counties of the size of Crawford. This proposition the Virginia commissioners rejected in an elaborate argument, in which all the points made by the Pennsylvanians were consid- ered, and they close with the following counter proposition: "But we trust, on a further consideration of the objections of Virginia to your claim,, that you will think it advantageous to your State to continue Mason and Dixon's Hne to your western limits, which we are willing to establish as a perpetual boundary between Virginia and Pennsylvania on the south side of the last mentioned State. We are induced to make this proposal, as we think that the same principle which effected the compromise between Pennsylvania and Maryland should operate equally as strong in the present case." This proposition was the line which eventually prevailed and is the present boundary. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 145 But the Pennsylvania commissioners were unwilling to- give, up the ter- ritory reaching down to the beginning of the 40°. They, accordjlngly, made this compensatory proposition: "That Mason and Dixon's line should be extended so far beyond the western limits of Pennsylvania as that a.meridian drawn from the western extremity of it tO' the beginning of the 43° of north latitude shall include so much land as will make the State ,of Pennsylvania what it was originally intended to be,, viz :. three degrees in. breadth and five degrees in length, excepting so much as has been heretofore relinquished to Maryland." This would have piat on to the western end of the State a nar- row patch embracing the Panhandle and a part of Ohio, stretching up to the lake, which should be equal in area to the block of West Virginia, which Pennsylvania would give up if Mason and Dixon's line should be adopted. This proposition was promptly rejected, and the following substituted: "Considering how much imiportance it may be to the future happiness of the. United States that every cause of ■discord be now remo — "" '»sr-r ■af-- ^ "'^ (ra S-^3 ^ £- "2-2 ^ " o 2^ a- . " ^ 2 3^o- OS • ■ 2 ps ' C 1836 25 123 4.1-S 80 90 $12.03 $475 2,342 1,947 $1,033-67 $3,115-20 $3,115.00 1856 41 322 5 133 269 20.86 9.82 6,710 5,818 23,270.18 3,362.10 $18,683.90 7,118.11 1876 63 413 6 142 344 38,18 23.10 8,839 7,679 133,551-00 14,145.69 74,582.00 14,434.00 1896 64 497 7.35 149 362 34.15 27.66 7,407 6,956 130,961.00 38,645.00 '^^y^/UJ.■n:>uuaayU^^!y Z7^ '"^5h««;>«^,' eiy^~?^^ li^tx^^U-*-^^ Ait^e.^ <[^;«i->>- '% e^i^ii^ S. B. Dicks Company 38th Regt., gth Reserve Co. F 120 39th Regt., loth Reserve Co. I 145 S7th Regt Co.K 188 Spth Regt., 2d Cavalry Co. I 200 83d Regt ..Co.A 188 83d Regt Co. B 215 83d Regt ....Co.F 200 83d Regt Co.H 17s iiith Regt , Co. D 196 iiith Regt Co.F 198 113th Regt, I2th Cavalry 136th Regt Co. I 84 137th Regt Co. B 96 i4Sth Regt.. Co.H 14s iSoth Regt Co. C 127 iSoth Regt. Co.H 115 iSoth Regt Co. I 196 150th Regt Co.K 123 163d Regt., 18th Cavalry Co. B 163 *i90th Regt.- *i9ist Regt 2iith Regt Co.A 94 •riPq ■" - 3 ^ -0 o.S (U s 3 Months 10 17 7 3 Years 18 33 8 3 Years 8 II 17 3 Years 8 3 Years 20 25 8 3 Years 21 SO 12 ■ 3 Years 23 48 15 3 Years 23 22 iq 3 Years 17 41 14 3 Years 13 41 17 3 Years 3 Years 2 10 4 9 Months 7 9 Months 18 16 14 3 Years 8 6 14 3 Years 15 24 II 3 Years II 2 12 3 Years 4 3 Years 6 12 18 3 Years I Year * The greater portion of these two regiments were captured and imprisoned at Belle Isle and Saulsbury and not released except by death till the end of the war. CHAPTER XIX. DEDICATION OF THE MONUMENT TO CORNPLANTER, THE INDIAN SACHEM OF THE SIX NATIONS, WHO SAVED THE EARLY SETTLERS FROM DESTRUCTION. THE writer was present in the Senate chamber of Pennsylvania, on the 2Sth of January, 1866, when Solomon O'Bail, a grandson of Corn- planter, the great Sachem of the Six Nations, the friend of Washing- ton and of the United States, at the invitation of the Senate, appeared in his war paint and feathers, and in the Indian dialect delivered an address. He was in full native costume and in the fiery eloquence of the woods he spoke in that august assembly. Not a single word he uttered was intelligible, but it was evident that he was alive with his subject and in deep earnest. His countenance was flushed, his action noble and dignified and he spoke with great power. His purpose was to bring to the attention of the Senators the fact that his grandfather, who had died in 1836, at the advanced age of 105 years, was resting in an unmarked grave which would, in a few years, be entirely obliterated and become unknown. He spoke in fitting terms of the noble character of his great ancestor and the eminent services he had rendered to our country in the hour of its tribulation, and had advocated among his own people the duty of industry and education and the virtues of justice, truth and temperance. On the i6th of March, 1796, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had granted to the Seneca tribe of Indians, to which Cornplanter belonged, a tract of land on the Allegheny River above Warren, designated the "Plant- er's Field," where he had lived a life graciously lengthened out, and where he lies buried. Reciprocating the sentiments of the native orator, and in acknowledgment of the virtues and friendship of the aged chieftain, the Senate passed the following joint resolutions: 230 o o a B o 3 OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 231 Whereas, Solomon O'Bail, a grandson of Cornplanter, an Indian who rendered eminent services to the State arid nation during the Revolutionary war and the early history of Pennsylvania and Mark Pierce, his interpreter, have just had a hearing before the Senate; And, Whereas, A recognition of the eminent services of Cornplanter is due from the government of Pennsylvania; therefore. Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in Gen- eral Assembly met that the State Treasurer shall pay to Solomon O'Bail the sum of five hundred dollars out of any moneys in the Treasury not other- wise appropriated, and the further sum of five hundred dollars to Samuel P. Johnson, to be expended in erecting and inclosing a suitable monument in memory of -Cornplanter. Judge Johnson performed the duty imposed upon him with great skill and ability. The monument is of Vermont marble, is over eleven feet in height, and stands on a handsomely cut native stone base four feet in diame- ter by one and a half feet deep. It is located immediately between the grave of Cornplanter and that of his wife, from whom he was separated by death but about three months. On the second section are four well carved dies in the form of a shield. Upon the spire facing west is cut in large raised letters GIANTWAHA, THE CORNPLANTER. Upon the die on the same side is inscribed JOHN O'BAIL, alias CORNPLANTER, (died at Cornplantertown, February 18, 1836,) aged about 100 years. On the die fronting south the following inscription is handsomely lettered: Chief of the Seneca tribe, and a principal Chief of the Six -Nations from the period of the Revolutionary War to the time of his death. Distinguished for talents, courage, eloquence, sobriety and love of his tribe and race, to whose welfare he devbted his time, his energies and his means, during a long and eventful life. 232 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. On the die upon the east side is engraved: Erected by authority of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, By Act January 25, 1866. The dedication of this monument occurred on the i8th of October following, in presence of the family and descendants of Cornplanter, about eighty in number, and a large assembly of native Indians, remnants of the formidable Six Nations, from the Allegheny, Cattaraugus and Tonawanda reservations in the State of New York, and a large concourse of the pale faces from the surrounding country. The dedicatory address was delivered by Hon. James Ross Snowden, an eminent citizen of Philadelphia. Re- sponsive addresses, in the Seneca language, were delivered by John Luke, of the Cattaraugus reservation, a Councillor of the Seneca Nation, and by Rev. Stephen S. Smith, a native of the Tonawanda reservation, Gene- see County, N. Y., also a Seneca chief of the Six Nations. The speeches in the native tongue were interpreted by Harrison Half Town, an educated native of the Seneca nation. Before the dedicatory services commenced the assembly was addressed in the Seneca language by Solomon O'Bail, a grand- son of Cornplanter, and a chief of his tribe, dressed in the full regalia of aboriginal royalty. Judge Johnson records in his report to the Legislature: "Three of Cornplanter's children still survive, and were present, and by them I was solemnly charged to communicate to your" honorable bodies their sincere and reiterated thanks for the distinguished honor thus rendered to their ancestor. I have seldom seen deeper gratitude in human hearts than swelled the bosoms of these now venerable children, and those of many grand- children of the hero whose virtues and memory it has delighted you to honor. Of the excellent music, by a native brass band, that enlivened the occasion, the picnic that followed and the exciting war dance that closed the exercises of the day I will not stop to speak." The dedication of this monument was no ordinary occasion. So far as known no other Indian chieftain has ever been honored by a monument erected to his memory a quarter of a century after his death by authority of a great State like Pennsylvania. The Six Nations were undoubtedly the most powerful of all the native tribes in North America at the time of the American Revolution. They held sway from the St. Croix to the Albemarle, which extended even to New OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 233 England and Virginia. As early as 1684 the Governors of New York, Massachusetts and Virginia met in council with the representative chiefs, "to strengthen and burnish the covenant chain and plant the tree of peace, of which the top should reach the sun and the branches shelter the wide land." Of the Six Nations the Senecas, to which Cornplanter belonged, and over whom for long years he held sway, was the most numerous and power- ful and by far the most exposed. The Senecas were charged with guarding the western door of "Long House," by which name their original possessions were designated, which embraced the entire State of New York. They were known as the Senecas, Oneidas, Mohawks, Onondagas and Cayugas. To these were added the Tuscaroras in 1712. These six tribes or nations formed a powerful confederacy. The Senecas, occupying the Niagara end of the State, were exposed to the influences and wiles of the French from Canada, and on the south from the English at Pittsburg and farther east. "Their principal seats," says Morgan's League of the Iroquois, "were in western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. They were thus situ- ated between the advancing column of emigration and settlements of the English from the Hudson, the Delaware, the Susquehanna and the Poto- mac on the one hand, and the French from Canada, the St. Lawrence, and. the great Lakes on the other. A territorial position alike perilous to their aboriginal habits, customs and means of subsistence, as to their existence as a free and independent nation. And yet, notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, they stood for nearly two centuries with an unshaken front against the devastations of war, the blighting influence of foreign inter- course and the still more fatal encroachments of a restless and advancing border population. United under their federal system they maintained their independence and their power of self protection long after the New England and Virginia races had surrendered their jurisdiction and fallen into the condition of conquered and dependent nations. And they now stand forth upon the canvas of Indian history prominent alike for the wis- dom of their civil institutions, their sagacity in the administration of the affairs of the League and their courage in its defense." It will be seen, therefore, that Crawford County was a part of the terri- - tory covered by the Indian government of Cornplanter. Indeed, it was by 234 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the authority of the Six Nations that. Mason and Dixon were stopped in their survey at Dunkard Creek in Greene County. The Seneca tribe was at an early day much under the influence of the French. Jesuits labored much among them, came to speak the Indian tongue, and even entered into tribal relations with them iand became one of them. French officers, both civil and mihtary, brought them "high piled-up presents," such as were useful and pleasing to thege simple natives of the forest. On the other hand, the English did not reach them except to trade for their skins, and these English traders were often given to over- reaching these simple-minded sons of the forest before they had become schooled in the wiles of the white m^n. The consequence was that the Senecas joined the French with their young braves in that terribly disas- trous battle of the Monongahela which cost the life of General Braddock and the lives of the large body of his troops. It was such a sweeping slaughter as is rarely recorded in the history of warfare, and, what is more remarkable, it was gained by Indians almost entirely, over the King's regulars aided by colonial volunteers. Among the leaders of the Indians were Pontiac and Cornplanter. This was Cornplanter's first battle, as it was Washington's. They were about the same age, having been born in 1832. The result of this battle was very injurious to the English, for it in- spired the savages with great confidence in themselves, as it was gained over superior numbers, and with the greatest ease. They ever after boasted that at any time that they would be thoroughly united they could sweep the pale faces from the face of the earth, and it was with that object in view and in full confidence in their power that Pontiac formed an alliance of all the tribes with the intent of breaking the power of the English. That victory was the seed which ripened into many a massacre of defenceless settlers. Cornplanter was possessed of great native shrewdness, and it was not r long till he became satisfied that the English were to become the masters and that the French would be compelled to withdraw from this side of the great lakes. ' There is naturally a vein of superstition in the nature of the Indian. Washington ' had been noted in that terrible day- with Braddock. The report had been circulated among the natives that one of their Sachems -had fired repeatedly at Washington and had called on the braves of His tribe to do the same, but not one could hit him, and the belief became preva- lent that he was under the special protection of the Great Spirit, and was OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 235 proof against mortal strife. Cornplanter had become the firm friend of Washington, and through the Indian wars which followed he remained firm in his adherence to the side of the English. When, therefore, the Thirteen Colonies rebelled against the King of England, the Indians could not understand where their allegiance was due. Cornplanter was opposed to joining in the conflict, inasmuch as the Indians had nothing to do with the difificulties that existed between the two parties. If he had more clearly understood the points in dispute his opposition might have been more effective. The emissaries of the British in the Revolution- ary War made every exertion to secure the powerful Six Nations on their side. "The King," they said, "was rich and powerful both in money and subjects. His rum was as plenty as the water in Lake Ontario, and his men as numerous as the sands upon its shore, and the Indians were assured that if they would assist in the war and preserve their friendship for the King until its close they never should want for goods or money." In an inter- view with General Herkimer, of the Revolittionary army, Cornplanter said: "The Indians were in concert with their King of England, as their fathers had been. The King's belts of wampum are yet lodged with them, and they cannot violate their pledges. General Herkimer and his followers have joined the Boston people against their sovereign. And although the Bos- ton people were resolute, yet the King -would humble them. That Gen- eral Schuyler was very smart on the Indians at the treaty of the German Flats, but, at the same time, was not able to afford the smallest article of clothing, and finally that the Indians had formerly made war on the white people when they were all united, and they were now divided the Indians were not frightened." But when the representatives, Chiefs of the Confederacy, at Oswego, at a general council held in the summer of 1777, decided to take up the. hatchet for the King of England, Cornplanter and his tribe considered themselves bound by the decision. His nation was at war, and he had to go with his nation. In his address to Washington, at Philadelphizt, in 1790, he justifies, or at least palliates the conduct of his nation, in taking the side of the King, in the following eloquent and impressive words: "Father, when you kindled your thirteen fires separately, the wise men assembled at them,' told us you were all brothers — the children of one great Father, who regarded the red people as his children. They called us. chil- 236 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. dren and invited us to their protection. They told us that he resided be- yond the great water, where the sun first rises, and that he was a King, whose power no people could resist, and that his goodness was as bright as the sun. What they said went to our hearts. We accepted the invita- tion and promised to obey him. What the Seneca nation promise they faithfully perform. When you, the thirteen fires, refused obedience to that King, he commanded us to assist his beloved men in making you sober. In obeying him we did no more than yourselves Jiad led us to promise. We were deceived, but your people teaching us to confide in that King had helped to deceive us, and we now appeal to your heart. Is all the blame ours?" Cornplanter had made out a list of grievances in this speech which he presented in an eloquent and well digested manner. To this speech Presi- dent Washington made a formal reply, taking up each item of the com- plaints and answering in their order. To this reply of the President the" Sachem commences his reply in these words: "Father! Your speech, written on the great paper, is to us like the first light of the morning to a sick man whose pulse beats too strongly in his temples and prevents him from sleep. He sees it and rejoices, but is not cured." One of the com- plaints made in his original address he thus alludes to in his response to .President Washington's reply: ''Father! There are men that go from town to town and beget children, and leave them to perish, or, except better men take care of them, to grow up without instruction. Our nation has looked around for a father, but they found none that would own them for children until you tell us that the courts are open to us as to your own people. The joy which we feel at this great news so mixes with the sor- rows that are past that we cannot express our gladness, nor conceal the remembrance of our afflictions." And in concluding his response Corn- planter says: "Father! You give us leave to speak our minds concerning the tilling of the ground. We ask you to teach us to plough, and to grind corn; to assist us in building sawmills, and to supply us with broad axes, saws, augers and other tools, so as that we make our houses more com- fortable and more durable; that you will send smiths among us, and above all, that you will teach our children to read and write, and bur women to spin and to weave. The manner of your doing thes« things for us we leave to you, who understand them; but we assure you we will follow your OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 237 advice so far as we are able." This conference of Cornplanter with Presi- dent Washington was held at Philadelphia, then the seat of the General Government, in the year 1790, in the second year of the President's first term, and is remarkable as showing the mental acumen possessed by one of the red men of the forest who had none of the advantages of mental cul- ture. In lucidity of statement and subtlety of argument he showed himself the full equal of the President. During the Revolutionary War the Six Nations at first favored the side of the King for the reason assigned in the opening of Cornplanter's ad- dress to Washington, though Cornplanter himself favored taking no part in the contest. He was, however, overruled and the red men were found contending with the King's forces. Their hostile temper against the colo- nies had become so forceful in 1779 that General Sullivan was sent with a sufficient force to check them. Cornplanter was present and took part in the battle of New Town, the present site of Elmira, N. Y., where the Indians and British troops, the latter under the command of Col. John Butler, were signally defeated. "The decisive action on the Chemung was followed by the devastation of the Indian towns and settlements through- out the country of the Senecas and Cayugas. They had several towns and many large villages laid out with a considerable degree of regularity. They had framed houses, some of them well finished and painted, and having chimneys. They had broad and protected fields, and in addition an abundance of apples and orchards of peaches, pears and plums. But after the battle of New Town terror led the van of the invader, whose approach was heralded by watchmen stationed upon every height, and desolation followed weeping in his train. The Indians everywhere fled as Sullivan advanced, and the whole country was swept as with the besom of destruc- tion. Towns were burned, fields laid waste, cattle destroyed and the or- chards cut down. Cornplanter was a sad witness to the destruction of his own home and village and that of his people. He refers to these seasons most eloquently in his address to Washington in 1792. 'When your army entered the country of the Six Nations we called you the town destroyer, and to this day, when that name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale and our children cling close to the necks of their mothers. Our councillors and warriors are men and cannot be afraid, but their hearts are grieved with the fears of women and children.' " 238 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The expedition of General Sullivan sobered the Indians and gave Cornplanter power over his people. He became convinced that it was fruit- less to attempt to combat the colonies, who were every year growing stronger and increasing in population. Accordingly, when the great gath- ering of the native chiefs assembled at Fort Stanwix, at the close of the Revolutionary War, Cornplanter favored the peace policy and the giving up their vast territories which they did not occupy rather than to attempt to hold them by force, which he plainly saw would result in disaster. By the treaty there concluded vast stretches of land were sold. In that treaty his voice was potential and by the position which he there took he lost the friendship of many of the braves of his tribe who were ambitious to fight for their ancient inheritance. It was by the treaty there concluded that Crawford County came into possession of the State of Pennsylvania. When the western Indians united in one grand conclave to fight and drive back the settlers in 1 790-1 strenuous efforts were made to induce the Six Nations to join them, but Cornplanter, who was now in his full strength and influence, held back his people and succeeded in preventing them against the wishes of some of the most powerful chiefs of his nation. Great solici- tude was felt by the government of the young nation lest the Six Nations would be prevailed upon to unite with the western tribes in a general war which they had inaugurated. Had this been accomplished, Crawford County, and indeed the whole northwestern portion of Pennsylvania and New York, would have been swept with Indian warfare, and the torch and the scalping knife would have been the ready instruments of savage warfare. Recognizing the necessity of prompt action, Washington employed Cornplanter, in 1 791, to proceed in behalf of the government of the United States into the country of the northwestern Indians on an embassy of peace and reconciliation. He was unsuccessful in inducing the western Indians to make peace, but he held his own nation in check and prevented the war- like attitude which Brant and Red Jacket were intent upon assuming. In 1802 Cornplanter visited President Jefferson and in reply to the Sachem's address the President said: "Go on then, brother, in the great reformation you have undertaken. Persuade our red men to be sober and to cultivate their lands, and their women to spin and weave for their families. It will be a great glory to you to have been the instrument of so happy a change, and your children's children, from generation to generation, will OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 239 repeat your name with love and gratitude forever. In all your enterprises for the good of your people you may count with confidence on the aid and protection of the United States, and on the sincerity and zeal with which I am animated in the furthering of this humane work. You are our brethren of the same land; we wish you prosperity, as brethren should do." When the war of 1812 broke out the patriotism of the old chieftain was aroused, and though he was now 80 years of age, he gathered together 200 of his young braves and marched to Franklin, Venango County, where Colonel' Samuel Dale was about to march with his regiment to the frontier. Cornplanter offered his men, but Colonel Dale not having authority to ac- cept them, persuaded the old chieftain to return, promising him that if needed his braves would be called for. Before leaving he asked the Colonel to explain the causes and objects of the war, which was done, and Corn- planter made the following reply: "Many years ago a boy came over the great waters and settled among his people of the Six Nations; some time thereafter the father followed to keep him in subjection. The Indians helped the father, but the boy was too much for both, and drove the father home. And now, when the father had become an old man and the boy a strong man and a good neighbor to his nation, he wished to show his friendship for the Thirteen Fires by taking his two hundred warriors to assist to drive the old man across the great waters." Cornplanter insisted that his war- riors ought not to stay at home and live idly in their wigwams whilst their white friends and. brothers were upon the war path. But upon the promise of the Colonel that they would be sent for he was pacified and returned home. Thomas Struthers, Esq., of Warren, paid a visit to Cornplanter in 1 83 1 at his home on the banks of the Allegheny River and gave the f6llow- ing account of his interview: "I accompanied some gentlemen, residents of Pittsburg and Butler, who desired to pay their respects to him. It was a pleasant day in May when we called on him. He talked no English. I introduced the gentlemen through an interpreter, whom I had engaged, and informed him that they had called to pay their respects to him. He seemed much pleased that his white friends were inclined to pay him such attention. The introduction took place in front of his log cabin, on the bank of the Allegheny River. He gave orders to some young Indians, the import of which we soon ascertained, by the fact that they immediately collected some boards and placed them for seats around a log sled in the form of 240 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. a hollow square. This done, the old chief pointed out to each of the party his seat, and all sat facing inward. He then took his seat in the center and announced that he was ready to hear any communications we had to make. I told him we had not come to buy lands or timber, nor to trade for furs and skins, but had called on him in the spirit of friendship, to pay our respects to the great Indian chief whom we had learned to admire as a warrior, and especially as the friend of the United States, who had inculcated the principles of peace and Christianity among the people. I referred briefly to the schools established among his people by the Friends of Philadelphia. "The old chief replied in a speech which would compare well with many of our best State papers. His manner was dignified and eloquent and his eye lit up, as if by inspiration, so that it was very interesting to listen to what he said, although we could not understand it, until the interpreter rendered it to us. He spoke of the relations between the white men and the red men — the war and bloodshed caused by the former, to displace the latter from their hunting grounds — the peace effected with the Six Na- tions — dwelt particularly on the virtues of General Washington, the great and good white Father. He brought forth from a well covered valise, in which they were carefully wrapped in linen cloth, two or three 'talks,' as he termed them, on parchment, to which was appended the autograph of Washington. He said he had met Washington a number of times and treated with him. His single eye sparkled with animation when his name was mentioned. And in conclusion, he thanked the Great Spirit that there were now no wars or blood-shedding going on, but that peace and good will existed amongst all men and all nations, so far as he could hear. He spoke as a statesman and philanthropist whose mind was occupied with the weighty interests of mankind rather than with merely the affairs and con- cerns of a family or tribe. He thanked us for our call upon him, and in- vited us to dine with him, which we accepted. The bill of fare was jerked venison and corn mush: the latter was prepared in the Indian manner, each guest having a tin pan about half full of hot water, in which the Indian meal was mixed at the pleasure of the guest. In 1822, when he was 90 years old, Cornplanter became possessed of a religious temper, and bringing out a sword and pistols and some other military accoutrements which had been presented to him by Washington broke them in pieces, and a gold laced hat which was given him by OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 241 Governor Mifflin, also a French flag and superb belt of wampum, trophies of valor which he destroyed. It appears that under the influence of Chris- tianity, particulai-ly as evinced in the teachings of the society of Friends, who had established schools in his nation, he became so firm an advocate of peace that he wished to remove from him all the memorials that recalled to his recol- lection the scenes of war and blood through which he had passed. Judge Thompson, of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, thus speaks: "I once saw the aged and venerable chief and had an interesting interviev/ with him about a year and a half before his death When I saw him he estimated his age to be over one hundred years. I think one hun- dred and three was about his reckoning of it. This would make him one hundred and five at his death. His person was much stooped and his stature was far short of what it once had been — not being over five feet six inches at the time I speak of. He was constitutionally sedate; was never observed to smile, much less to indulge in the luxury of a laugh. Mr. John Struthers, of Ohio, told me some years since that he had seen him nearly fifty years before, and at that period he was about his own height, viz.: six feet one inch. Time and hardship had made dreadful havoc upon that ancient form. The chest was sunken and his shoulders were drawn forward, making the upper part of his body resemble a trough. His limbs had lost their sym- metry and become crooked. His feet, too (for he had taken off his mocca- sins), were deformed and haggard by injury. I would say that most of his fingers on one hand were useless; the sinews had been severed by a blow of the tomahawk or scalping knife. How I longed to ask him what scene of blood and strife had thus stamped the enduring evidence of its existence upon his person. But to have done so would in all probability have put ■an end to all further conversation on any subject. The information de- sired would certainly not have been received and I had to forego my curi- osity. He had but one eye and even the socket of the lost organ was hid by the overhanging brow resting upon the high cheek bone. His remain- ing eye was of the brightest and blackest hue. Never have I seen one, in young or old, that equaled it in brilliancy. Perhaps it had borrowed luster from the eternal darkness that' had rested on its neighboring orbit. His ears had been dressed in the Indian mode, all but the outside had been cut away; on the one ear the ring had been torn assunder near the top, and hung down his neck like a useless rag. He had a full head of hair, white as 16 242 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the driven snow, which covered a head of ample dimensions and admirable shape. His face was not swarthy. He told me that he had been at Frank- lin more than eighty years before the period of conversation, on his passage down the Ohio and Mississippi with the warriors of his tribe, on some expe- dition against the Creeks or Osages. He had long been a man of peace, and I believe his great characteristics were humanity and truth. As he stood before me — the ancient chief in ruins — how forcibly was I struck with _ the truth of the beautiful figure of the old aboriginal chieftain, who, in describing himself, said, 'he was like an aged hemlock, dead at the top, and whose branches alone were green.' After more than one hundred years of most varied life — of strife — of danger — of peace — ^he at last slumbers in deep repose on the banks of his own beloved Allegheny." Dr. Irvine, of Broken- straw, son of Gen. C. Irvine, an ihtimate friend of the chief, in a letter says: "I frequently heard my father say that Cornplantei" was one of the most honest and truthful men he ever knew, whether white or red." Judge John- son, under whose direction the monument was erected, states, "So far as Cornplanter was personally known to residents in this section of country he was regarded as a living example of integrity, truthfulness, purity, tem- perance, fatherly affection for his tribe and race and a generous hospitality to all. He possessed the universal affection and veneration of his tribe and of all men who knew him." In closing his dedicatory address, Mr. Snowden thus spoke: "This is no ordinary occasion. A great Commonwealth, by a solemn act cf legisla- tion, and by her agents here this day, honors the memory of the distin- guished Indian chief whose mortal remains lie mouldering in this grave. We this day dedicate this monument to the memory of Cornplanter, an Indian chief of the Seneca tribe of the Six Nations^and may we, both white and red men, and our children's children, as long as this beautiful river bears its waters to the ocean, venerate his memory and emulate his virtues." IPatt iriF, meabville anb XTttusville. ;l,5*f Plf»^ i CHAPTER I. EARLY SETTLERS OF MEADVILLE. THE first settlement in northwestern Pennsylvania, as has been already- observed, was at and in the vicinity of Meadville, long known as "Mead Settlement." The original plan of Meadville was conceived in 1793, by David Mead, though the town was not named until after the first sale of lots. In an old account book, in General Mead's own hand- writing, is the following entry: "Journal of the town — laid out by David Mead, at Cassawago, and commencement of the sale of lots on the 20th day of February, 1793." The purchasers of lots during this 3rear were William Gill, Thomas Ray, John Ray, Robert Finney, Lewis Bond, Samuel Lord, Hugh Dupray, Ebenezer McGuffin, James Campbell, John Beals, Frederick Haymaker, William Jones, John Wentworth, William Black, Thomas Black, Andrew Robinson and Luke Hill. In 1794 the following persons bought lots in the newly laid out town: William Dick, John Wilkins, Jr., Jesse Barber, John Polhamus, John Smith, John Brooks, James Dickson, John Clows, Cornelius Van Home, John Mead, Abner Evans, Barnabas McCormick, James Findley, Joseph Grififin, Robert Wil- son, Ebenezer McGufifin, Jennet Finney, Edward Cannon, William Clemens, Samuel Lord, Nicholas Lord, John Hawk, George Roberts, Joseph Arm- strong, John Barclay, Henry Richard and Frederick Baum. In 1795 lots were purchased by William Gill, Jacob Raysor, John Welford, John Davis, John Stewart, Solomon Jennings, Robert Finney, Jennet Finney, Alexan- der Power, Frederick Baum, Robert Johnson, John Johnson, John Morris, Henry Marly, Robert Wilson, John Wilson, Charles Sweeney, John Mc- Addon, Archibald Bruce, John Brooks, Wilham Johnson, Robert Burris, James Heatley, Alexander Linn, Roger Alden and Joseph Osborn. The block of lots on Walnut Street, between Market and Park Avenue, now occupied by the residence of D. G. Shryock, Esq., was in the original 24s 246 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. plan of General Mead intended for a public square. Henry Marley, one of the pioneers of Crawford County, acted as chain bearer for the General in the survey of the town. He used to relate that they commenced at Mead's Mill, a log building then standing near the site of the "Red Mill," standing, until within a few years past, at the head of Water Street, and ran south, cutting out the hazel brush in their progress. It was late in the afternoon before they reached the point where Mill Run crosses Water Street, when Mead, looking at his watch, exclaimed, "Well, Henry, we'll stop here. I guess the town will never go further south than this creek." He, however, lived to see the village pass the boundary he had established. But what would be the old General's surprise if he were to return and view the city he founded more than a century ago? Many of those who purchased lots of General Mead, in 1793-4-5, were non-residents, while others are well remembered pioneers of different sections of the county. The following purchasers, however, located permanently in Meadville, and the majority of them lived and died here: Samuel Lord, Frederick Haymaker, William Dick, John Brooks, Henry Reichard, Jacob Raysor, John Davis and Roger Alden. Between 1794 and 1800 several other pioneers settled in the vil- lage; among them were Dr. Thomas R. Kennedy, James Herriott, Samuel Torbett, Capt. Richard Patch, James Gibson, Col. Joseph Hackney, John Carver, William McArthur, David Compton, Patrick Davis, Lawrence ivlancy and Alexander Buchanan. In 1795 the town plat was resurveyed, remodeled and enlarged by General Mead, Dr. Thomas R. Kennedy and Maj. Roger Alden. The town was divided into seventy-five squares, by streets, alleys and lanes, and one square, known as the Diamond, was laid ofif for public buildings, in the .form of a parallelogram, measuring 300 feet east and 'west and 600 feet north and south. By the close of the eighteenth century scattering cabins dotted the site of Meadville from French Creek or Venango River to the Diamond, and the little hamlet began to exhibit signs of a healthy growth. The erection of Crawford County, in 1800, and the location of the seat of justice at Meadville gave it an impetus that for some years made it the leading town in northwestern Pennsylvania. For the fivp years after the county was organized the buildings on Water Street, previously mentioned, were rented, repaired and utilized for county purposes, but on the 5th of March, 1804, the Legislature passed an OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 2^7 act ordering the commispioners to erect a court house and public offices. In compliance with this law a two-storied hewed log building was erected that year on the site of Haskins and McClintock's law office, which stands immediately between the residences of the late Judge Derickson and the late Hiram L. Richmond. The lower story was used for a jail and a jailer's .residence and a small lot in the rear of the building was enclosed with a high post and picket fence for a jail lot. In the second story was the court ,room, and was accessible by an outside stairway in front of the building. This room was utilized by the pioneers wherein to hold meetings of various sorts, and here, too, they met for religious worship. It therefore served the two-fold purpose of a training place for imparting both civil and religioiis teachings. The lot on which the court -house and jail stood was purchased of David Mead for $ioo, he having previously donated the Diamond for that purpose. The clearing and grubbing and erecting the building was done by William Dick at a cost of $2,493. John Grier was paid $100 for sinking a well in the jail lot, so that the total cost of the first court house and jail was $2,593. Upon the erection of the next court house, in 1824, all the old building was converted into a jail and used as such until the present stone structure was built in 1849, when it was removed. The erection of the present court house was commenced in the fall of 1867. The cornerstone was laid May 27, 1868, and the building was completed in October, 1869. It is located on the east side of the Diamond, and is constructed in the renaissance style, of pressed brick, with stone trimmings. It has tesselated floors, an iron roof, and is considered fire proof throughout. It is heated by steam, and its total cost, including fencing, flagging and furnishings, was $249,000. On the first floor are located the offices of county commissioners, register a.nd recorder, sheriff, treasurer, clerk of courts, county superintendent of schools, district attorney, court stenographer and arbitration room. The court room, prothonotaries' office, jury rooms, law library, presiding justice's office, and consulting rooms occupy the second floor. The janitor's residence is in the third story. For more than fifty years after the organization of. the county each township cared for its own poor; but on the 15th of April, 1851, an act, was passed by the Legislature, "To provide for the erection of a house for the employment and support of the poor of the county of Crawford." Isaac Saeger, James D. Mclntire, James Cochran, Hugh Brawley, H. B. 248 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Beatty, Anson Leonard, William McLean, and John Reynolds were ap- pointed by the act commissioners to purchase land for the purpose, and the county commissioners were instructed to erect suitable buildings thereon, and were designated as managers of the institution from that time forward, known as "The Directors of the Poor and of the House of Employment in the County of Crawford." The commissioners named purchased ninety-nine acres and eighty perches of land adjoining the borough of Saegertown, in the beautiful valley of Woodcock Creek. In 1852 the directors entered into a contract with James A. McFadden and Joseph Balliet to erect a two-story and a half brick structure 42x90 feet, with a kitchen 22x36 feet, for $7,250. In 1868 a three-storied brick build- ing 45x68 feet, adjoining the old structure, was built at a cost of some $20,000. In 1869 a further purchase of land was made of 138 acres, which, together with outbuildings, makes the entire cost to the county of some $50,000. In May, 1888, occurred the one hundredth anniversary of the settle- ment of the county. As was proper, the event was celebrated by a vast gathering of citizens from all parts of the county. In the morning an . historical and a patriotic address were delivered in the Academy of Music, a poem was recited; an original song, set to music by a citizen, was sun^. An oak tree was planted on the public square in front of the court house with proper ceremonies of speech-making and music. In the afternoon throngs gathered in front of a stage erected at the northern end of Dia- mond Park, where a monument consisting of a pioneer, life size, gun in hand, cut in granite, standing upon a pedestal of the same material, in the rough, resting upon a proportionate base, had been erected to mark the event — to Hsten to a dedicatory address and songs by the« school children of the whole city, who had been marched from their several schools to the grounds. Rarely, if ever, had such a throng, so happy and joyous, been seen in Crawford County before. To crown all a procession representing the trades and manufactures of the entire county, with flats on which the different workmen were at their trades, and as the procession moved the products of their handiwork were handed out to the wonder-gaping crowds. The principal streets were passed over and the mechanical skill displayed was indeed well worth a long journey to observe. General Mead's first mill was upon wheels, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 249 turning out meal as they moved along, just as they did in the olden time. Remarkable enterprise by the proprietor of the Tribune-Republican was shown in issuing a memorial number of his paper, finely illustrated, con- taining a history of the county, the addresses delivered and a full account of the services. Altogether it formed a unique volume, well worthy of being bound for preservation. Not long afterward enterprising citizens of the G. A. R. corps pro- cured a soldiers' monument that was erected on the opposite end of the park, which was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. It represents an infantry soldier armed and equipped for service, bearing aloft the flag of his country and standing upon a beautifully wrought monument of the finest granite, decorated with appropriate military emblems. In front of this elegant monument there were subsequently placed two long-range thirty-pounder Parrott guns from the War Depai'tment, one of them manu- factured in 1862 at the West Point foundry. Cold Springs, N. Y., and the other by the same company in 1864. They are mounted on cut-stone foundations, pointing southward, and between the two is a pile of solid shot arranged in pyramidal form. CHAPTER II. EDUCATION IN MEADVILLE. THE preliminary steps towards the founding of Allegheny College were taken at a meeting convened at the old log cotuthouse in Meadville, on the 20th of June, 1815. At this period Meadville contained less than eighty families, and about 400 inhabitants, very nearly the present population of Kerrtown. The whole population of Crawford County was only about six thousand, and the number of taxables was less than twelve hundred. Curiosity is excited to know what the inhabitants of this insignifi- cant village, around which the stumps still stood like grim sentinels, and population for a long reach around had hardly enough of the forest cleared to eke out a scanty subsistence, wanted with a college, and how they ever expected to^ support it. Was it like the penchant of one of Mark Twain's heroes for Echoes? But men sometimes build better than they know, and such must have been the case with the pioneers of collegiate education. It was doubtless in answer toi a noble aspiration. When we behold this exhibition of their pluck and courage we are led tO' wonder if they would have stumbled before the establishment of a public library. The meeting was organized by appointing Major Roger Alden chair- man and Mr. John Reynolds secretary. A statement of the sentiment of the meeting, and the motives which actuated its members, was formally offered and unanimously adopted, which, though a little high sounding, is nevertheless a faithful expression, doubtless, of the feelings which moved them. "Be it known," is the language of this paper, "to all whom it may concern, that we, whose names ai-e affixed to this instrument, have volun- tarily associated ourselves together for the purpose of establishing a colle- giate institution. "The importance of advantages for a classical education, and the want of an institution where such an education may be obtained, in the extensive 250 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 251 region watered by the Allegheny River and its numerous contributory streams, and destined, in all human probability, to be overspread, at no great distance of time, with as many inhabitants as. any interior section of the United States, of equal magnitude, are a sufificient reason for awakening our attention tO' this subject. "The example of our venerable ancestors, who early made provision for the Hberal and pious education of their sons; the nature of our govern- ment, the welfare of which depends, in no small degree, under Almighty God, on the prevalence of knowledge, virtue and religion; the eventful pe- riod in which we live, plainly indicating that the time is nigh at hand when there will be an unprecedented call for the labors of the heralds of the gos- pel, afford additional argument on the expediency of our picsent under- taking." From this pronunciamento we discover that, in prophetic vision, they beheld the teeming populations eventually to fill this broad domain, and, acting upon the example of pious ancestoi^s, they built, not tO' meet a present need, but for a probable future want, and especially were they mindful of the pressing demands of the church. From its being in the midst of the Allegheny basin, of territory drained by the Allegheny River, it was named Allegheny College, and located at Meadville. The chairman of the meeting. Major AJden, was fully alive to the im- portance of the enterprise, mainly, doubtless, from a purely philanthropic motive, though possibly incidentally with an eye to business, as he was the first agent of the Holland Land Company, and was, from the first, very energetic in bringing out the hidden resources of this region. He had fought as a private in the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, and when the army was organized he entered it as adjutant. He was in the battles of Flat Bush, Long Island, White Plains, the capture of Burgoyne, and at the battle of Monmouth. He was aid-de-camp to Benedict Arnold at the time of his treason at West Point, He afterward made the campaign of the South, under General Green, and was at the surrender of Cornwallis, having been, as described by one of his intimate friends, "in the first platoon that fired a shot at Lexington, and among the last in the action at York- town." Full of enterprise and public spirit, he expended a competent for- tune in endeavoring to improve the county by erecting grist mills, saw- mills and in laying out roads. He built the first mills at S.aegertown, and 252 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. was the mover in several similar enterprises in various localities. He, in conjunction with Dr. Kennedy, gave to Meadville the impress of regularity in its laying out. There is little doubt, however, that the aspirations of the early citizens of Meadville for an institution of a high order — a full-fledged college — were given form and reduced to method by him who became its first president, and was its guiding genius, Timothy Alden, a cousin oi the Major, who had been a student of Phillips Academy, at Andover, Mass., a graduate of Harvard University, an enthusiast in lingual studies, and had had large experience as a teacher in Portsmouth, N. H., Boston, Newark. N. J., and in New York City. In this first meeting the plan of operations was Very completely sketched. It was resolved that the college have a president, a vice-presi- dent, professors and tutors; that the Rev. Timothy Alden, late of the city of New York, be president of the college and professor of Oriental languages and ecclesiastical history, and the Rev. Robert Johnston vice-president and professor of logick, metaphysicks and ethicks, all with a k; but while their heads were swimming in the regions of Oriental languages, ecclesiastical his- tory, logick, metaphysicks and ethicks, they bethought themselves that as yet there were neither students nor local habitation, and they prudently added that the president and vice-president be the sole instructors for the present in all departments of literature and science. It was further resolved to appoint a committee to prepare an address to the Legislature, requesting a charter, another tO' draft a code of laws and regulations for the govern- ment of the college; that John Reynolds, who was chosen treasurer, should open subscription books for donations in any kind of property which may be useful to the institution; and that the president-elect be commissioned to go forth as agent of the college to solicit mieans from abroad. His territory was not circumscribed, as are agents nowadays, but he was given the whole boundless continent. The wording of his coinmission is unique: "We rec- ommend," it proceeds, after the statement of the fact of his appointment as president, "that you personally become the organ of communication to the citizens of the United States, and, with your own argument and eloquence, declare the motives and objects of establishing a collegiate institution in this new and delightful country, acknowledging, with the utmost frankness and sincerity, that if the associators did not judge you in every respect com- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 253 pletely qualified for presiding- they would not have presumed tO' commence an undertaking so necessary and important. Having the utmost confidence in your integrity, and knowing your zeal in the cause of science, morality and religion, the board have committed tO' you a most sacred charge, and you are authorized tO' solicit benefactions in any part of the United States." But there was one provision made in this first meeting more far-reach- ing in its purpose, and which evinced a deeper insight into the wants of the college, than any of these. It was that "the publick academies now in exist- ence, or hereafter to be established in the counties of Crawford, Erie, War- ren, Venango, Mercer and Butler, composing the northwestern judicial dis- trict of Pennsylvania, may be so far connected with Allegheny College as to receive probationers for matriculation in this seminary, and in this case that the principal instructor, being a man of competent classical education, and of good characte'r, be considered as one of the faculty, and be added to the list of tutors of the college." The end contemplated by this provision was to raise up and cement together a large number of preparatory schools, cov- ering all this whole northwestern section of the State, which should serve as feeders to the college, and by giving the principals a semi-official connec- tion with the faculty, induce them to labor for its upbuilding, and to^ enable the faculty to exert a reflex influence in securing a uniform standard- of preparation, conditions most useful as affecting its life bloo'd — a relation which has for a long time subsisted in the English schools and universities, but never, to my knowledge, attempted in this country but in this instance. The crying evil in American colleges at the present time is the lack of suit- able schools for preparing youths for college, organized for this special func- tion, and not transcending it. We have good primary schools, and we have good colleges and universities, but our secondary or intermediate schools, with few exceptions, like Phillips Academy, have no standing and scarcely no existence. Dr. McCosh, president of Princeton College, said last summer before the National Teachers' Association: "The grand educational want of Amer- ica at this present time is a judiciously scattered body of secondary schools to carry on our brighter youths from what has been, so well commenced in the primary schools, and may be so^ well completed in our colleges. How are young men to mount from the lower tO' the higher platform? Every one has heard of the man who built a fine house of two stories, each large ,254 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. and commodious, but who neglected to put a stair between them. It ap- pears to me that there has been a like mistake committed in most of the States of the Union. We need a set of intermediate .schools, toi enable the abler youths of America to take advantage of the education provided in the colleges." To show how fully European countries are provided with this class of schools, I give the statistics gathered by Superintendent Wickersham : Secondary schools Population. for boys. Teachers. Students. Germany 41,000,000 1,043 12,000 177,379 Austria 27,000,000 383 18,852 Netherlands .... 3,674,402 219 i,390 14,500 , Sweden 4,250,452 103 11,874 Switzerland 2,669,147 375 1,000 12,750 The public high school must do what it can towards feeding the college, though it is not its special function to fit boys for college; but rather to do the best possible for that great class which cannot take a collegiate educa- tion. Schools to do this special work must be created, and this was the far- reaching aim of the provision incorporated in these resolves. In the early history of this county there were learned clergymen, who were accustomed tO' take a few young, men into their families and fit them for college. Such a man was the Rev. Mr. Gamble, father of Dr. Gamble of Mosiertown, who had his hom,e in South Shenango, near Jamestown; but even this practice has died out. The action of the college last season in establishing a pre- paratory department is in the right direction. The resolves of this little assembly on that June evening, of 181 5 were conceived in a spirit of noble philanthropy, and when adjourned as they blew out the lights and walked through the quiet streets, where, as Irving would say, the buzz of a blue-bottle fly of a summer afternoon could be heard from one end of the main street to the other, I have no doubt that they viewed their evening's work with complacency, and felt assured that a college was to be — ^just how was -not yet so apparent. But there was one in that company to. whom toil and privation and patient waiting were a real joy, a quid which in his young manhood he rolled as a sweet morsel under his tongue, and that was President Alden. He soon started out on his mission to the United States, and, judging OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 255 by the long list of donations, varying from 20 cents up to $5, $10 and even $100, little money, mostly books, and ranging through the princi- pal towns of the North and East, he religiously carried out his instructions to present his case to the people of the United States. The first name on his paper is that of John Adams, ex-President of the United States, who sub- scribed $20 in books. Then follow the solid men of Boston, sixty-six in number, the Frothinghams, the Channings, the Davises, the Lorings, the Lowells, the Ticknors, the Greenleafs, the Parkmans and the Thayers. One, D. D. Rorgers, gave 500 acres of wild land on the Little Kanawha, estimated at $2,000. Then follow the inen of Cambridge, Charlestown, Dorchester, Mar- blehead, Medford, Plymouth, Salem, where the learned Dr. Worcester resided, Sandwich, Worcester, where Dr. Aaron Bancroft lived, Yarmouth, Bristol, R. L; Pawtucket, where Dr. Benedict, the historian of the Baptists, gave $5; Providence, where Brown and Ives, the patrons of Brown Univer- sity, gave him $50 in money; Albany, N. Y., Brooklyn, Hudson, Newburg, New York City, with its twenty-nine subscribers, among whom was Dr. Harris, president of Columbia College; Schenectady, where we find Dr. Nott, president of Union College; Troy, Burlington, Newark, New Bruns- wick, Harrisburg, Pa., Lancaster, Philadelphia and Pittsburg. The net results of the mission were: Land $2,000.00. Books 1,642.26 Cash 461.00 Total $4,103.30 A rather small amount of money with which to found a college, and bearing the proportion to unproductive funds that Falstaff's bread did to his sack. But the result of this tour is not represented by these figures above; for he paved the way for bequests that were princely. Besides, he procured sundry interesting relics for a cabinet and museum, and seeds from the pro- fessor of natural history at Cambridge for the commencement of a botanic garden. Those seeds have probably not yet been put to sprouting. Among the articles for the cabinet were specimens of mosaic, and of plaster from Pompeii, of marble broken from a pillar of the amphitheatre at Hercula- neum, discovered one hundred feet below the surface of the lava; sulphate of iron from Stromboli; pomice stone from ^tna; plaster broken from the 256 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. inside of the tomb of Virgil — nothing is said about the morality of such a gift; sundry seashells from the coast of Carthage; marble broken from a pillar, which tradition states to have belonged to Dido's temple, perhaps a token of the love of ^Eneas; of caxa, the current coin of the Chinese Em- pire, ten of which are equal to a Massachusetts penny; a quarter of a dollar, with the head of the ex-King, Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte, dated 1813, etc.. etc. In the meantime the subscriptions here at home to the books of Treas- urer Reynolds went bravely on. These were in cash: Hon. William B. Grif- fith and John B. Wallace, $1,000; Roger Aldeh, $500; H. J. Huidekoper, Daniel Bemus, Daniel Le Fevre, General Mead, Jesse Moore, John Rey- nolds and Jared Shattuck, $300 each; Patrick Farrelly, Samuel B. Magaw, Colonel Ralph Marlin and James White, $200 each; Samuel Torbett, $150, and Jared Shattuck, Timothy Alden, $120; Joseph T. Cummings & Co., $110; Thomas Atkinson, Henrs' Hurst, $100 each, and smaller sums from Moses Allen, Eliphalett Betts, David Compton, John Cotton, Hugh Cotton, Jr. and Sr., James Foster, James Hamilton, Robert and John Johnston, Alexander McDowell, Joseph Morrison, Lewis Neill, Daniel Perkins, Alex- ander Power, Noah Wade and William W. White. Samuel Lord and Dan- iel Le Fevre presented 225 acres of land, valued at $450. The total of the Meadville subscriptions was $5,685, which, with the foreign contributions, made a grand total of $9,788.30, with which to start the college. The matter of securing a charter was vigorously pushed; but such is almost always the delay in securing general legislation, the bill was not read in place till the 12th of December, 18 16, and was not finally acted on until the 24th of March, 1817, when it became a law. Tlie Governor, Chief Jus- tice and Attorney-General of the co^mmonwealth were constituted trustees, ex-officio. Two thousand dollars were appropriated, to be paid in three equal annual installments. A shade of disappointment can be detected in President Alden's announcement of the passage of the act, for the appro- priation was reduced from three thousand dollars, which was contained in the original bill, to two, and the section granting all undrawn sections of land in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth donation districts was stricken out entirely. But he speaks in that gracious, hopeful way which, under all circumstances, seemed to characterize him. "It is to be remarked," he says, "that the Legislature of the extensive, opulent and rapidly increasing OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 257 commonwealth of Pennsylvania has taken this infant seminary under its fos- tering care, and has granted a charter predicated on as liberal principles as could reasonably have been desired, by the wamiest friends of the institu- tion. The pecuniary appropriation actually made, in connection with the aid of private munificence, is sufficient for a commencement of operation; and it would be unbecoming to doubt the future disposition of the honorable Legislature more than the ability of the State, which is richer in funds than any other in the Union — to do everything proper to build up this college,, now under its patronage, so as to render it a blessing to present and future generations." The charter having been finally secured, on the' 28th of July following (1817), amid much ceremony, the Rev. Timothy Alden was inaugurated president of the faculty and professor of the Oriental languages, ecclesiasti- cal history and theology of Allegheny College, at the old lo-^ courthouse in Meadville. It will astonish the conceited scholars of to-day, who' think they have made great advances in learning over that of this benighted pe- riod, to read the programme of exercises on this occasion: 1. "An address in Latin, to the president and professor-elect, an- nouncing his appointment to these offices, by Patrick Farrelly, Esq." Scholarship was in repute in those days in courthouses. 2. "A reply in Latin, by Mr. Alden, declaring his acceptance of these offices." 3. "A prayer, by Mr. Alden." 4. "Sacred musick by a choir of singers unde ■ the direction of Colonel Robert Stockton and Mr. John Bowman." 5. "Inaugural oration in Latin, by Mr. Alden. ' 6. "A Hebrew oration, a Latin oration, an English oration, a Latin dialogue, a Greek dialogue, an English dialogue and an English oration, by the probationers of Allegheny College." You will observe that even the probationers only occasionally condescended to speak in their mother tongue. 7. "Sacred musick, probably in English, though not so stated." 8. "An address in English, in reference to the occasion, by Mr. Al- den." This was probably for the ears of the groundlings. But the most marvelous part of this programme is to come. To be sure, the college was, in law, only about two hours old; but it proceeded to cast around over the 17 258 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. United States its honorary degrees of LL. D., D. D., S. T. D., with all the grace and dignity of the most venerable seat of learning. It may be with quite as wise discrimination as many -of the later day. 9. "The degree of LL.D. was conferred upon Ebenezer Pemberton, Esq., of Boston, and the Hon. James Winthrop of Cambridge, and that of S. T. D. upon the Rev. Joseph McKean, successor to his excellency, John Quincy Adams, in the professorship of rhetorick and oratory in Harvard University; and the Rev. Alexander Gunn, one of the ministers of the Re- formed Dutch Church, in the city of New York." It is not surprising that the historian, Day, in noticing this programme, should declare that "Mr. Alden was inaugurated amid an astonishing dis- play of the dead languages." It should be observed that the lower story of the courthouse was used for a jail, and that the prisoners must have got the benefit of these intellectual pyrotechnics. But though these proceedings may appear mirth-provoking to the uninitiated, yet there was a "method in the madness," and certain munificent bequests which followed hard upon is proof of the forecast and wisdom, of this world in Dr. Alden's proced- ure. Besides, he was exceptionally fond of the Oriental languages, and in presenting so^ strong an array of such learning in this public way he meant to convince people that his college was to be no two-penny affair; but that the highest order of scholarship was to form the substratum, and that he was abundantly able toi impart it, and form his scholars after his mould. There is hardly on record a case of such abounding faith and resolution, and of moving straight forward to success in the face of unbounded difficul- ties and discouragements. As illustrative of his passion for the languages, Dr. Hamnett, in his lecture on the college, mentions the fact that at the commencement at Harvard, on the occasion of the graduation of the class to which Dr. Alden belonged, his oration was written in the Syriac lan- guage, and that "when he submitted his paper tO' the president for his ap- proval, the president, being altogether ignorant of the language, said : 'Come, Alden, sit down and construe it for me.' When reduced to the form of good Anglo-Saxon it was heartily approved." President Alden's untiring zeal and enterprise convinced people that his project would succeed, and that it was worthy of their benefactions. The first large contribution to the college was bequeathed by the will of the Rev. Dr. William Bentley, a Unitarian clergyman of Salem, Mass., "who," says OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 259 the historian, Day, "had spent his Ufe in amassing one of the most rare col- lections of theological works in the cotmtry. Harvard University had set her eyes upon this collection, and having bestowed the preliminary plum in the shape of an LL.D diploma, patiently awaited the doctor's demise. She occupied, however, the situation of Esau before Isaac, for Mr. Alden had previously prepared the savory dish and received the boon; and the name Bentley Hall now records the gratitude of Allegheny College." This collection embraced all his theological works, said to contain such a treas- ure of the ancient Latin and Greek Fathers of the church as few of the colleges of the United States possessed, all his lexicons, dictionaries and Bibles, and was valued at $3,000. 'Isaiah Thomas, LL.D., of Worcester, the founder and president of the American Antiquarian Society, also^ do- nated a considerable collection of miscellaneous literature. Then came the most important bequest of all, that of Hon. James Winthrop, LL.D.,' of Cambridge, Mass., who, as the Boston Patriot of that day said,' has be- queathed his library, one of the best private libraries in the Union, to the Allegheny College, at Meadville, where the late learned and reverend, and we will add uniformly patriotic. Dr. Bentley, sent a part of his very valuable collection." These books were characterized as most rare and valuable, and were valued at $6,400. When all the donations were collectfed and ar- ranged a catalogue was made (Catalogus Bibliothecae Collegii Alleghenien- sis, etypis Thomas Atkinson et Losii, opud Meadville, 1823, paiges 136), a copy of which was sent to President Jefferson, which drew from' him a letter of thanks, in which he says: "Mr. Winthrop's donation is ihappre- ciable for the variety of branches of science to which it extends, and for 'the rare and precious works it possesses in each branch. I had not expected there was such a private collection in the United States. We are just corii- mencing the establishment of an university in Virginia, but cannot flatter ourselves with the hope of such donations as have been bestowed on yoti. I avail myself of this occasion of tendering to yours, from our institution, fraternal and cordial embraces, of assuring you that we wish it to pros^^f^Elfld become great, and that our only emulatioh in this honorable race Sih'all be the virtuous one of trying which can do the most good." President Madi- son responded in a similar vein: "The trustees," he says, "were not mis- taken in the belief that it would give me pleasure to know that a learned in- stitution had been so promptly reared in so favorable a position, and under 26o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. such happy auspices. No one who regards public liberty as essential to pub- lic happiness can fail to rejoice at every new source of that intellectual and moral instruction, without which liberty can neither last long nor be fruitfiil of its proper blessings while it does last. This college may be very justly congratulated on the number and value of the books, so munificently con- tributed to its infant library." The location selected for the college buildings, out of the tract donated by Samuel Lord, upon the northern hillside, giving a southern exposure, with the whole broad valley spread out at its foot, the river, skirted by ven- erable shades winding through it like a thread of silver, with bold head lands towering up on everj^ hand, interspersed with pleasing variety of meadow and forest, and the city seated in queenly beauty — such a situation is not excelled for natural advantage by the site of any college in the land, if at all equaled. The main building was well planned and substantially con- structed, and reflects honor upon the broad and liberal views of the gener- ation which conceived it. In the history of the Presbytery of Erie is mentioned the fact that the trustees, in gratitude to Mr. Lord for his valuable gift of the campus, upon the execution of the legal papers of transfer, caused to be procured at an outlay of fifteen dollars, a handsome Canton crape dress, and presented to Mrs. Lord. The laws of the college, adopted on the 4th of July, 181 7, are very full and explicit. The qualifications for admission to the freshman class were an ability to construe and parse the select orations of Cicero, the-^neid of Virgil and the Greek Testament, and to write Latin grammatically. The freshman class was required to study Horace, Sallust, Homer's Iliad, Xeno- phon's Anabasis and the rules of prosody, with their application. They were also to write exercises in Latin and Greek, and review the Greek Tes- tament .and study the Hebrew, French and German languages, English grammar, rhetoric, chronology and arithmetic; the sophomores, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French and German languages, English composition, logic, geography, mensuration and algebra; the juniors, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and other Oriental languages, metaphysics, ethics, algebra, geometiy, trig- onometry, conic sections, surveying, book-keeping, mensurations of heights and distances, navigation, English composition and systematic theology; and the seniors, the ancient and modern foreign languages, such portion OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 261 of the time, not exceeding two days a week, as the prudential committee may direct; belles-lettres, English composition, universal grammar, ele- ments of natural and political law, ancient and modem history, dialling, pro- jection of the sphere, spherick geometry and trigonometry, with their appli- cation to astroiioimical problems, natural philosophy and theology." It must be confessed that this was no milk and water diet, but good, strong rneat, and abundance of it, and, considering the fact that there were only two professors, at most, during the early years of the college, the wonder is how all this load of learning was imparted. It was good to set up a high standard; but does it not appear, considering the sparseness of -population and the lack of primary training, that the mark was overshot? It appears from the official records that there were graduated with the degree of A. B. ' the following numbers during- President Alden's administration: 1821, 4; 1822, o; 1823, o; 1824, i; 1825, o; 1826, 5; 1827, o; 1828, o; 1829, o; 1830,0; 1831,2; 1832,0; 1833,0 — a period from that memorable July day when, with the artillery of Latin. Greek and Hebrew, the birth of the col- , lege was heralded, to the close of his labors of fifteen years, with only twelve graduates, less than one a year. But the number of graduates by no means represents the actual work done by the college. The course of study, as we have seen, was a severe one, and a high standard of scholarship was faith- fully maintained. The consequence was that, while few held out to the end, numbers received limited training. In 1829 an attempt was made to change the character of the institution and make it a military school. An expe- rienced officer, a pupil of the then celebrated teacher of tactics, Captain Partridge, was employed to take charge of the institution and introduce the military system of his master. To this procedure Dr. Alden raised his sol- emn protest, and he could with propriety have adopted the language of Dan- iel Webster in the ■ Dartmouth College case, argued before the Supreme Court at Washington: "It is, sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it. . . . Sir, I know not how others may feel, but for myself when I see my Alma Mater surrounded, like Caesar in the Senate House, by those who are reiterating stab upon stab, I would not for this right hand have her turn to me and say, 'Et tu, quoque, mi fill!' " President Alden finally became discouraged. Having spent the best years , of his life in, to a large extent, unappreciated service, having labors im- posed upon him till they became irksome and a drudgery, he was moved to 262 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. resign, which he did in 1832. It may seem strange, but I am informed by a member of that body, that when Dr. Alden asked of the Erie Presbytery, the religious organization to which he belonged, and for which he zealously labored all his life, for a letter of recommendation to enable him to solicit money for the college it was denied him, many of the ministers of the Presbytery having been graduates of either Washington or Jefiferson, and desiring to throw all their influence in favor of these institutions, even though to the choking out of one of kindred faith. He left the college in 1832, and spent the remainder of his days in preaching, but devoting some time still to teaching, having been settled near Pittsburg, where he died in 1839 at the age of sixty-eight years. After an interregnum of one year, during which time the college was turned over to the Pittsburg Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, embracing in its bounds a portion of western New York, western Pennsyl- vania, eastern Ohio, and western Virginia, since separated into the Erie Con- ference, the Pittsburg Conference and the West Virginia Conference, the college was again opened, under the presidency of the Rev. Martin Ruter, D. D., assisted by the Rev. Homer J. Clark, vice-president and professor of mathematics, and A. B. Rutter, A. M., professor of languages. In 1836-7, by the indefatigable labors of Dr. Burrowes, then at the head of the State Department, quite full and complete reports were made from all the col- leges of the State, and from these, fortunately in my possession, we learn that in 1836-37— The whole number of students was. . . . 120 Chemical apparatus $ 400 Number entered 44 Volumes in library .- 8,000 Number to teach 35 Value of same $24,000 Price of tuition 18 Value of whole property $46,800 Annual expense 140 Debt $ 3,800 Proportion paid by labor 30 Annual receipts fecture room $ 1,700 Acres of land 60 Expenditures $ 2,500 Valued at $ 2,400 Received from the state $19,000 Buildings $20,000 These figures doubtless show the actual status of the college at this period pretty accurately. It appears that a college in those days had a debt just as now, and I presume just as disagreeable and hard to manage. It ap- pears from this statement that the college had received in money from the State treasury $19,000, which had doubtless been employed in completing the building and in making up deficiencies in salaries, and this sum exactly co- incides with the provisions of law which I have taken the pains tO' look up. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 263 By the act of March, 1817, it received $2,000 in three annual instaHments. Building of brick, triniimings of stone, 100 ft. long, 38 ft. wide. By act of January ist, 1820, $1,000 per annum for five years, $5,000; May ist, 1834, $2,000 annually for four years, equal $8,000. A general law was passed in 1838 giving to all colleges which had four professors and one hundred stu- dents $1,000 annually for ten years. But in 1844, at the end of six years, this law was repealed, and that, if I mistake not, was the end of State aid to col- leges. By the act of 1835 the use of the Arsenal was granted, probably with the intention of fitting up dormitories therein, but was never carried out. By the act of 1843 the college was prohibited from transferring any of its property of any kind, evidently to prevent debts from becoming a lien upon it. The report of Dr. Burrowes furnishes some interesting notes respecting the then status of the college. The course of study was somewhat modified from that originally prescribed. It embraced : i . A thorough course in Latin and Greek, and, when desired, Hebrew, French and German. 2. In mathematics, algebra, g'eometry, trigono'metry, mensuration, navigation, surveying and conic sections, and, when desired, fluxions and civil engineer- ing. 3. In natural sciences, philosophy, chemistry, botany, mineralogy and geology. 4. Moral and mental philosophy, elements of criticism, universal history, rhetoric, logic, natural theology, political economy and national law. Under J;he head of improvements: Completed, one college building; in prog-- ress, finishing dormitories; yet required, a fire-proof building for library, and an addition for the preparatory department. The government is by trustees. The faculty consists of a president, who is professor of moral science; vice-president, professor of natural philosophy and chemistry; a professor of Latin and Greek, and one tutor. Under the heiad of future prospects: "It is, perhaps, proper to remark that heretofore the available funds of the institution have been necessarily expended in the purchase of lands, with a view to a manual labor depart- ment, in the erection of buildings and in making- other necessary improve- ments; also, to meet a part of the current expenses, which the receipts from tuition, etc., were not entirely sufficient to defray. The trustees and faculty strongly feel the importance of a permanent fund invested in some produc- tive stock, the avails of which, with the tuition moneys, may in future cover all the expenses of the college. To accomplish which they are making 264 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. vigorous efforts, through traveling agents, to bring to their assistance in- dividual benevolence. But after three or four years of trial, it is manifest to them that the amount which can be raised by this method will be entirely in- sufficient to secure the proposed end. Their ultimate reliance for success is, therefore, on the patronage of the Legislature. The location of Allegheny College places it among the most important in the State. All the north- western part of the State could more conveniently send tO' this college than to any other, which renders it important that it should be furnished with the necessary advantages. At present the in'Stitution labors under serious embarrassment, from want of complete apparatus for the illustration of the various subjects of natural philosophy and chemistry with a suitable cabinet of natural history, a branch of education daily growing in public estimation. The library, extensive and valuable as it already is, requires the addition of a few hundred volumes, of modern and recent productions, to bring it up with the present state of literature. One additional professor is immediately needed to fill necessary departments." The note under the head of the college in 1837, is: "The improvements in progress are dormitories for sixty-eight students; $3,000 are required to make all improvements complete. Hitherto the income has been less than the expenditure. The deficiencies have been paid by subscriptions. Faculty of instruction are five professors, including president and vice-president." Dr. Ruter was a man of large attainments and had some experience in working up infant educational institutions at Augusta, Kentucky. He was seconded by Rev. Homer J. Clark, who had also seen service in similar labor at Madison College, in Fayette County, Pa., who was vice-president. A Roberts professorship, named in honor of Bishop Roberts, was endowed, which, together with tuition of pupils and rents, gave a more liberal support than it had before enjoyed. The number of graduates during his presi- dency were: 1834, 3; 1835, 4; 1836, i; 1837, 6; and in that year Dr. Ruter was succeeded by the vice-president. Dr. Clark. Through the powerful ap- peals of Thaddeus Stevens, who, in behalf of higher education, as he had done in 1835 for the common schools, had put his shoulder to the wheel, a law was passed in 1838 giving to each college which had four professors and one hundred students, $1,000 annually for ten yeai's. At the end of six years that law was repealed. During the period from 1838 to 1844, in which State aid was regularly received, there was a good degree of prosperity; but upon OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 265 the withdrawal of that, it was seen that the college could not be supported without some other means than the uncertain amounts received from tuition of students. Accordingly the college was for a time, from 1844 to '46, closed and the president went forth among the friends and patrons of the college to soHcit endowment funds. As a result of his exertions a hundred thousand dollars were subscribed, of which ($60,000) sixty thousand dollars were col- lected and invested. The plan of the endowment was by the purchase of scholarships, which practically cut off all hope of revenue from tuition. "Any person subscribing and paying $35 to the Centenary Fund Society of either the Pittsburg or Erie Conference secured a perpetual scholarship in the college. The two Centenary Fund Societies were regularly incorporated and, through their boards, elected annually by the Conferences, one having its seat in Pittsburg and the other in Meadville, received and invested the funds and collected and applied the proceeds. For the funds invested security was taken on productive real estate to^ three times the amount loaned. The interest, when collected, was paid over to the college treasurer to defray the expenses of the instruction. 'Thus, by a large permanent and productive endowment, the salaries of the professors were paid and tuition offered with- out charge." During the ten years in which Dr. Clark presided, from 1837 to '47, the number of graduates was as follows : 1838,6; 1839, 10; 1840, 15; 1841, 15; 1842, 9; 1843, 4; 1844, o; 1845, 2; 1846, 4; 1847, lO- He appears to have been a man with the real missionary spirit and accomplished a great good for the college. Whether the plan of endowment was the most judicious form in which aid could have been secured is susceptible of question, but it is probable that in the straitened circumstances of those who were disposed to give and the scarcity of hioney it was the only practical plan. In 1847, Rev. John Barker, D. D., was called to the presidential chair. He was a native of East Riding of Yorkshire, England, but came with his parents to this country when three years of age, and was educated at Geneva College, N. Y. From 1840 to 1845 ^^ was vice-president of Allegheny College, and professor of natural philosophy and chemistry, from which position he went to be professor in the Transylvania University at Lexing- ton, Ky., but returned at the end of two years to the presidencyof the col- lege upon the retirement of Dr. Clark. He was a m,an of strong mind, of varied, almost unbounded knowledge, and, what was of the last importance 266 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. to him as a teacher, his knowledge was all pigeon-holed, and everything filed under its proper head, all ready to be pulled out as occasion required. Uninterrupted prosperity attended the entire course of his management of the college. The second building was completed in 1852. The following table shows the number of yearly graduates: 1847, 10; 1848, 9; 1849, 10; 1850, 10; 1851, 13; 1852, 22; 1853, 17; 1854, 10; 1855, 21; 1856, 18; 1857,22; 1858,25; 1859,17; 1860,22. His useful work was brought to a sudden termination by death, while in the midst of his labors — for he passed the evening in examining the papers of his class — and soon after retiring was stricken with apoplexy and in a few hours after quietly breathed his last. He was succeeded by Rev. George Loomis, D. D., a native of New York State, born in 1817; graduated at Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Conn.; was principal of the seminary at Lima, N. Y. ; chaplain to the post of Canton, China, and president of the Female XTollege, Wilmington, Del., before coming to Meadville. His presidency occurred, in some respects, at an unfortunate period, the fires of civil war at its opening being just then beginning to be lighted, and the attendance in colleges for the next half- dozen years greatly disturbed thereby; but it was in many respects success- ful and highly beneficial to the college. The number of graduates were as follows: 1861, 17; 1862, 19; 1863, 14; 1864, 11; 1865, 7; 1866, 11; 1867, 8; 1868, 14; 1869,21; 1870, 15; 1871,20; 1872,9; 1873, 15; 1874, 15; 1875, 10. During his term the endowment fund of the college was largely increased, much of his time having been given to the labor of soliciting. By the annual report published by the superintendent of public instruction, it is shown that in 1863 this fund was increased $25,500; in 1864, $3,500; in 1865, $85,000; in 1866, $50,000; in 1867, $25,000; in 1870, $40,000, an aggregate of $229,000, more than a quarter of a million — a sum which would have set President Alden to talking in all the ancient languages at once — - and, added to the $60,000 reported by President Clark, would give $289,000. But this sum must have been subject to considerable shrinkage, as the amount reported by Dr. Hamnett in his history of the college, published in 1876, it is set down as Erie Coirference, $85,000, and Pittsburg, $75,000, an aggregate of $160,000. The campus was much enlarged upon the south, extending towards town, and a third building. Culver Hall, with the grounds reaching from North Maine Street to Highland Avenue, was acquired. The reports also show that during Dr. Loomis' administration the value of ap- OUR COUNTY AND ITS -PEOPLE. 267 paratus which, in 1863, is set down at $1,000, and which I presume inchides the entire cabinet of natural history, was increased in 1865 to $15,000; in 1869 to $18,000, and in 1875 to $65,000. This collection embraces, in addi- tion to all the ordinary philosophical and chernical apparatus, several costly and comparatively rare pieces, the Prescott cabinet of 2,400 shells, the Halde- man cabinet of 550 minerals and 2,000 shells, the Alger cabinet of 5,000 rare mineral specimens, which is said to have cost the collector $35,000, and is in many respects unique; the cabinet of Ward casts in lithology and paleontol- ogy, the Smithsonian collection from Panama, Vancouver's Island, and the West -Indies; the Currier entomological cabinet of 3,000 specimens, and a growing -collection of specimens gathered by the Scientific 'Club, together with a museum of art histoiy, embracing engravings and photographs in architecture, sculpture, painting, copies of celebrated statuary, a portion presented by the Royal Museum of Berlin. Had not certain reverses over- taken the plans of Dr. Loomis they would have resulted in princely munifi- cence. As it is, the, resources and material indispensable to a successful col- lege were greatly enlarged during his administration. , After the withdrawal of Dr. Loomis the management ' devolved upon the vice-president. Dr. Hamnett. In July, 1875, Rev. Lucius H. Bugbee, D. D., of Cincinii^ati, who^ had been chosen in the February previous, was inaugurated president. The re- sults of his labors and those of his associates have been felt. The buildings were thoroughly repaired and renovated, three rooms 20x40 feet, with fur- naces, water, gas, and all the material for performing chemical analyses, have been furnished in the basement of Bently Hall. A chapel, which is a credit to the institution, has been fitted and hung with portraits of the presidents, the beginning of a complete overhauling and rejuvenation of the library was begun, and two able and efficient agents were placed in the field soliciting funds for the increase of the endowment. The numbed of graduates during Dr. Bugbee's presidency was: 1876, 14; 1877, 12; 1878, 12; 1879, 16; 1880, 15; 1881, 21; 1882, 26. During Dr. Bugbee's administration females were admitted" to the regular college classes on the same conditions as males. This necessitated a suitable build- ing for a home for them. Through the resolute and energetic exertions of President Bugbee, Hulings' Hall, a four-storied building of brick, was erected, 80x100 feet, on the line of the original building. It was provided with 268 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. dormitories and conveniences for cooking and caring for a hundred pupils. It was largely paid for by one man — Marcus J. Hulings, of Oil City. Dr. Bugbee was a native of Gowanda, New York. He was educated at Am- herst College, where he graduated in 1854. He had been president of the Northwestern Female College, at Evanston, 111., and subsequently president of the Female College at Cincinnati. In June, 1882, on account of failing health, he resigned and in 1883 he died. For a year the duties of president devolved upon the vice-president. Dr. Hamnett. The Rev. David H. Wheeler, D. D., LL. D., was elected president in April, 1883, and was inaugurated on the 27th of June following. He was born in Ithaca, New York, in 1829. His life has been devoted to education and authorship. He taught Latin in the Rock River Seminary, served two years as superintendent of schools in Carroll County, Illinois; five years as professor of Greek in the Cornell College, Iowa, and eight years as professor of English literature in Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois. Between his services at Cornell College and that at Evanston, he filled the office of United States consul at Geneva, where he pursued historical and linguistic studies. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him. by Cor- nell College and that of LL. D. by the Northwestern University. During his administration the following have been the numbers of graduates: 1883, 32; 1884,24; 1885,25; 1886, 30; 1887,21; 1888,33. For the year 1888-9 Wilbur G. Williams, D. D., was placed in the presidential chair and the graduates of that year were 33. At the close of the year Dr. Wheeler was reinstated as president and the graduates were: 1890, 42; 1891, 29; 1892, 29; 1893, 35. At the close of 1893 Dr. Wheeler resigned and gave his atten- tion exclusively to literary pursuits and to authorship. During his admin- istration, Wilcox Hall, devoted to chemistry and the natural sciences, was secured. At the opening of the academic year of 1893-4 the Rev. William H. Crawford, D. D., was called to the presidency of the colle'ge. He was an eminent scholar, a graduate of the Northwestern University at Evanston, had had experience as an educator, and was especially distinguished by his oratorical gifts. The graduates during his services thus far have been: 1894, 24; 1895, 23; 1896, 32; 1897, 35; 1898, 32. In addition to his services in the executive management of the college and the instruction in his department, he has secured the erection of a gymnasium which, in addi- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 269 tion to its special uses, is provided with a number of rooms for the general purposes of the college. He has also devoted much time and tireless energy in canvassing for an endowment and has been successful in securing $100,000. Allegheny College has a record of over eighty years, written in much tribulation, and in the face of many discouragements, but with much in that history to encourage toi faithful effort. Alden labored when the stumps had not been cleared away from where now are the fine streets and the proud residences of the inhabitants of Meadville. Rutter and Clark came at a period when the pecuniary resources were most difficult to command, and the needs were most pinching. Barker was at the helm when the demands of a scholar and a great teacher were most pressing. Loomis had the depress- ing influence of war time ; but his hand in securing funds and in placing price- less collections in natural sciences and the fine arts will perpetuate his name as long as Allegheny College shall exist. Bugbee and Wheeler and Craw- ford were called when eminent scholarship was needed to cement and mdke strong the mighty column which a century has been far spent in building. . In connection with the subject of the origin of education in the county, I gave the provisions of law by which Meadville Academy was founded and subsequent legislation by which its operation was effected. In 1825 the building and grounds at the corner of Chestnut and Liberty Streets were sold to Mr. Arthur CuUum and the property on Second Street, now known as the High School, was acquired, and the building now standing thereon was erected in 1826. For a quarter of a century some portion bi the building was used for primary English instruction and for some part of the time this was the only grade of instruction, though a teacher of the ancient , languages taught at times for such compensation as he could command from the tuition of his pupils. Trustees were regularly elected; but they did lit- tle more than keep up their organization and take charge of the invested fund, of which there was a small one. John Reynolds and David Derickson were among its classical teachers, as were Messrs. Leffingwell, Donnelly, Pike, Rodgers, and the Misses Benedict. In Dr. Burrowes' report of 1836, Meadville Academy is set down as having a building worth $4,000 and invested funds to the amount of $1,781.14, all the other items which would show its condition, if it had any status, are left blank. Under the head of donations there are reported as having been given by the State $1,000 to the academy and $1,000 to the 270 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Meadville Female Seminary. Under the head of remarks it says of Mead- ville Academy: "The course of instruction not specified. The improve- ments are a brick building, 24x48 feet, two stories high, valued as above. The pecuniary afifairs are managed by six trustees. Prospects not good." In the following year no report whatever was made, from which we may infer that it was at a low ebb. In the year 1852 the building was repaired, an addition providing for stairway outside of the main building was made, and a well-organized acad- emy under the principalship of Mr. Thomas F. Thickstuh and Samuel P. Bates, was opened. In the course of the following year modern furniture was inserted, of which it had never had any other than long benches and desks; a library of 500 well selected volumes was procured, several hun- dred dollars' worth of new philosophical apparatus was purchased of the Wightmans, of Boston, and improvement of the grounds made. By refer- ence to the annual catalogue we find that the number of instructors, includ- ing the principals, was eight, besides assistant pupils; number of students in the classical department, 39; English department, 289; annual aggre- gate, 522; males, 168; females, 128. Average age, males, 18 years; females, 17. Proportion of pupils outside of Meadville, three-fourths. In the fol- lowing year the number of males was 184; females, 198; total, 382. Annual aggregate for the four terms, 668. Increase over last year, 28; number in teachers' course, 217. There were three courses of study, a teachers' course covering three years, commencing with algebra, physiology and French or Latin, the latter being continued through the course — a ladies' course of three years varying but little from the teachers' course, and a classical course of two years just covering the ground for entrance to college. Courses of lectures were delivered on the theory and practice of teaching,- on natural philosophy, experimental; on Roman history, on chemistry, and on Grecian and Roman mythology. In 1857 S. P. Bates was elected county superintendent of schools and in the following year Mr. Thickstun was suc- ceeded in the principalship by Mr. A. D. Cotton, assisted by Mr. J. W. Wither- spoon. During all this time from 1852 the teachers were paid entirely by tuition of pupils. From a historical note prefixed to the rules and regulations of the Board of Control of the Public Schools, published in 1862, prepared by Joshua Douglas, Esq., then secretary, it appears that the Board was or- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 271 ganized on the 21st of May, 1861, and among the first labors of the Board was the preparation of a plan for the establishment of a high school. Ac- cordingly, on the 9th of September, it was unanimously resolved to estab- lish such a school and to keep it open at least nine months in each year. This school went into operation on the 21st of October, 1861, with fifty scholars, under the instruction of Professor A. D. Cotton. This took the place of the academy, and not long thereafter the entire property and in- vested funds was, by provision of law, transferred to the Board for public school purposes and the academy ceased to exist. The Meadville Theological School was founded in 1844. It is pro- vided in the act of incorporation that no doctrinal test shall ever be made a condition of enjoying any of the opportunities of instruction in the school, except a belief in the divine origin of Christianity. At one time five dif- ferent denominations were represented among its students, though the school was founded mainly by the Unitarians with some co-operation with members of the Christian denomination. The brick building erected for the Cumberland Church, opposite the northwest corner of the first Presby- terian lot, was used for chapel, library and class-rooms until 1853, when the commodious building, known as Divinity Hall, erected upon a site on the eastern hill, as Allegheny College was upon the northern hill, and command- ing a full view of the city and a wide stretch of varied landscape to the west, was occupied. The grounds, four acres in extent, were contributed by Rev. Frederic Huidekoper and the building was erected at an expense of $16,000. It contains a neat chapel, with dormitories for students and apartments for the family of steward and for boarding. In 1893 a commodious library building was erected, with ample compartments for books, and light and airy rooms, provided with consulting tables, for the accommodation of visitants who do not wish to take the books from the building. During the early years of the school it was supported by an annual con- tribution from three churches' in the city of New York of $1,000, $500 an- nually from the American Unitarian Association, the proceeds of a fair held in Boston, and sundry smaller subscriptions. In 185 1, as a result ol the strenuous exertions of the friends of the school, an endowment of $50,000 was raised and advantageously invested. This sum has been more than doubled since by legacies, donations, profits of fortunate investments, and savings from income. The unproductive assets — as the building, profes- 272 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. sors' residences, library — are estimated at $32,000, and" the productive assets at about $108,000, making a total of $140,000. About three-fifths of this amount came from New York, New England^ and Unitarian friends elsewhere, one-fifth from the accumulated results of good investments, and the remaining fifth from the family of the late H. J. Huidekoper, to which the school is largely indebted in the founding, and in the judicious manage- ment of its funds and of its affairs. The Rev. Rufus P. Stebbins, D. D., was the first president and to his popularity as a speaker and practical methods of instruction for all grades of students, is largely due the measure of success attained during its early years. He was succeeded in the presidency in 1856 by Rev. Oliver Stearns, D. D., and he in turn, in 1864, by Rev. A. A. Livermore, D. D. The Rev. Frederick Huidekoper, as professor of ecclesiastical history of the first three centuries, for many years gave his services gratuitously to the school. The present Board of Instruction are Professor George L. Gary, L. H. D., who succeeded Dr. Livermore in 1890, literature and theology of the New Testament; 'Henry H. Barber, homiletics and the philosophy of religion; Francis A. Christie, A. B., church history, and associate professor of the literature and theology of the New Testament; Mrs. George R. Freeman, Hebrew, literature • of the Old Testament, and history of religion; Nich- olas P. Gilman, sociology and ethics. The first class graduated in 1846 — 3 members; 1847, 3; 1848, 9; 1849, S; 1850, 8; 1851, 7; 1852, s; 1853, 7; 1854, 11; 1855, 3; 1856, 5; 1857, o; 1858, 10; 1859, 5 ; 1860,6; 1861,8; 1862, 7; 1863, 5 ; 1864, 4; 1865, 5; 1866, 3; 1867, 4; 1868, 7; 1869, s; 1870, 2; 1871, 3; 1872, 3; 1873, s; 1874, 3; 1875, s; 1876, o; 1877 3; 1878, 4; 1879, i; 1880, 4; 1881, 4; 1882, 2; 1883, 2; 1884, i; 1885, 7; 1886, 4; 1887, i; 1888,2; 1889,6; 1890, 9; 1891, 2; 1892, 3; 1893, 6; 1894, 9; 1895, 12; 1896, 9; 1897, 9; 1898, 4; total, 251. It will be understood that these received full diplomas. Others in various degrees received certifi- cates of study, making the entire number of different students from its origin, 570. In addition to their legitimate duties to the school the trustees hold in trust a fund of $23,000, bequeathed by the late Joshua Brooks, (i) to aid Western ministers whose salaries are inadequate to their support; (2) to im- prove the libraries of ministers by a loan or gift of hooks ; (3) to aid libraries OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 273 which may be formed by associations of Western ministers; (4) to aid parishes in forming or increasing permanent ministerial libraries. In the execution of this trust about 40,000 volumes of standard works have been distributed. In 1867 was organized the Literary Union, an association of gentle- m'en united for the purpose of delivering a course of lectures during the winter season for the elevation of the public taste, and the diffusion of in- formation among the people. The only meetings held were those for se- lecting and designating those of its members who should be the speakers. The lectures were delivered in the court-room, which was usually packed to its utmost capacity and- were free to ah. Perhaps this last consideration was the one which induced the fine attendance, on the principle of the man who advocated a free salvation, having been a member of the church thirty odd years and never having cost him a cent. These lectures were, for the most part, of a high order. Drs. Stebbins and Barker were then in their prime, and there was a generous rivalry in this intellectual arena, and many of the members of a subsequent club were members of that ancj, ably served on these annual occasions. These lectures were continued until i860. In the fall of 1857 a vigorous effort was made to stai't a public library and reading room -in Meadville. A meeting was held at the court Tiouse, at which William Reynolds acted as chairman and R. Lyle White, secretaiy, and spirited addresses were made by Dr. Livermore, Mr. Zachos, Dr. Rey- nolds, Dr. Loomis, Dr. Marks, Professor Marvin, Mr. Delamater, Mr. Douglas, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Shippen and Mr. Coffin. The principal point of difference seemed to be whether the library should be free, or a fee should be charged for its use. A committee of organization was appointed, con- sisting of Mr. Reynolds, chairman; Messrs. Delamater, Comfort, Robbins, Magaw, White, Winslow, Richmond, Shippen, and Livermore. The first meeting of this committee was held on the 7th of November, 1867, at the office of Mr. Delamater, and subsequent meetings were held November 12, November 13, November 19, January 2, 1868, and January 8, at which plans were discussed, a constitution adopted and committees appointed to solicit funds. It was named the Meadville Atheneum. Upon the payment of $10 a person became a member of the association and for every $10 paid was to have one vote. The subscriptions were made payable when $10,000 were 18 274 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. subscribed. In the meantime Mr. Joseph Shippen delivered a public ad- dress upon the subject, which was published. The first sentence of that address was: "The establishment of a public library in this' city has long been talked of, and earnestly wished for," and the last sentence: "Let the trumpet sound — forward." But the difficulty of raising the desired funds caused the enterprise to fail, and on leaving town Mr. Winslow, the secre- tary, in handing over the record book and constitution to Mr. Richmond, closed his note with these words: "Trusting that it is not dead, but only sleepeth, I am, etc." In the winter of 1867-8 our fellow-townsman, Dr. E. H. Dewey, attend- ed medical lectures at Detroit, where he had the advantage of a public library, and on his return, feeling the need of a like institution here, called together a number of his friends at the insurance office of L. F. Margach to consider the matter of starting one. An adjourned meeting was held in the room of King Solomon's Lodge in the Bett's Block, over which Dr. Dewey presided, at which a constitution and by-laws were adopted and an organization was per- fected. The plan was simple. Each member was to furnish annually one book and pay one dollar. Shelving was put up in the office of Mr. Margach, which was had rent free, and he served as librarian without pay. Three or four hundred volumes were quickly gathered, and with the money paid new books were bought.' From this office it was removed to the Porter Build- ing, where a librarian waited upon the patrons twice in the week. From this it was taken to the Richmond Block in 1872, where it was domiciled in the Derickson Block. It was opened from 2 to 9 p. m. daily except Sun- days, a reading room well supplied with papers, magazines and reviews was added, the books were classified and catalogued and the catalogue published in a neat bound form. The membei^ship fees have never reached $200 a year, while the expense annually is over $700. The deficit was supphed for sev- eral years by an organization of ladies and gentlemen known as the Library Sociable, by the efforts of two ladies, who, by personal solicitation, raised over $1,200, in the afternoons of three days, through courses of lectures and by the voluntary contributions of friends. In 1879, realizing the necessity of a permanent abiding place for the library, a movement was made towards ac- quiring a suitable property. General Henry S. Huidekoper, who owned the lot on the corner of Park Avenue and Centre Street, on which was the building OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. .275 originally erected for a public hall and markets, offered to sell the property for $8,500, and to make a donation towards its purchase of $1,000. This offer was accepted, a charter was secured, and the necessary funds for the purchase and improvement of the building wer.e raised, amounting to $14,362.70. A nominal fee of $1 per annum was charged for the privilege of taking books till the current year, when it was made free. CHAPTER 111. RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF MEADVILLE. IN all departments of human enterprise the outward expression will in time come to conform to the inward life or appreciation. In that state, or society, where wealth is not more lavished upon social luxury fharr upon those institutions which have for their aim the elevation of the people morally and intellectually, we may safely look for a commonwealth in which all truly wise parents will g-ladly place their children. To a stranger in her midst who is weighing these serious considerations, Meadville may, without boasting, say: "Look at my churches and my schools." Shall we essay to honor the men who year after year have helped, by wise counsel and wiser action, to uprear these structures devoted to learning and religion? Lo! their works praise them. Tower and spire, and firm foundation stone are mute but eloquent eulogists. This high moral and intellectual standing as a community has con- tributed largely towards the growth and development of the city, and will undoubtedly in the future, as in the past, attract as residents a most desirable class of citizens. There is no department of society more worthy of serious consideration, and hence it deserves a prominent space in historical com- positions. First Presbyterian CJnirch. — The first public religious services in Mead- ville were held in the old Gill .House, situated, on Water Street, and subse- quently in the court-room over the old jail, that stood on the ground now oc- cupied by the law office of Haskins & McClintock, on the Diamond. Elisha McCurdy, a member of the Presbytery of Ohio, and Joseph Stockton, a licen- tiate of the same Presbytery, were the first ordained ministers who preached within the bounds of what is now Crawford County. They were sent out on a missionary tour in 1799, and, among other places, preached in Meadville. The next year Mr. Stockton received an invitation to preach statedly at this place, 276 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 2^7 and in the fall of 1800 left his home in Washington County, and, with his young wife and some household goods, came on horseback to establish himself in Meadville. Over this church, in connection with that of Little Su^ar Creek, now Cochranton, he was ordained as pastor on June 24, 1801. His duties as pastor of these charges continued until June 27, 18 10, when the Erie Presbytery dissolved the relation. While still officiating in Meadville he traveled through and preached at different points in Erie and Merder Counties, and was the first principal of the Meadville Academy, opened in 1805.' John Cotton, Robert Stockton and Hugh Cotton were the first elders of the Meadville Church. Robert Johnston, the second pastor of the church, was installed ovet" the churches at Meadville, Little Sugar Creek and Conneaut Lake on Oc- tober 15, 181 1, and divided his time equally between Meadville and the other two churches. During his pastorate Mr. Johnston organized a Sunday- school, which was opened in December, 1814. Thomas Atkinson, of the Messenger, assisted in the undertaking. It had no official board, but was a spontaneous effort to bring the youth of the village under the influence of moral teaching. Mr. Johnston served as pastor until April, 181 7. At their meeting in January, 1815, the Board of Trustees fixed the pastor's salary for the Meadville Church at $200 per annum, from which one can infer that the position was not a bonanza. Soon afterwards it was de- cided to build a church, and a building committee was appointed, consist- ing of the following well-remembered pioneers: William Clark, William Foster, Samuel Torbett, Daniel Bemus and John Reynolds. It was to be a brick building, 60x70 feet in dimensions, finished within two years, and at a total cost of $6,500. On the 5th of February, 1818, a contract for the ■ erection of the church was let to George Davis. It occupied the site of the present church, and the building was completed and the pews sold bn Au- gust 14, 1820. This building was the only place for pubHc worshipi in the village until 1825, when the Methodists fitted up a room on South Main Street. '- . John Van Liew began his pastorate in Meadville in August, 182 1; and continued three years, when, owing to impaired health, the relation was dis- solved. He was succeeded by Wells Bushnell, who remained seven years, when he went as a missionary to the Indians, his congregation reluctantly consenting to his withdrawal. Nathaniel West, the next pastor, remained 278 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. two years. He was succeeded by John V. Reynolds, D. D., who for thirty years filled the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church, the Presbytery dis- solving the relation, at his request, in April, 1869. James G. Carnachan, LL. D., succeeded him, and continued his pastorate twelve years. It was during his pastorate, in 1874-75, that the present handsome edifice was erected, at a cost of about $43,000, and it was dedicated on August 22, 1875. It stands on the southwest corner of Liberty and. Center Streets, has a seat- ing capacity of 750, and is regarded as one of the finest church properties in Meadville. The pastor's residence is on the opposite corner from the church, and is a comfortable two-story frame. In the spring of 1881 the membership was greatly reduced by the withdrawal of a large number of the members and congregation in the organi- zation of the Park Avenue Congregational Church. In November of the same year Edward P. Sprague became pastor. He was succeeded six years later by Ken. C. Hayes, D. D., who is still in charge. Dr. Hayes is a native of Butler County, and was educated at Waynesburg College. He served as pastor at Middlesex five years before locating at Meadville. He is chaplain of the Fifteenth Regiment, N. G. P., and as such served in the United States service during the war with Spain. The present membership of the church is about one hundred and fifty; and the Sunday School^ which was first opened in 1814, and regularly or- ganized in 1 8 19, contains about one hundred and thirty-five scholars. The church disposes of a substantial fund for the use of the poor, donated by the late Alanson Lindley, and nanied the "Alanson Lindley Fund for the Poor," of which only the interest can be used. Central Presbyterian Chwch. — A difference of opinion respecting doc- trines and church government culminated in the year 1838 in the division of the Presbyterian sect into two branches, commonly known as the Old School and New School. The division continued until 1869, when the two bodies were happily reunited. This difference of opinion affected the Mead- ville Church, the adherents of the New School going out to form a new or- ganization under the title of the Second Presbyterian Church. It was tem- porarily ministered to by Revs. Lyon, Anderson, West and Kellogg, until, in June, 1841, Robinson S. Lockwood was called to the pastorate. In 1842 there was an extended revival, during which over fifty were added to the membership. Mr. Lockwood was dismissed from the pastoral charge of the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 279 church in 1843. The first meetings were held in the lecture room of the First Church, and subsequently the brick building on Center Street, now used as the barn of the Central Hotel, was fitted up for a place of wor- ship. Afterwards the building of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, op- posite the jail, was used for worship. Their own church on Center Street was completed in 1844, at a cost of about $15,000. In 1869 the building was considerably enlarged, and a tower built on each front corner, at a total cost of about nine thousand dollars. In November, 1843, Richard Craighead, D. D., became pastor of the church, a relation which was continued with mutual satisfaction to both pastor and congregation during thirty-one years. During his pastorate the present church was built and enlarged, and it is to his earnest labors that the Second Presbyterian Church is indebted for its present flourishing con- dition. He was succeeded in 1874 by Thomas D. Logan, a graduate of the Western Theological Seminary, who remained until 1888, when Jonathan Edwards, D. D., LL. D., became pastor. Dr. Edwards was a man possessed of broad charity, his sermons appealing to reason rather than prejudice. He was broad and liberal minded, and a theologian with few superiors. Not only with the members of his own church, but with the community in general, he was respected and loved. He was greatly interested in educational work, and had, prior to his ministerial work in this city, been president of Wash- ington and Jefferson College. He died at Peoria, 111., on July 13, 1891. Joseph S. Malone was called in 1891, and six years later was succeeded by Donald C. McLeod, the present pastor. The church has a membership of about three hundred, and is in a flourishing condition. Early in 1892 the name was changed from the Second Presbyterian to the Central Presbyterian Church. The Cumberland Presbyterian and United Presbyterian Churches had each a society here for a few years. The former erected a brick building on Center Street in the summer of 1834, but after an existence of about two years the society disbanded, and the building was sold to the Unitarians, who, in October, 1844, dedicated it as Divinity Hall. The United Presbyterians never had a building in Meadville, but worshipped in a frame structure owned by the Old School Presbyterians, which stood on what is now the corner of Park Avenue and Center Street. The society was occasionally attended by John Eindley, of Waterford; H. H. Thompson, of Cochranton; and Joseph B. Waddle, of Evansburg. The church was organized about 1840, but it grad- 28o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ually went down, and finally ceased to exist after a struggle of eight or ten years. First Methodist Episcopal Chiirch. — The Methodists held a camp meeting near Meadville as early as 1812, in which Bishop McKendree took part. This was while the soldiers were encamped at Meadville, and was probably held to give them a place to worship. Robert C. Hatton preached in Meadville in 1824, and early in the following year a class was organized, consisting of John Lupher, leader, and wife, Wesley Bowman and wife, Griffith Bennett and wife, Hannah Lowry, Sarah and Margaret Johnson. Other members were soon added to the class. The society was small and poor and unable to erect a place of worship, but soon after its organization Mr. Lupher fitted up a room over his blacksmith shop, at the corner of Arch and South Main Streets, and for nine years this was their place of meeting, the little church in the meantime increasing in numbers and wealth. In 1830 they began the erection of a brick building on Arch Street, which cost $3,000, and was fin- ished in 1834. Although never formally dedicated, this building was used by the Methodists of Meadville for thirty-two years. Early in 1866 it was sold to St. Bridget's congregation. On June 5 of the same year the cornerstone of the large, massive stone structure on the southwest corner of South Main Street and the Diamond was laid by Bishop Calvin Kingsley, and it was dedi- cated July 29, 1868. Bishop Simpson preached in the morning, and Rev. Punchon, of Ontario, Canada, at the evening service. During the latter ser- vice the building was presented by Hon. H. L. Richmond, in behalf of the congregation, to Bishop Kingsle}^ who thereupon performed the ceremony of dedication. Its total cost when completed, including the lot, was over $84,- 000. It has a seating capacity of 1,200. The church, organized by Robert C. Hatton in 1825, has been attended by the following ministers: 1826, J. W. Hill and I. H. Hacket; 1827, C. Brown, J. Leach and I. H. Hacket; 1828, Job Wilson and W. R. Babcock; 1829, N. Callender and A. Callender; 1830, A. Callender and A. Plimpton; 1831, J. S. Barrie; 1832, D. Preston; 1833, H. J. Clark; 1834, J. Robin- son; 1835, R. Clapp; 1836-37, E. Birkett; 1838, J. J. Steadman; 1839, Solomon Gregg; 1840, J. H. Whallon; 1841-42, B. S. Hill; 1842, C. Kings- ley; 1843, J- R- Locke; 1844, Alfred G. Sturgiss; 1845, M. Hill and A. Callender; 1846, M. Hill; 1847, T. Graham; 1848, H. M. Bettes; 1849-50, John Bain; 1851-52, E. J. Kenney; 1853-54, N. Norton; 1855, G. B. Haw- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 281 kins; 1856-57, G. W. Maltby; 1858-59, E. A. Johnson; 1860-61, T. Stubbs; 1862, J. E. Chapin; 1863-65, W. F. Day; 1866-67, Joseph Excell; 1867, L. D. Williams; 1868, J. Peate and L. D. Williams; 1869-71, Alfred Wheeler; 1871, L. D. Williams; 1872, W. W. Wythe and L. D. WiUiams; 1873, W. W. Wythe; 1874-76, W. F. Day; 1877-79, T. L. Flood; 1880-82, J. G. Townsend; 1883-84, E. D. McCreary; 1884, G- W. Clark; 1885-86, A. C. Ellis; 1888-90, E. C. Hall; 1891-93, T. C. Beach; 1893-96, J. Bell Nefif; 1896-98, A. M. Courtenay. The present membership of the church is about six hundred. The State Street Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in June, 1869, and soon afterwards a substantial frame edifice was completed at a cost of about $9,000. It stands on State Street above its intersection with North, and will seat about four hundred persons. T. P. Warner was the first pastor of this church, serving through 1869, and has been succeeded as follows: 187Q-71, W. Sampson; 1872, J. S. Albertson and N. Norton; 1873, J. S. Albertson; 1874, W. H. Wilson; 1875, R. M. Bear; 1876-77, O. Babcock; 1878, A. S. Dobbs; 1879, J. B. Espy; 1880-81, A. J. Lindsey; 1882, Q. W. Decker; 1883, O. L. Mead and G. W. Clark; 1884, O. L. Mead; 1885, W. O. Allen and W. P. Arbuckle; 1886-87, Manassas Miller; 1888, J. H. Heron; 1889, James Clyde; 1890-92, J. H. Laverty; 1893-96, Wm. Branfield; 1897- 98, J. H. Bates. Free Methodist Church. — The Meadville branch, of this denomination was organized by Jeremiah Barnhart, with sixteen members, Sept. 2, 1883. The meetings were at first held in a hall on Market Street called Temperance Hall. R. H. Bentley was 'the first pastor, preaching once every two weeks for two years, and was followed by R. H. Bentley and Wm. Harvey, who served one year each. O. J. Berlin, the next pastor, remained two years. He was succeeded by A. Falkner, who officiated four years. During his pastorate a small frame church, 24x36, was erected on North Street, at the foot of State, and was dedicated free from debt in July, 1892, at a cost of $900. In 1893 I. Hodgkins became pastor of the Meadville circuit, including Blooming Val- ley, Pine Grove, Cochranton and Meadville, serving for one year. In 1894 M. ,L. Schooley became pastor. The membership is small, numbering about twenty-five at the present time. The African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1850 with five members, by Jacob Palmer, who bfecame the first pastor. Their first 282 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. services were held in a small brick building in the rear of the Lutheran Church, on Arch Street, until in 1853 they purchased from the Baptists, for $500, their present property on the northeast corner of Liberty and Arch. The building was repaired in 1867, partially destroyed by fire in 1876, and rebuilt the same year. The church records extend only from 1861, since which time the following ministers have had charge : John Franklin, Hanfield, John Gibbons, W. H. Brown, Benj. Wheeler, W. J. Phillips, W. V. Ross, E. C. Herbert, J. M. Griffen, John Russell, J. M. Palmer, R. H. Jackson, L B. Till, R. Brown, S. C. Honesty, S. C. Goosley, J. W. Lavatt, J. W. Jef- fries, and P. A. Scott. Christ Protestant Episcopal Church was organized Jan. 25, 1825, by J. H. Hopkins, of Pittsburg. He came to Meadville at the solicitation of Hon. John B. Wallace, a leading attorney of the town ; and the first services were held in the old Presbyterian Church. He remained about two weeks, during which time he preached frequently, receiving into the church thirty-two adults and forty-three children. The next year Charles Smith was appointed to take charge of the newly organized congregation, and at once entered upon his labors. In August of the same year it was decided to erect a house of wor- ship, and on the nth of April, 1827, the cornerstone was laid. The building committee in charge of its erection consisted of Henry Shippen, Jared Shat- tuck, William Magaw, David Dick, and Robert L. Potter, and Aug. 16, 1828, the church, which stood on the site of the present one, was dedicated by Bishop W. H. Underdonk, who, in his remarks, said that in point of archi- tectural beauty the building was the finest in the diocese. It was the first Protestant Episcopal church erected in the State, west of the Allegheny River ; would seat 500 persons and cost about eight thousand dollars. ■ The growth of the congregation led to its enlargement in 1832 and again in 1863 ; but in April, 1883, it was torn down to give place to the new and more elegant struc- ture occupying its site. Mr. Smith served until April 27, 1829, and the following rectors have since had charge: J. W. James, 1829-32; Edward Y. Buchanan, 1833-34; Thomas Crumpton, 1834-40; John P. Hosmer, 1840-41; Orrin Miller, 1842- 44; Alexander Varien, 1844-46; Wm. Carmichael, D. D., 1846-50; Alex- ander Varien, 1851-58; R. W. Lewis, 1858-59; Marison Byllesby, 1859-69; Geo. C. Rafter, 1869-70; W. G. W. Lewis, 1871-75; Daniel I. Edwards, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 283 1876-78; G. A. Carstensen, 1878-82; W. H. Lewis, 1882-85; Rogers Israel, 1885-92; F. M. Kirkus, 1.892-96; George S. Richards, 1896. The cornerstone of the new and elegant stone edifice at the northwest corner of the Diamond was laid July 14, 1883, by the rector, W. H. Lewis, assisted by Marison Byllesby and G. A. Carstensen. On Sunday, March 23, 1884, the church was formally opened for services by Bishop Whitehead, assisted by Dr. Herron, of New Castle, and Mr. Lewis. The building and furnishings cost about thirty thousand dollars, of which about two thousand five hundred dollars consisted of memorial and family gifts, which decorate the interior. The bell, which cost $225, was presented by the teachers and scholars of the Sunday School. On the same_ lot is a comfortable rectory built in 1878 at a cost of $2,700, and a handsome parish building has since been added to the property of the church. The church building is a beautiful piece of architecture; has a seating capacity of 425, and reflects great credit on the architect, builder and congregation. The Unitarian, or Independent Congregational Church, of Meadville, is one of the few of that denomination in western Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1825, chiefly through the efforts and influence of H. J. Huide- koper, who had settled in Meadville early in the century. His religious beliefs agreed substantially with those Christianj in England and America who were beginning to be called Unitarians. Through the influence of Dr. Priestly, who had been driven from his home in England for his devotion to political and religious freedom, several Unitarian. churches had been founded in Amer- ica, and their doctrines had obtained a firm foothold in New England. In selecting instructors for his children, Mr. Huidekoper naturally selected young men who were graduates of Harvard University, which was then, as now, largely 'under the control of Unitarians. They were frequently candidates for the ministry, and were at length engaged with reference to their willingness to hold services in this place. The first meetings were held in the old .Presbyterian Church, and subse- quently in the courthouse, John M. Merrick, the first pastor, who entered upon his duties in 1825, holding services on alternate Sundays for two years. After him Washington Gilbert officiated, and during his ministry, in 1829, the church was more fully organized, with the name of the Independent Con- gregational Church of Meadville. Mr. Gilbert remained until 1830, and the following were his successors : Ephraim Peabody, 1830-31 ; George Nichols, 284 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1831-32; Alanson Brigham, 1832-33; A. D. Wheeler and W. H. Channing, 1834; John Q. Day, 1834-37; Henry Emmons, 1837-43; E. G. Holland, 1843-44; Rufus P. Stebbins, D. D., 1844-49; Nathaniel S. Folsom, 1849-53; C. A. Staples, 1854-57; Oliver Stearns, D. D., 1858; R. R. Shippen, 1859; Richard H. Metcalf, 1860-65; John C. Zaehos, 1866-68; Henry P. Cutting, 1870-73; Robert S. Morrison, 1874-78; James T. Bixby, 1879-83; William P. Tilden, 1884; H. H. Barber, 1885-90; T. J. Volentine, 1891-93; James M. Whittier, D. D., 1893 ; and Williarn I. Lawrance from 1894 to the present time. The present church edifice on the southeast corner of the Diamond was commenced in 1835, and was dedicated on August 20, 1836. The building cost $3,500, exclusive of the lot, Avhich was donated by Miss Margaret Shippen and H. J. Huidekoper. Miss Shippen subsequently gave her house adjoining the church to the society for a parsonage. The building committee . of the church consisted of General (then Captain) George W. Culliam, Horace Cullum, and Edgar Huidekoper, and it is interesting to note that the plans for the church were made by Captain Cullum. Substantial gifts toward the building came from the Unitarian Church in Philadelphia and other friends. The organ was presented by the Unitarian Church in Buffalo. Substantial repairs and changes were made in tijie church in 1874 and again in 1897. In 1876 the Unitarian Chapel, a substantial two-story brick building, was erected immediately east of the church, at an expense of about six thousand dollars. It is used for Sunday school purposes and social gatherings, and the interior arrangements are complete for the end contemplated. First Baptist Church. — In the summer of 183 1 Adrian Foote, of Ripley, N. Y., came to Meadville for the purpose of organizing into a congregation the few Baptists then living in this vicinity. He obtained the use of the First Presbyterian building, where he preached on four successive afternoons, as- sisted in the work by William Gildersleeve, of Allegheny. In August, 1831, a number of those who had taken part in the meetings assembled and formed the "Baptist Conference of Meadville." On August 27 Rev. Gildersleeve baptized seven persons in a small lake east of town, and on the same date it was voted to call a council from eight of the nearest Baptist churches to as- semble a month later to consider the subject of organizing an independent church in Meadville. Revs. Foote and Gildersleeve returned in four weeks and held a series of meetings in the Academy, on Market Street. On Septem- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 285 ber 27, 183 1, representatives of four churches met and formed the First Bap- tist Church of Meadville. There were fourteen original members, and the first meeting of the church after its organization was held at the house of Samuel Kirkpatrick, on Arch Street, as the use of the Academy building could not be obtained. On May 12, 1832, Adrian Foote became the settled pastor of the church, and in August of the same year steps were taken to procure a lot and erect a house of worship. A lot was purchased at the northeast corner of Arch and Liberty Streets and a small frame building was erected, which was first opened for service in June, 1833. It was used for about twenty years, when it was sold to the A. M. E. Church. Elder Foote served until 1834, when he was suc- ceeded by E. Hicks, who officiated as a supply. In 1838 Edward M. Miles was engaged to preach, dividing his services between the churches at Mead- ville and Georgetown, Mercer County. After he left the church was without a pastor for some time, and dwindled down to four active members, but these kept up the organization, and in 1841 William Look was secured as pastor, remaining two years. Another vacancy in the pastorate then occurred, regu- lar services were abandoned and a state of great depression existed, almost leading to disorganization. In June Franklin Kidder took charge of the church, remaining one year. Since then,, the following ministers have served the church: John Nicholson, 1847; G- L. Stevens, 1848-51; I. M. Chapman, 1851-52; William M. Caldwell, 1852; J. H. Hazen, 1853-55; Geo. W. Fuller, 1855-58; I. M. Chapman, 1858-60; Wilham Look, 1860-62; B. C. Willough- by, 1862-64; R. B. Kelsey, 1864-66; R. H. Austin, 1866-71; J. H. Langille, 1871-72; W. B. Grow, 1873; Wm. M. Young, D. D., 1874-79; George Whitman, 1879-82; E. M. Haynes, 1882-89; Wm. H. Marshall, 1889-92; and Will C. King from May, 1892, to the present time. Mr. King is a native of Trumbull County, Ohio ; was educated at Colgate University, New York ; ordained in 1886, and for four years prior to coming here was pastor of the Baptist Church at Warren, Pa. In April, 1852, the lot on which the present building stands, on Center Street, was purchased for the sum of $1,050, and the erection of a brick edi- fice commenced that year. The work was pushed forward through 1853, and though the building was enclosed only the basement was carried to comple- tion, being occupied and dedicated in the summer of 1854. The next year the main audience room was completed, and was dedicated on February 19, 286 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1S65. In the summer of 1875 an addition of thirty feet was made to the build- ing, heating furnaces put in, and other improvements carried out at an expense of $5,500. The building has a seating capacity of about 400, and the mem- bership of the church is 350, while the average Sunday-school attendance is about 250. A brick parsonage has been erected on the rear end of the church lot, on Walnut Street, at an expense of $3,500. The entire property, which is valued at $14,000, is free from all debt. Lutheran Evangelical Trinity Church. — The first German congregations in this county were usually composed of the adherents of both the Lutheran and German Reformed denominations, neither being able to maintain public worship as separate bodies. In 18 15 Charles W. Colson preached to the few- Germans then living in this vicinity, and the next year came permanently to re- side among them. He formed churches at Meadville, Erie, Conneaut Lake and Saegertown, of which little is now known, as upon the death of Mr. Coleson in 1816 they gradually disbanded. Occasionally a German Reformed or a Lutheran minister would visit this county and preach to the Germans, among them being Philip Zeiser, David Mock and John Kugler. For some time before 1847 occasional union Services were held in the courthouse, and in that year the Lutherans and Reformers united in purchasing a lot on Pine Street, between South Main and Liberty, where they erected a frame building at a cost of about $1,800. The church was dedicated December 19, 1847, ^J Jacob Zeigler, a Lutheran minister, and Benjamin Boyer of the Reformed faith. From that time forward separate organizations existed, each congrega- tion occupying the building fe^'ery alternate Sunday. Mr. Zeigler ministered to the Lutherans for six or seven 3'ears, after which a state of disorganization began to exist in both congregations, brought about by some independent preachers, among whom were Revs. Ritter, Ablee and Claraluna. About 1856 Rev. Bierdemann reorganized the Lutheran Church and served the congrega- tion until his death, in 1869. In the spring of 1866 the Ltitherans purchased the interest which the Reformed congregation had in the building, and the latter erected a house for themselves. Since Mr. Bierdemann's death the church has been in charge of the following ministers: J. G. Behen, G. A. Bruegel, W. F. Deiss, George Kittle, Powell Doepken, John Schmidt, Rev. Fickeisen, Henry Peters and Joseph Orr. A lot was purchased on Park Ave- nue, near Baldwin, and on November 19, 1893, the corner-stone of the present OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 287 handsome brick edifice was laid. The building was completed during the fol- lowing year at a cost of about $8,000, and was dedicated July 4, 1894. Ser- vices are held alternately in German and English. St. Paul's Reformed Church. — As early as 181 8 Philip Zeiser, a minister of the German Reformed Church, traveled through northwestern Pennsyl- vania on foot, preaching and forming churches at different points in Crawford County. In Meadville the Germans of the Reformed and Lutheran faiths worshiped together for many years, and were usually ministered to by the same preachers. In 1847 they purchased a lot on Pine Street, on which they erected a frame church, at a cost of about $1,800, each denomination contrib- uting an equal share of the expense. Both denominations had independent organizations, using the church on alternate Sundays. The Reformed Church had, however, been organized five years before. Benjamin Boyer, who, with Jacob Zeigler of the Lutheran Church, officiated at the dedication ceremony on December 19, 1847, was the first pastor, and served from 1847 to 1850. He was succeeded by D. B. Ernst, who remained until 1854. After Mr. Ernst a number of independent preachers ministered to both congregations, and a general disorganization took place. In 1859 D. D. Leberman, a regular Re- formed minister, reorganized the Reformed congregation, receiving for his first year's salary the sum of $53.75. Mr. Leberman served until 1865, when he was succeeded by John W. Ebinghaus. Early in 1866 the Reformed congregation sold their interest in the old church to the Lutherans, and during the year erected a brick building on the southwest corner of Park Avenue and Poplar Street. The church and ground cost $12,000, and the building, which has a seating capacity of 600, was dedi- cated in the spring of 1867. Soon after the dedication a portion of the con- gregation seceded, on account of their opposition to English sermons, and or- ganized an Independent German Reformed Church. After this an occasional sermon was preached in German until 1889, since when they have been only in English. In July, 1867, Mr. Ebinghaus was succeeded by D. D. Leberman, who continued as pastor for nineteen years. He was succeeded in 1886 by F. B. Hahn, and was followed in 1889 by Thomas S. Land, who remained about six years. A. M. Schaffner, the present pastor, has served the congre- gation faithfully and acceptably during the past three years. In the winter of 1879-80 a frame Sunday-school chapel was erected close to the church at a total cost of $1,400. 288 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The First Evangelical Protestant Church was organized in 1867 by about fifty of the congregation of St. Paul's Reformed Church, who seceded from the latter because of the preference shown for the English language in the services. The seceders wanted the services conducted in German, and for that purpose established the present church, in 1868 erecting a frame building on the northwest corner of South Main and Poplar Streets, at a total expense of about $4,500. In the spring of 1869 the church was incorporated as the "In- dependent German Reformed Congregation," but changed to its present title under the pastorate of G. F. Kauftmann. The first pastor was Robert Koch- ler, who acceptably filled the position until his death, in 1870. G. F. Kaufif- mann was the next pastor, and he has been succeeded by A. Gillis, Jacob Blass and P. Krauss, the present pastor. During the term of service of the latter a handsome brick building has been erected on the lot originally occupied, and the position of the church much strengthened in the community. The German Lutheran Church occupies a small frame building on the eastern side of Liberty Street. It was organized by members of the Lutheran Church who objected to the use of English in the services, and therefore or- ganized an independent society. The congregation is small, J. G. Trautman, the present pastor, holding services every two weeks. St. Agatha's Catholic Church (German). — The absence of a Catholic church in Meadville during its early history deterred the members of that faith from settling here in larger numbers, and we therefore find that nearly all the first Catholics located in the northern or eastern portions of the county during the last decade of the eighteenth century and the first quarter of the nineteenth. The few who settled here, in the absence of a Catholic priest to minister to the spiritual wants of their children, soon united with other denominations or removed from the town. In 1845 Mark de la Roque, pastor of St. Hyppo- lytas Church at Frenchtown, visited Meadville, where there were then but two Catholic families, George and Patrick Riordan and George and Conrad Fish- er, who attended services at Frenchtown, of which Meadville was then a mis- sion. Within a few years a number of others located in the borough, and in February, 1849, ^^ organization was effected, under the name of St. Agatha's Church, by Nicholas Steinbacher, a Jesuit missionary. Mass was celebrated at private houses until the completion of the frame building on the northwest corner of Pine and Liberty Streets. The corner- stone of that structure, which was the cradle of both St. Bridget's and St. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 289 Agatha's churches, was laid by Father Steinbacher on September 25, 1849, and the building was completed and dedicated on August 10, 1850. Joseph Hartman was the first regular pastor of the little congregation, serving from 1850 to 185 1, when Peter Lechner became pastor. The pastors since then have been: Father Schifferer, 1851; Anton Reck, 1851-64; Peter Kline, 1865-66; Anton Reck, 1866-68; Michael J. Decker, 1868-71; George Meyer, 1871-78; Melchoir Appel, 1878-83; Anton Reck, 1883; and Father Franz Winter from 1883 to the present. The congregation grew rapidly through the passing years, and in 1862 the English-speaking portion, who did not understand the German language, organized St. Bridget's church. In a few years the old frame building was too small to accommodate the increasing flock, and on the 8th of August, 1869, the corner-stone of the present imposing brick edifice on the northeast corner of South Main and Pine Streets was laid by the Right Reverend To- bias Mullen, assisted by the pastor. Father Decker, and other priests of the diocese. The building was completed under the pastorate of Father Meyer, at a total expense of $60,000, and dedicated by Bishop Mullen October 19, 1873. It is one of the finest church .edifices in Meadville, is handsomely fres- coed throughout the interior, and has a seating capacity of over one thou- sand. St. Agatha's Church embraces 250 families, or about twelve hundred souls, and has also a flourishing Sunday-school. The St. Agatha's cemetery, which adjoins Greendale, contains three acres, and was purchased -by Father Reck in 1856 at a cost of $375- In 1865 Father Kline established the parish school. He erected a one- story frame building next to the church, and employed lay teachers to con- duct the school, but the Sisters of St. Joseph were finally engaged as assist- ants. When the new church was opened in 1873 the old frame church was converted into a schoolhouse. In 1884 Father Winter secured a male teacher to take charge of the larger boys, while two Sisters looked after the other classes. Besides the usual branches taught in the public schools, the children are carefully instructed in the divine precepts of religion, secular and reli- gious instruction thus going hand in hand. A substantial parsonage was built in 1889-90 in the rear of the church at a cost of $4,000; and in 1894 the old Trinity Lutheran Church, on Pine Street, was purchased for $1,000, to be added to the school. buildings. Since then an unique metal steeple, 150 feet in height, has been placed on St. Agatha's Church, at a cost of $2,800. 19 290 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. St. Bridget's Catholic Church. — All the Catholics in this vicinity belonged to St.. Agatha's Church until the spring of 1862, when St. Bridget's was or- ganized by the English-speaking Catholics of the community. Some of the original members were John Riordan, Thomas McGuigan, James O'Connor, Walter Furlong, Richard Whalen and Thomas Breen, with their families. In May, 1862, Thomas McGuigan and James O'Connor, on behalf of the con- gregation, rented the building known as "Divinity Hall," which was after- wards purchased for the sum of $750. It was dedicated by Bishop Young, of Erie, and the congregation placed under the charge of Mark de la Roque, of Frenchtown. It was principally attended by his assistant, Father Gilibarti, who finally in 1863 was appointed resident pastor. An influx of English- speaking Catholics, in 1862, swelled the numbers of the little congregation. In 1864 two Franciscan Fathers, James Titta and Samuel Fayella, of Allegany College, near Olean, N. Y., conceived the idea of founding a Catholic institution of learning at Meadville, and were given charge of St. Bridget's Church. Their enterprise did not succeed, however, and they removed from the town. During their pastorate they bought a large two-stoi"y brick house on North Main Street for a pastoral residence, which, with their other prop- erty, was sold at the time of their removal. In 1865 Father de la Roque again took charge of St. Bridget's, and was settled here as resident pastor. Three years later he was placed in charge of St. Joseph's Church, at Warren, Pa., and afterwards officiated at Titusville. Early in 1866 Father de la Roque purchased the old Methodist Church and ])arsonage on Arch Street, near the corner of Liberty, for the sum of $7,000. It was fitted up and dedicated the same year by Bishop Domenee, of Pitts- Ijurg. The old property on Center Street was then utilized for school pur- poses, but was subsequently sold for the original purchase money. James Perry was assistant in 1865 and James Haley in 1866. The latter was suc- ceeded by John L. Finucane, who became pastor in 1868. He was a native of Ireland and was a well-known lecturer and an eminent pulpit orator. He served as pastor of St. Bridget's until June, 1871, when he was succeeded by John L. Madigan, also a native of Ireland. During his pastorate a school building was erected. In March, 1874, Father James J. Dunn became pastor of St. Bridget's and furnished and opened a school in the following September. In 1877 he purchased the lot on the northwest corner of Arch and Liberty Streets for OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 291 $1,500, and moved the old parsonage on to it. The time had now come when St. Bridget's needed a hew church; and on Sunday, August 11, 1878, the corner-stone of the present beautiful brick edifice was laid by the Right Rev- erend Tobias Mitllen, of Erie, in the presence of a large concourse of people, who had gathered from every portion of the county to witness the impressive ceremonies. It was carried to completion, and dedicated November 24, 1881, by Bishop Mullen, assisted by a large number of priests of the diocese, and Bishop Gilmour, of Cleveland, Ohio, who preached the dedicatory sermon. The church cost complete about $15,000, and has a seating capacity of 600. The church is beautifully decorated with scenes from the Bible, the frescoing being such as to compare favorably with the finer churches of metropolitan cities. A handsome brick parsonage was erected in 1891 at a cost of $7,000, and the church and premises have recently been greatly improved. Father Dunn, to whose indefatigable labors is due the rearing of the hand- some structure dedicated to the service of God, was born in Dublin County, Ireland, June 10, 1841. He came to Baltimore in 1849, ^'^'^ resided there until 1857, when he entered Mount St. Mary's College, Emmettsburg, Md., where he was graduated in June, 1863, with the degrees of A. B. and A. M. In September of the same year he entered the Theological Seminary attached to the college in order to prepare for the priesthood, meanwhile teaching Latin and Greek in the college. He was ordained as a priest in October, 1866, but remained in the college during the succeeding year as professor of Latin and Greek, after which he went to Oil City as assistant priest in St. Joseph's Church. In 1868 he went to Petroleum Center, where he remained until his removal to Meadville, in 1874. He still officiates as pastor of St. Bridget's Church, which embraces about 800 souls. St. Bridget's cemetery is located a short distance south of Meadville, and consists of a handsome plot of five acres. It was purchased in 1866 by Father de la Roque, at a cost of $500. The parish school had its inception in 1866, being openeci in the old building on Center Street, and taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph for three or four years. Father Madigan erected a two-story frame schoolhouse in the rear of St. Bridget's Church in 1873, which was fur- nished and opened by Father Dunn in September, 1874. The attendance is considerable, and besides the usual branches taught in the public schools, the course of instruction embraces a thorough religious training. The Meadville Hebrew Society was organized in 1866, and holds its 292 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. services in the Shryock block, on Water Street. The society has had several ministers and teachers, the Rev. Victor Caro being the most prominent. The membership was at one time considerable, but has been much reduced by re- movals from the city. The Hebrews own a small cemetery southwest of f Greendale. The Park Avenue Congregational Church was organized on May i8, 1881, by the withdrawal of the majority of the congregation and 132 of the members of the First Presbyterian Church of Meadville, "who, for conscience sake, felt it to be their duty to renounce the Presbyterian form of. church government." The church was recognized by an ecclesiastical council com- posed of Congregational ministers from Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, which met October 12, 1881, when James G. Carnachan, LL. D., who for twelve years had been pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, was installed as pastor of the new organization. Until February, 1884, the congregation worshiped in Library Hall, when,. having purchased the lot on the corner of Chestnut Street and Park Avenue, it entered upon the occupancy of its chapel, which was built at a cost of over $6,000, and was dedicated free of debt on Feb- ruary 3, 1884. The chapel is conceded to be one of the finest edifices of its kind in this portion of the State. A leasehold on the building occupying the church lot delayed somewhat the erection of the church proper, but as soon as this had expired the main building was erected, the whole cost being more than $26,000. On October 2, 1887, it was consecrated in the presence of an immense audience by G. F. Wright, D. D. It is a fine brick structure, handsomely finished and furnished in the interior, and is a credit to Meadville progressiveness. The organ is one of the finest in the city, having 1,388 pipes. Dr. Carnachan, under whose ministration the church was founded, served as pastor until 1889, when he was succeeded by Ward T. Sutherland. He retnained until 1894, when R. R. Davies was placed in charge. He was succeeded in 1897 by Clinton W. Wilson, the present pastor. The Park Avenue Church, as it is usually called, has a membership of about three hundred, and is one of the most flourishing of Meadville's churches. It has a prosperous Sunday-school, and is promi- nent in all branches of church work. CHAPTER IV. TITUSViLLE. BY M. N. ALLEN. NEAR the close of the eighteenth century two stalwart men, equipped as surveyors, appeared in the southeastern part of Crawford County, in the state of Pennsylvania. They were in the employ of the Holland Land Company, in making surveys of the company's lands in Crawford and adjacent counties. The country here was covered by primitive forests, a dense wilderness, where the foot of a white man had very rarely, if ever, trod before. The Seneca Indians, under the celebrated chief, Cornplanter, hunted in this wilderness, where game existed in abundance. At this time the Indians in the eastern part of the county were apparently more friendly to the whites than were their brothers farther west. The two surveyors traveled in an emigrant wagon, drawn by a yoke of oxen. The wagon, in which the men lodged at night, was roofed with canvas. Attached to the train was a cow which supplied the men with milk. Panthers and other dangerous beasts of prey prowled through the wilderness, and the surveyors, before retiring to their cot in the wagon for rest at night, fastened their team near at hand, built a large smouldering fire, , which would last until morning, and scattered upon the fire asafetida, whose odors frightened or disgusted the savage beasts, and kept them at a safe distance throughout the night. These two surveyors came to a beautiful sloping plain, on which now rests the city of Titusville. They were at once charmed by the location. Virgin forests, with giant trees, rising with straight trunks and pointing with tapering spires to the skies; birds of song trilling their notes from every direction ; pheasants abounding everywhere, showing little or no fear of the strangersj and many other things local conspired to attract the newcomers and fasten them to the spot. They were not long in selecting the plain and driving stakes for their future homes. The names of these two men were respectively Jonathan Titus and Samuel Kerr. 293 294 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The men spent their first night, and perhaps every other night during their stay here at that time, by the side of a high bank, situated not far from the present coal office of Mr. Edwards. On this spot Jonathan Titus located his home, where he continued to reside until his death, over sixty years after- ward. This homestead continued in the possession of the Titus family until destroyed by fire in March, 1866, nine years after the death of its distinguished founder. The large tracts of land selected by Kerr and Titus for their re- spective occupancy joined each other. Kerr fixed his home on the south side of the street now known as Central Avenue, between Drake and Kerr streets. Here he first built an humble cabin, but afterward a long, two-story house, where he continued to live until late in life, and where he raised a large family of children. This house, a few years ago, was purchased, with the lot on which it stood, by Mr. Junius Harris, who cut this building in two, and, swinging the parts around so as to front with their ends to the street, converted them intO' two tenement houses. As the names of Samuel Kerr and Jonathan Titus will appear many times in these pages, as the first two pioneer settlers in eastern Crawford, it is well to give here a genealogical sketch relating respectively to the two men. The sketch, giving the history of the Titus family, was written about a half a century ago by Mrs. Olivia Moore, as dictated personcilly by her father, and this paper has been sacredly kept by Mrs. Moore ever since. Mrs. Moore, now of this city, is the only surviving child of Jonathan Titus, and to her especially the writer is indebted for much interesting and highly valuable information. It is proper, also, to remark in this connection that the two sketches about to be presented contain much of importance which never be- fore has seen the light in public print. The two papers have also led to the discovery of other important information which will be read for the first time in these pages. The sketch dictated by Jonathan Titus, giving the genealogy of his family, is as follows: "Peter Titus emigrated from Germany with three brothers, and settled first on Staten Island, about the middle of the eighteenth century. A few years afterward he moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is supposed he married Mary Williams before leaving Staten Island, or soon after his arrival at Carlisle. His family consisted of three sons, John, Daniel and Peter, and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 295 three daughters, Olivia, Mary and Sarah. John married and had a family of eighteen children. Daniel married and had seven or eight children. Peter married Jane Kerr in the year 1766. He had two sons, Jonathan and Daniel, and four daughters, Ruth, Fanny, Olivia and Susan. Jonathan Titus married Mary Martin on May 10, 1804, of Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, living near Pittsburg. They had born to them three sons and six daughters. The names of the sons were : Peter Augustus, Maxwell and John Martin. The daugh- ters were Susan Jane, Sarah Ann, Lavinia, who died at the age of three years ; Lavinia (named after the deceased), Mary Lewis, who died aged one year and eight months, and Olivia. Susan Jane married Joseph L. Chase ; Sarah Ann married Edward H. Chase; Lavinia married Parker McDowell and Olivia married John Moore. The three sons all died without issue." Mr. Titus also says parenthetically that Olivia, daughter of the first Peter Titus, married a Mr. Evans; Mary, the second daugliter, married a Mr. Clawson; and Sarah, the third daughter, married Midian Garwood, but nothing more was known by him concerning the three. While Mr. Titus says that the; first Peter Titus emigrated from Germany, it is not doubted that this ancestor was a native of Holland. It seems not unlikely that he included Holland as a part of Germany. Mary Martin, the wife "of Jonathan Titus, was the daughter of John Martin and Susan (McDowell) Martin, the sister of Alexander McDowell, agent of the Holland Land Company at Franklin, Pennsylvania; Parker McDowell, whO' married Lavinia Titus, as stated above, was a son of Alexander McDowell, aforesaid. He was therefore the first cousin of Mary (Martin) Titus, the mother of/ his wife. It is interesting to note the repetition of family names in genealogical descent. Peter Wilson, now deceased, the man who aided Drake in sinking the first oil well, was related by blood to Jonathan Titus, as will be hereafter shown. Beginning with the children of the first Peter Titus, the names of Sarah and Olivia are found in three successive generations. Peter Titus Witherop, now of Titusville, who writes his name P. T. Witherop, was named after his great-grandfather, the father of Jonathan Titus. Susan Jane, the oldest daughter of Jonathan Titus, was probably named after her twO' grand- mothers, Susan (McDowell) Martin, and Jane (Kerr) Titus; or the name Susan may have been adopted from her father's sister, Susan Titus. The other genealogical paper, that relating to the Kerr family, will now be given. It was written by Samuel Kerr himself, in the last years of his 296 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. life, and it is now in the possession of his sole surviving son, Mr. Marshall Kerr, now residing in Cherrytree Township, Venango Gounty, at the age of seventy-two. This paper shows good scholarship for One whose early yeaVs were all spent in Pennsylvania woods. Samuel Kerr was doubtless a thor- oughly self-educated man. This is' the account, as it appears in Mr. Kerr's own handwriting: "My father, James Kerr, was born in Ireland, whence he emigrated for America. He first settled in about 1732 in Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, at about the age of thirty. There he married a woman named Stewart, who died there after having borne to him ten children. Not long after her decease he married my mother, Susanna Stevenson, by whom he had two sons and one daughter, of whom I was the youngest. My sister died in childhood. My father moved from Lancaster County about the year 1766, and, aftei" stopping a few months in Canogocheague settlement, where he buried my mother, he continued his course westward to a place on the Juniata River, now in the bounds of Huntington County, where he com- menced a settlement, on a tract of land near to what was called Franks- town, an old town, where he continued to reside until the -Indians invaded that neighborhood, when his children all left him alone, he utterly refusing to leave his own house, and fled to Cambria County. This was in December, 1777. He continued alone in his house in very feeble health until some time in January, when he was taken to Fitter's Fort, where he soon afterward died. My fatlier was an elder of the Presbyterian church for about forty years. He was a man of temperate and industrious habits, and he was accounted by all his connections and acquaintances an honest man and sin- cere Christian." Jane Kerr, the wife of the second Peter Titus, was a half-sister of Samuel Kerr, thus making Samuel Kerr the maternal uncle of Jonathan Titus. James Kerr was the only full brother that Samuel Kerr had. He settled in the early years of the present century on what is now the McCombs place, south of Woodlawn cemetery, in Oil Creek Township, and further ■ mention of him will appear later on. The four daughters of Peter Titus, the father of Jonathan, all married. Ruth married James Curry; Fanny married Charles Ridgway; Olivia married Robert Curry, and Susan married John Ridgway. John Curry married a half-sister of Samuel Kerr. Robert Lewis, father of the present Robert Lewis; who has li\'ed in Oil Creek OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 297 Township all his life, now eighty-five years of age, married Jane Curry, a daughter of John Gurry and wife, the half-sister of Samtiel Kerr, just spoken of. It will be seen that Samuel Kerr and his brother James, together with all their descendants, are related by blood to Jonathan Titus and all his descendants. So also were all the children of the second Peter Titus, by his wife, Jane Kerr, related to the first James Kerr and all his descendants. And, singular as is the fact, not many of the present descendants of the first James Kerr, who came to America from Ireland in about the year 1732, and also not many of the present descendants of Peter Titus and Jane (Kerr) Titus seem to have any idea of this relationship. The wife of Samuel Kerr, who with Jonathan Titus began the settle- ment on which was founded Titusville, was Catharine Coover. Their chil- dren were Andrew, James K., Michael C, Marshall, Joseph, Joanna, Eliza- beth and Amelia. Michael and Marshall were twins. Michael C. was the speaker of the National House of Representatives in the Fourty-fourth congress. James K. became one of the distinguished lawyers of the state, with his home in Pittsburg. He commanded a regiment and served with distinction in the Union army in the late civil war. Marshall, as already stated, the only surviving son, lives in Cherrytree Township, VenangO' County, with his postoffice in Titusville. Amelia, Mrs. Elliott, the youngest child and the only surviving daughter, lived with her husband in Erie many years, but since the death of her husband she has made Titusville her home;* Jonathan Titus was a man of heroic mould. While the Indians in the locality of his forest home were generally peaceful, whiskey sometimes made them troublesome. The manufacture of whiskey in those days was com- mon, and trade in the article was as general as in any other commodity. The early merchant always kept his store stocked with. it, without the restraint of a public license, or of public opinion; It was not necessary for the dealer to resort to anything clandestine in the traffic. Both the trade and the use of alcoholic liquors were reputable. The intemperate use of liquor was alone against the sanction of society. Whether intemperance was greater then than afterward, when temperance movements had been organized, and the traffic was regulated by license laws, it is not necesary here to inquire. It is certain that alcohol was a most ruinous evil to the red man; An incident relating* to the subject may here be given. * Since writing the aijove Marshall Kerr has died. 298 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. In the early settlement of eastern Crawford, it became customary among the pioneers in the fall of the year to collect in turn at their cabins and have a chopping "bee," in cutting firewood in quantity for the coming winter. Once, as Mrs. Olivia Moore informs us, when there was such a "bee" at the home of John Watson, the father of the late John Watson and Hon. L. F. Watson, near what is now East Titusville, a few Indians, attracted perhaps by the expectation of getting a drink of whiskey, which was always to be found at such a social gathering, made their appearance, and shared in the hospitality of the occasion. It was the custom for the woodchopper who worked longest and stayed until all the rest of the neighbors had gone, to take home with him all the whiskey which might be left. The Indians spoken of had doubtless come to know of this custom, for when all the wood- choppers had left, except a man named Ross, who lived in Cherrytree, the Indians, who had been treated to liquor in the afternoon and had gone away, returned and demanded of Ross that he give them more whiskey. Ross happened at the moment to be splitting open a large log. So he told them to assist in opening the log by pulling it open by main strength, that is, by slipping their fingers into the large crack, made by large wedges still in the wood, and instructing them, when he gave the word, tO' pull with all their might. When all was ready, the Indians having their hands in the opening, Ross shouted the word and struck the principal wedge, which, as he intended it should, flew out, the log closed together, fastening the hands of the Indians as in a vise. Ross, taking his tools and remnant of whiskey, hurried away as night was coming on, leaving the poor red men writhing in pain. Their cries doubtless brought Mr. Watson to their assistance who, as soon as he could, set them free, but not until their finders were badly crushed and lacerated. The Indians were naturally terribly enraged, and they imme- diately started in pursuit of Ross, following, the direction which they had seen him take until he went out of sight. It would have been bad with Ross if they had overtaken him. But he probably increased the distance between him and the Indians as rapidly as possible. They, however, made their way to the house of Mr. Titus, thinking that either he was Ross, or that he was concealing the man who had tricked them. When they reached the door and angrily demanded admittance, Mr. Titus, expecting trouble, caught hold of a large iron poker, and speaking to his wife (whose name was Mary, but whom he called Polly), said: "Polly, keep a brave heart." Then he OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 299 unfastened the door, and, seeing the Indians with their knives on the point of attacking him, he suddenly dealt two of them each a powerful blow with the poker, prostrating them senseless, telling the third and last one to come on, and he would serve him in the same way. The third one, however, desisted. Mr. Titus made him give up his weapons, and, taking those of the other two, he put them all aside, and bidding the unhurt one tO' assist, he dragged the two helpless ones into the house, through the kitchen and into the parlor, locking all three in the room, and keeping guard himself all night, while sitting in the kitchen. The next morning, after shooting off the loaded guns of the Indians, he gave them a breakfast, and delivering to them all their effects he sent them away, threatening them that if they should ever return in the manner of their approach the night before he would kill them all. I They kept away and he never saw them again. Mr. Titus kept for some time an "open house" in his first log cabin, and hospitably entertained many as they passed that way. His homestead be- came a station, which took the name of "Titus'," and the spot has carried the name ever since. Very naturally, without legislative or judicial decree, the settlement took the name of Titusville. The settlement grew intO' a hamlet and from a hamlet to a village, which was governed by a borough corpora- tion and finally came the high towers of a city. More than a century has passed since Samuel Kerr and Jonathan Titus set their stakes and established a settlement. These men were not reckless in the selection of a site. They had trav- eled long through virgin forests in several counties, and examined many dif- ferent localities, thus becoming well qualified to choose the spot best suited for a town. Undoubtedly when they located two large tracts of land, side by side, for themselves respectively, they expected that they were laying the foundations of a town. Their properties crossed Oil Creek and covered the junction of Oil Creek and Pine Creek. Each of these streams had large water sheds, with valleys connecting the high lands with the central point selected by the two pioneers. These two men were in pursuit of such a location for a year before they agreed that they had found the natural requisites of a town. While they surveyed wild lands, they studied anfl compared the several locations through which they passed. They chose out of all the localities with which they became acquainted the spot where now is Titusville. 300 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Despite the privations of a forest life at a distance from civilization, there were attractions and comforts even to be found in the dense woods where Titus and Kerr began their settlement. There was game in profusion. Wild turkeys, pheasants and deer furnished the settlers with abundance of meat. The ax of the woodman leveled the giants of the forest. The fallen timber was piled in heaps and burned. The cleared land was sown with the seeds of wheat or planted with corn. Year after year, though slowly at first, the clearing of land increased. The settlement grew, and the lumberman was soon on the ground. Saw-mills were built and sawed lumber found its way down Oil Creek, down the Allegheny River and down the Ohio, to mar- ket. The sale of lumber brought money, or supplies purchased with money, into the settlement. As early as 1809 Mr. Titus planned a town, a large part of vvfhich remains the same as in the plat which he caused to be made. Franklin Street is the Franklin Street of almost ninety years ago. Spring Street, Water Street, Pine Street, and Washington Street were as to their place on the map the same then as now. Village property, however, came slowly into the market. Jonathan Titus sold the first village lot by contract to Dr. Isaac Kellogg in 1818, though the deed for the property was not executed until twenty years later, 1838. Another singular circumstance connected with this real estate transaction was the fact that this deed signed and properly acknowledged by Jonathan Titus and his wife Mary in 1838, though sold to Dr. Kellogg in 1818, was not recorded at the Recorder's office in Meadville until 1870. Dr. Kellogg came from the state of Vermont, and settled first at James- town, New York. He probably made a short stay there and came to Titus- ville not far from the middle of February, 1818. It is trustworthy tradi- tion that when Dr. Kellogg and his family were approaching Titusville they saw a funeral procession following — as they learned after their arrival in the settlement — the remains of James Kerr to the burying ground at the head of Franklin Street. James Kerr, father of the present Adam Kerr, was the brother of Samuel Kerr, the pioneer. He settled on what is now the McCombs place, near Woodlawn cemetery, early in the century. Immediately adjoining on the north the lot in Woodlawn, containing the mausoleum, lately erected by Mr. James C. McKinney, is the family burial lot of James Kerr aforesaid. On OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 301 this lot is a marble monument bearing among other inscriptions the following : "James Kerr, died February 10, 1818, aged 58 years." It is probable that the burial of Mr. Kerr did not occur later than February 14. So that the advent of the Kellogg family to Titusville was not later than the middle of February. Dr. Kellogg first occupied a log house on what soon afterward became the property of William Kelly, a prominent pioneer settler of Oil Creek, whose well known home, the Kelly farm, on Perry Street hill, a little north of the city boundary, continues to stand, occupied by John, Hannah and Mary Kelly, surviving children of William Kelly. The property described in the deed to Isaac Kellogg, spoken of as the first village lot sold by Jonathan Titus, is mentioned as beginning at a post on the south side of Spring Street, on the west side of Spring alley, and rutming one hundred and eighty feet southwardly to a post on the north side of Water Street, thence one hundred and eighty feet westwardly to a post on the east side of Washington Street, thence northwardly one hundred and eighty feet to a post on the south side of Spring Street, thence one hun- dred and eighty feet to the place of beginning. The place of beginning, that is the post on the northeast corner, was the northeast corner of the present European Hotel. The property thus purchased embraced three full village lots, each sixty by one hundred and eighty feet in dimension. It seems that Water Street has never been opened west of Franklin Street. Dr. Kellogg, while living in the log house on what was afterward the Kelly homestead, built a one story and a half frame house, where is now the European Hotel block, owned by .Mr. E. T. Roberts of Titusville. In this house Dr. Kellogg lived with his family for several years until he bought himself a home on the northwest corner of Pine and ^A/■ashington streets, and in this house were born all his children, except the two oldest, Isaac, Jr., and Charles. Charles was less than a year old when the family came to Titusville, in February, 181 8. In 1865, Charles Kellogg, who then owned the eastern lot of the property, erected on the northeast corner a three story brick edifice, known as the Kellogg block. Subsequently the Roberts brothers purchased the land and enlarged the block to more than double its original dimensions, by adding to the south side, making the width twice what it had been before, and increasing the height of the whole building to four stories. In the south part of the edifice was for many years the Roberts Bank. 302 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. On the ground floor, of the Kellogg block, fronting Spring Street, was first, in the fall of 1865, a dry goods store, the proprietor paying to Mr. Kellogg a rental of $2,500 per annum. But the dry goods dealer did not stay many months. The quarters vacated by him were leased by Patrick Goodwin, together with other parts of the building, for a hotel, and here has been kept a hotel ever since. The present European Hotel occupies the entire eastern half of the block. When Goodwin kept the hotel the floor next above in front was occupied by dental parlors, owned first by Drs. Luce and Thurston and afterward by Dr. Willard, and next by Dr. Downes. The following taken from the Kellogg family record will be of interest tO' those who study the pioneer history of Titusville: "Isaac Kellogg^, Sr., was born August 4, 1784. Harta Westcott, wife of Isaac Kellogg, Sr., was born March 21, 1789. Isaac Kellogg, Jr., was born February 15, 18 14. Charles Kelfogg was born May 11, 1817. Maria Kellogg was born August 11, 1819. Amos Kellogg was born February 5, 1822. John Kellogg was born March 19, 1824. Lovisa Kellogg was born September 5, 1826. Emily Kellogg was born February 5, 1829. Vara Kellogg was born June 5, 183 1. Isaac Kel- logg, Sr., died January 4, 1841. Harta Kellogg, wife of Isaac Kellogg, Sr., died March 27, 1867." Isaac Kellogg was the first resident physician of Titusville. After him came Drs. Gillett, E. P. Banning, Orson and Heffron. Dr. Banning afterward acquired distinction in New York City by the invention and con- struction of certain anatomical supports. Dr. E. P. Banning, Jr., is an instructor in one of the medical schools of Cleveland, Ohio. The first store in Titusville was located on the southwest corner of Spring and Franklin streets. It was a log building, opened in 1816 by William Sheffield, who employed as clerk Joseph L. Chase, who afterward became a prominent citizen of the town, and largely identified with its for- tunes. Chase soon became a partner in the establishment. Sheffield in about 1820 sold his interest to Chase, Sill and Company, who moved the store to the northwest corner, where the concern grew to large proportions, Joseph L. Chase continuing to be its principal proprietor nearly all the time until the large building containing the large establishments, together with its con- tents, was destroyed by fire in February, 1866. Titusville at that time was the gathering place of many rough characters. On a Sunday evening, while the citizais were engaged in extinguishing a fire on Martin Street, between OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 303 Main and Walnut, the fire bell gave a fresh alarm, when flames suddenly lighted the sky in the central part of the town. Crowds rushed toward the new conflagration, when it was discerned that the great Chase store and the buildings adjoining it on Franklin Street would be burned to the ground. Little or no air was stirring and the fire did not spread. But the inhabitants of the town were frightened. It was believed that the fires coming so nearly at the same time were the work of incendiary design. So large a number of suspicious characters known to be in the town, without visible employment, had already caused uneasiness in the community. On Monday morning, following the fires, a vigilance committee of citizens was organized. After the fire, the whole space now occupied by the Chase and Stewart block was a vacant lot. Upon this lot later on Monday afternoon a gallows was erected, in -full view of all who passed in that vicinity on Franklin, Spring or Pine streets. One "Stonehouse Jack" was regarded as a desperate character. Whether he deserved all that was suspected of hirn, it has not been since shown. He was, however, taken into the confidence of the Vigilantes and informed by them that his departure from the town would be compatible with the peace of the community. Encouraged by this assurance, he left for other parts, and, so far as is publicly known, he has never since returned. A refer- ence here to this episode is made for the purpose of recording some of the experiences of the community in the period of the great oil excitement when Titusville was flooded by a large floating population. The second store in Titusville was opened in 1832, on East Pine Street, between Drake and Kerr, by Parker McDowell. L. F. Watson, son of John Watson already spoken of, was his clerk. L. F. Watson afterward went to Warren and made, the place his permanent home. He has since represented his district several terms in congress. McDowell was joined several years after by John Robinson, in a partnership firm. After the firm had erected a new store building on the northwest corner of Pine and Franklin streets, Robinson purchased McDowell's interest and carried on the business alone there fpr many years. In 1864 L. C. Pendleton bought the property and converted it into a hotel. In the summer of 1865 Pendleton re-constructed and enlarged the building. Later on Mr. Z. Martin still further enlarged the hotel, giving to it the name of the "Mansion House," and this name the house has retained ever since. In 1897 its present proprietors, Gleason & Lockwood, took down the main part of the wooden edifice and erected in its 304 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. place the present elegant brick structure, a credit to the city and a highly attractive and comfortable, as well as popular, hostelry. James Brawley was perhaps the first established carpenter of the settle- ment. Charles Gillett had the first blacksmith shop. William Barnsdall came in 1833 and made shoes. In the same year Arthur Robinson built the American Hotel, the first hotel proper started in the place. The building continued to be a hotel for nearly half a century. In 1880 it was taken away to make room for the present Oil lExchange. At about 1835 a chair factory was built and operated by Roswell C. Sexton, on the east side of Franklin Street, between Main and Pine — the latter now known as the Central Avenue. Up to the beginning of oil development in 1859, the principal staple production, which brought money to the inhabitants of Titusville and vicinity, was lumber. Boards and shingles found an easy transit to market by raft on Oil Creek and the Allegheny River. The thrifty settler paid for his land by the sale of lumber from it, manufactured into products which were called for in the market. The vocation of raftsman on the river became an estab- lished one. The raftsman earned his money easily and spent it freely. Trade at Titusville during the decade in which Drake made his discovery must have been a good deal. It was destined soon to expand to large proportions, when oil became almost the only topic of interest. I1S(C0RP0RATI0N OF TITUSVILLE. By act of Assembly, approved March 6, 1847, Titusville was made a borough. In accordance with the provisions of the act, William Robinson, John M. Titus and S. S. Bates were appointed commissioners to establish the boundary lines of the new borough. In March, 184S, a charter election was held, of which Joseph L. Chase was chosen Burgess, and S. S. Bates, William Barnsdall, James R. Kerr and G. C. Pettit members of the Council. The Council organized April ist following, appointing Robert L. Robinson, Clerk, and E. H. Chase, Treasurer. In. 185 1 Jonathan Titus was elected Burgess; Samuel Silliman, in 1852; A. B. Hubbard, in 1853; J. M. Allen in 1854; James Parker in 1856; Joseph L. Chase in 1857-9; 2- Waid, i860; John Moore, 1861; N. Kingsland, 1862; O. K. Howe, 1863; F. W. Ames, 1864-5; Joel N. Angier, 1866. By act of Assembly, approved February, 1866, Titusville became a city. Soon afterward a municipal election was held, resulting in the choice of J. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 305 N. Angier for Mayor and the following members of the City Council : First Ward, J. H. Bunting and George Custer; Second Ward, Thomas Goodwin and H. B. Ostrom; Third Ward, A. W. Coburn and R. D. Fletcher; Fourth Ward, W. W. Bloss and J. J. McCrum. Angier was re-elected in 1867. In 1868 Henry Hinkley was chosen Mayor and re-elected the following year. Next, Fred Bates was Mayor for 1870 and 1871. W. B. Roberts was Mayor for 1872. John Fertig was chosen Mayor in 1873, re-elected in 1874, and again re-elected in 1875. D. H. Mitchell was Mayor for 1876, and David Emery for 1877. The next year, by a change of the city charter, the term of the Mayor's office was increased from one to twO' years, when William Bamsdall was chosen Mayor for 1878-9. In 1880 A. N. Perrin was elected for 1880-1. In 1882 James H. Caldwell was chosen for 1882-3. In 1884 James P. Thomas was chosen for 1884-5, ^^^ in 1886 he was re-elected for two years more. In 1888 John Schwartz was elected for 1888-9. Iii 1890, another year having been added to, the term of office, E. O. Emerson was' chosen Mayor for three years, 1890-1-2. In 1893 Joseph C. Robinson was chosen for 1893-4-5. In 1896 W. B. Benedict, the present incumbent, was chosen Mayor for 1896-7-8. In 1 87 1 the Legislature of the state amended the city charter of Titus- ville, providing for the construction of sewers, the paving of streets and the election of a City Auditor. The act provided for the first election to be held in June following. At that election R. D. Fletcher was chosen Auditor. The term of the Auditor's office was fixed at three years, and Mr. Fletcher was re-elected at the regular charter election in 1874. In 1877 Joseph Stett- heimer was chosen Auditor for the next three years. In 1880, legislation having converted the office into that of Comptroller, making the term of office two years, T. J. Smiley was chosen. He was re-elected four times and held the office of Comptroller for ten consecutive years — from 1880 to 1890. Then, the term of office having been increased one year, A. C. Harton was elected Comptroller for three years — 1890- 1-2. In 1893 Jules A. C. Dubar, the present incumbent, was chosen, and re-elected in 1896. Since the office of City Treasurer became elective by popular vote, William M. Henderson was first chosen to the position. He was elected in 1878 and held the office two years. William Barnsdall was elected for the next two years. C. M. Hayes next held the office for eight consecutive years, four terms, from 1882 to 1890. The term was then .increased one year and Eugene Mackey was 20 3o6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Treasurer from 1890 to 1893. Thomas W. Main was elected in 1893 and re-elected in 1896, and he is the present incumbent. There are twO' branches of City Councils, the Select and the Common. The Select Council has five members and the Common Council eight, two from each of the four wards. J. C. McKinney represents the whole city in the Select Council. The other members of the Select Council are Samuel Stinson, First Ward; George J. Kuntz, Second Ward; Edward Allen, Third Ward; C. J. McCarthy, Fourth Ward. The members of the Common Council are L. E. Andrews and John McKay, First Ward; V. E. Ward and Peter Hancox, Second Ward; John Coots and Benjamin Lang, Third Ward ; Edward Brennan and Frank Fleiiry, Fourth Ward. The present city officers ai-e Willis B. Benedict, Mayor; Jules A. C. Dubar, Comptroller; Thomas W. Main, Treasurer; Waldron M. Dame, Clerk and Secretary of the Water Department; George F. Brown, Solicitor; A. M. Hunter, Water Superintendent; M. R. Rouse, Street Commissioner; Daniel McGrath, Chief-of-Police. WATER WORKS. The city is supplied with water by the Holly system, which delivers water to consumers directly through the mains, instead of pumping it first into an elevated reservoir, from which the water descends by gravity in mains to consumers. Titusville has never tried the reservoir system, but the citizens of Titusville generally believe that the Holly system is preferable to the other. They urge that water pumped directly from the ground to con- sumers is likely to be purer for use than water standing in a reservoir, into which impurities, such as the bodies of dead animals, are liable to be — and sometimes are — thrown. They think also that there is less expense of power in the direct delivery than in lifting water toi the reservoir, to say nothing of the convenience in general use of receiving water under light pressure, as against the uniformly high pressure in the reservoir system. At any rate the citizens of Titusville are strongly attached to their water plant. The con- struction of the works was begun in 1872, and finished in the spring of 1874. The pump works are located about a mile and a quarter west of the City Hall. At first two large cisterns, into the sides and bottom of which the water entered, after being filtered by the gravel through which it passed, were sunk from ten to twenty feet below the surface of the ground. The OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 307 interior of the cisterns was walled with brick, laid without mortar, so as to admit water through the joints. Afterward large artesian wells were sunk to a depth of nearly a hundred feet. Those wells proved to be flowing ones. At first the water from* them was received into the cisterns, and then pumped the same as the filtered water. But now the pumps are connected directly with the flowing wells, so that consumers get water fresh from its source. The works have been owned from the beginning by the municipal corporation. The rates to consumers have always been moderate, but the plant has become an important source of revenue to the city. The management of the water works for many years has been excellent. The First Engineer, John Smith, and George Pastorious, Second Engineer, of the works, have long held their present positions. FIRE DEPARTMENT. From 1867 to 1882 the department was composed of volunteer , com- panies. Barney Bosch was foreman of the first company, which was organ- ized and equipped with a hand engine and hose cart in 1865. The next year another engine and a hook and ladder truck were purchased. In 1867 the Titusville Fire Department was organized and placed, under the control of the city authorities, with Thomas Goodwin, Chief Engineer; Dennis Reagan, First Assistant; W. J. Stevens, Second Assistant; B. Bosch, Foreman of En- gine Company No. i ; James Reardon, Foreman of Engine iSTo. 2, and J. W. Morrison, Foreman of the Hook and Ladder Company. Before the con- struction of the city water works, three steamers were purchased. After- ward one of them was sold. The two retained by the city, the "Amoskeag" and the "City of Titusville," are kept in first-class working order, for emer- gencies. Ordinarily in case of a fire there is suflicient service got by con- necting the hose with the mains, when on the notice of less than three min- utes the pressure is rJlised, by the powerful pumps at the water works, to one hundred pounds a square inch. Early in the seventies there were sev- eral well equipped hose companies under excellent discipline. Most of them had elegant quarters at their respective hose houses. They became social organizations, the members of which respectively vied with one another in gentlemanly conduct, as well as in generous competition in the proper service of firemen. The Courier Hose, the Bloss Hose, the Bates Hose, the Drake Hose will long be remembered. At the last celebration of Fourth of July, a large number of the old members of the Titusville fire depart- 308 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ment marched as a body in the general prbcession through the streets of the city. The fact that so many of the old depai-tment still survived, and that so many on a short notice could be collected and presented to the commtmity was a pleasant surprise, especially to the veterans themselves. During the last sixteen years, of those still living, many had gone to other localities, and not a few to distant parts, while others — not a few — had gone to the "undiscovered country." Still the veteran firemen on that occasion made an imposing appearance. The reunion demonstrated the last- ing attachment of the citizens of the "Queen City," whether still residing in Titusville or elsewhere. The paid fire department was organized May 9, 1882. Augustus Castle, who had been for several years Chief Engineer under the old sys- tem, was appointed Chief Engineer and Fire Marshal, with Daniel Haley as First Assistant Engineer, and H. Butler Second Assistant Engineer. J. R. Riley was appointed Engineer of the Steamers; J. W. Beck, John Noel and James Corbett were appointed drivers of the hose carriages and hook and ladder trudk, with nine minute men and a foreman. The officers of the department in 1898 are W. T. McKenzie, Chief Engineer and Fire Mar- shal; First Assistant Engineer, W. A. Lee; Second Assistant Engineer, C. H. Henderson; Engineers of the Steamers, D. H. Herron and Joseph Hofel- der; Drivers, James Corbett, John W. Beck and C. C. Felton, with fourteen minute men and four hose carts. It is proper to state that the practical operation of the paid fire depart- ment has been throughout, as a whole, highly satisfactory to the com- munity. The discipline of the department at present seems to be excellent. Temperate habits are made a condition in the selection of both officers and minute men. SEWERS. , An extensive system of sewerage was begun in 1871. In the same year a main sewer was constructed beneath Central Avenue, which, running eastward, deflected and emptied into Oil Creek. The walls of this sewer are brick, laid with water-lime masonry. Connecting with this sewer, which is four feet in diameter, is another, laid also with brick masonry, and three feet in diameter, running under Monroe Street, as far north as Main Street. Then there are miles of street sewers laid with terra cotta pipe, with a vitri- fied surface. Scarcely a year passes without the construction of some addi- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 30Q tional sewer line. At every street crossing, where the sewers run, there is a catch basin, which receives the water from the street gutters and strains it into the sewer. STREET PAVEMENTS. Wooden pavements were first laid in 1873. Spring Street was paved that year from Monroe eastward as far as Martin Street with wood; also Franklin Street between Central Avenue and the O. C. R. R. from Franklin to its intersection with Central Avenue. Diamond Street was paved with wood the same year from Franklin to its intersection with Central Avenue, and the pavement of Cerjtral Avenue extended eastward to Church Run. Then there was a section of wooden pavement laid in 1873 from Spring Street south on Washington to the side track of the O. C. R. R. It may be said in brief that the experiment of wood- en pavements in Titusville was a failure. The result to several per- sons owning property abutting on the streets thus paved was disastrous. They were taxed to pay for the pavement, which from its poor quality added nothing to the value of their property. The city subsequently at its own expense, as fast as the wooden pavements rotted away, laid in their place blocks of native sandstone, cut into the shape of Belgian blocks used for pavement in the large cities. While not as good as desired, this kind of pavement is much superior to the wooden ones laid in 1873. But, begin- ning in 1893, some miles of vitrified brick pavement have already been laid. The whole of Washington Street has been covered with this kind of pave- ment. Perry Street, from its junction with Union, has been paved with vitrified brick as far south as Spring. Union Street has the same pavement, Franklin Street from Church Run has been paved with this brick as far south as the W. N. Y. & P. railroad. Central Avenue has been paved with the same from its junction with West Spring almost to Drake street. Diamond Street is also paved with the same, and Spring Street, between Washington and Martin, is covered with the same. SIDEWALKS. On most of the business streets the sidewalks are made of flag-stones, cut to the desired shape by the stone mason's chisel. Plank sidewalks in front of private residences are fast giving way to large rectangular sawed 3IO OUR COUNTY AND ITS. PEOPLE. flag-stones, or, of late especially, neat and smooth walks are made from cement. This latter kind of walk is also laid befgre some business blocks, and it may come into general use on the business streets. Sidewalks made from vitrified brick are also laid, especially in the b,usiness jjarts of the town. CITY HALL. In 1872 the city purchased the old Bush House, on the south side of Franklin Street, between Main and Pine streets, and converted the property into public buildings and grounds. The hotel proper was made the City Hall. The long dining-room was enlarged and made the Common Coun- cil hall, where the Common Council hold their meetings. As the hall is spacious it is used for many gatherings in which public interests are con- cerned. The Select Council hold their meetings in another large room. The Mayor, the City Clerk, the Comptroller, and the City Treasurer have offices in the building. Also the City School Superintendent has his' office in the City Hall, on the second floor. The public library also occupies rooms on the second floor. The electrician of the street lights has a laboratory in the building. Adjoining the City Hall are outside brick buildings, one for the city prison, in the chamber of which are the police headquarters, and the others for fire steamers, hose wagons, quarters for firemen, hook and ladder truck, stables for the city horses, etc. On the same grounds is a high tower, in the top of which is the city fire-bell. On the corner of Central Avenue and Monroe Street is another hose house, con- taining hose wagons, quarters for the firemen, stables for the horses, etc. STREET LIGHTING. Lighting the streets with lamps on the street corners began in 1868, by illuminating gas manufactured by the Titusville Gas and Water Company. This system continued until 1889, when machinery for producing electricity was put into the water works, poles erected on street corners and wires strung for the purpose of electric illumination. From 1889 to August, 1897, fifty-eight lamps were used. The machinery is in charge of the engineers of the water works, who operate both plants, thus saving to the city a good deal of expense in labor. In 1897 ^ larger engine and larger electric motor were added, additional wires stretched,, and the number of street lamps in- creased to one hundred and fourteen. Previous to this the cost per lamp of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 311 operating the plant was comparatively moderate, but upon the addition of fifty-six lamps the expense per lamp was greatly reduced, the average being $31.88 a year, a total for twelve months of $3,635.32. Probably no other city of the size in the United States is so well lighted, on so small expense, as is Titusville. No attention is given to moonlight. The lamps give light from the beginning of darkness in the evening until daylight in the morning, every day of the year. CITY PARK. In 1894 the city purchased of Mr. E. T. Roberts the entire square, bounded by Oak Street on the north, by Monroe on the east, by Elm on the south, and by First Street on the west, for $5,000, Mr. Roberts himself con- tributing $1,000 toward the purchase, making the net cost to the city $4,000. Since then the city has expended various sums for building a wall around the park, and for other improvements. BANKS. There are at present two large banks in Titusville, the Second National and the Commercial. Each of these banks does a very extensive business, and they are both among the most solid banking institutions of the. country. The Second National was chartered February 11, 1865, and rechartered February 11, 1885, twenty years later. It is located in a very fine building of its own, on the northwest corner of Spring and Washington streets. This palatial edifice was erected thirty-three years ago. The bank opened its doors for business immediately after it 'received its charter, in a smaller building, a little north on the same side of the street, and continued there through the summer of 1865, and until the present edifice was completed in the following fall. The capital of the bank is $300,000, and its surplus $100,000. The bank is now one-third of a century old. Charles Hyde founded the institution, and he has been the main spirit of it ever since. The officers of the bank at present are Charles Hyde, President; F. DeL. Hyde, Vice-President; Louis K. Hyde, Cashier. The directors are Charles Hyde, Louis K. Hyde, P. T. Withrop, F. DeL. Hyde and William Bayliss. The Commercial Bank of Titusville was organized under the banking laws ol Pennsylvania, receiving its charter in the early part of 1882. Its offices are in the southeastern part of' the Oil Exchange, on the ground floor. Its capital is $150,000, and its surplus $100,000. Its officers at present 312 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. are John L. McKinney, President ; John Fertig, Vice-President ; E. C. Hoag, Cashier. These three men have held the same positions respectively since the first opening of the bank. The present directors are E. T. Roberts, John Fertig, Jesse Smith, W. J. Stevens, Joseph Seep, John J. Carter, J. C. McKinney, John L. McKinney and C. N. Payne. This bank is a strong and exceptionally well managed institution. It is especially useful to the com- munity, in that its officers, including the directors, all live in Titusville and are personally acquainted with the business men of the city and vicinity. Few banking institutions in the country are more fortunate in this respect. HOTELS. Some of the larger and more prominent hotels of Titusville may be mentioned in this history. The American Hotel, as already stated, was the first public inn started in the place. Among its several proprietors were Major Mills and the late W. P. Love. During the last several years, pre- vious to the time when it was closed and moved away, to- make room for the Oil Exchange, in the spring of 1880, Afchie Johnston was its landlord. The Titusville House, the old Kerr homestead on Pine Street, between Kerr and Drake, a long building, was among the early hotels. The Eagle, per- haps one hundred feet west of Franklin Street, on the south side of Spring Street, was subsequently built, and it had at one time for its proprietor the veteran landlord, Mr. Z. Martin. It disappeared in the summer of 1865, to give place for a brick edifice. When Major Mills had charge of the American, the house became a kin4 of oil exchange. Oil dealers and ship- pers congregated there, and daily carried on their market transactions in oil. The practice led ultimately to the organization of the first oil exchange, in the winter of 1 870-1. During 1864 and 1865, when speculation in oil territory rose to its highest point, Major Mills was proprietor of the Moore House. The place was the old homestead of Jonathan Titus. It was owned at the time by John Moore, whO' had married Olivia, the youngest 'daughter of Jonathan Titus. The Moore House was crowded to its utmost limits during Major Mills' incumbency. The house was burned in March, 1866. The Pendleton House was also crowded during the same period, as was also every other hotel in the town, and there were many, some small, others large. The passenger station of the Oil Creek Railroad was at the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 313 foot of Monroe Street. It was moved to its present location in 1870 and 1871. Near the old station were the Morey House, and the Lowrey Hotel. On the corner of Spring and Monroe streets the Monroe House was built in 1865. The house has been a hotel ever since. Its present proprietor, Mr. Frank Netcher, during the last few years has greatly improved the prem- ises. The McQ-ay House, on the southwest corner of Spring and Washing- ton, where afterward stood the Parshall House, was a popular hotel in 1864, 1865, and the next year, when it was destroyed by fire in the fall. The Bush House, built originally for a private residence, was converted into a hotel in the spring of 1865. Its first proprietor, Mr. Bush, in February, 1865, paid $25,000 for the property as it then stood. But before the house could be used for a hotel of much size it had to be enlarged. It is not un- likely that the enlargement of the building, together with the furnishing of it, cost at least $10,000 more. The front part of the basement was con- verted into a bar-room, and rented for $2,500 a year. The bar of the Pen- dleton — where now is the Mansion House — was first leased in 1865 for $2,000 a year. But the rent in both cases was too high, and the lessees of both failed in their undertakings. The prices of liquors and cigars were at least twice as large as at the present time in Titusville. But the bars in the town were more numerous than the hotels. While few travelers were strictly temperate, few drank liquors to excess, and a drunken man was rarely seen. The Bush House was kept as a hotel about seven years, when the city bought the property, and converted the building into a city hall, reconstructing the dining-room on the west side for the Common Council Chamber. The Brawley House on West Spring Street is an old hotel. It is an inn proper. It is now kept by Mr. McClelland. There are many who regret the disuse of the word "tavern" for a public house. A tavern suggests accommodations for man and beast. The Spring Hill House, on West Spring Street, has been in operation several years. It is kept by Mr. John Gutman. The largest hotel Titusville ever had was the Parshall House, extending from the south- west corner of Spring and Washington west to the Brunswick and south as far as- the south side of the present opera house. It was built of brick, and four stories high. It was erected by Mr. James Parshall, who came from Tidioute, bringing the money which he had acquired from oil production in the Tidioute fields, and investing heavily in Titusville. The block had upon its west side, adjoining the Brunswick Hotel, a beautiful opera house. 314 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. In that hall devoted to the muses have appeared Joseph Jefferson, Janau- scheck, John McCulloch, Lawrence Barrett, William J. Florence, Nilson, Kellogg, Carlotta Patti, John Owen, Sara Bernhardt and other celebrities of the drama. The Parshall Block was burned April 14, 1882. The Crit- tenden House at one time was the leading hotel of the city. It was built in 1865 and opened in the following winter. E. H. Crittenden erected the house, and he was the first proprietor of the hotel. In 1870 William H. Abbott and G. W. Deans purchased the property, and, after re-fitting and re- furnishing it, leased the hotel to Charles W. Mathews. The name of the hotel was changed to that of the Abbott House. The house had its front on Pine Street, between Martin and Drake, and extended through to Spring. It was burned in the fall of 1872. The Brunswick Hotel, immediately west of the Parshall House, on the south side of Spring Street, was opened in the summer of 1880. The upper stories of the palatial block, which had been finished in the fall of 1873, had been occupied by people who wanted elegant rooms in which to live, but preferred to board outside, either at a restaurant in the building, or elsewhere in the vicinity. The lower floors of the edifice were occupied principally by stores. The building was owned by W. B. and E. A. L. Roberts. The latter, who had charge of the property, in 1880 converted the building into a hotel. It was burned at the Parshall House fire, in April, 1882. Previous to this the main building had a mansard roof on top of four stories in height. E. A. L. Roberts died in the spring of 1881. W. B. Roberts, the surviving brother, re-built the edifice, whose walls remained standing after the fire, putting a fifth story in place of the mansard roof. Previous to the fire the hotel had been leased to Mr. Z. Martin, who had sold the Mansion House to Mr. W. P. Love. Dr. Roberts, after build- ing the Brunswick, re-furnished it in elegant style. Mr. Martin kept the house several years afterward. He had owned and kept the Mansion House for about fourteen years, before selling to Mr. Love, and going to the Bruns- wick in 1 88 1. Mr. Love owned and operated the Mansion for nearly nine years, when he sold the property to Mr. Frank Hill, who, after making some repairs and changes, sold to Gleason & Lockwood, the present proprietors. In the summer of 1897 Gleason & Lockwood began re-construction of the building, by taking down sections in turn, and re-building with a brick struc- ture, while continuing the hotel in operation without interruption, until the whole front upon Franklin Street and the main part on Central Avenue were OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 315 rebuilt, with porches and balconies, presenting, with the light colored brick surface, a very beautiful edifice. The interior of the house has been finished with corresponding elegance. The office and main lobby of the hotel is spacious, and a model provision for the comfort of guests. The proprietor of the Brunswick, Mr. E. T. Roberts, son of the late Dr. W. B. Roberts, also last fall and winter made a thorough overhauling, re-fitting and re-furnishing of the hotel in truly magnificent style. Mr. J. P. King is the present popular lessee and manager of the Brunswick. . As a matter of fact, no other hotel in northwestern Pennsylvania approaches the Mansion and the Brunswick in elegance and in appointments for the comfort of guests. Other hotels in the city may still be mentioned. The European, already referred to, has good appointments. The American, on East Central Avenue, enjoys a good repu- tation. The United States, corner of Martin and East Spring, is well spoken of. The Erie Hotel, on North Franklin Street, kept by George J. Kuntz, and the Central Avenue House, kept by Jacob Schwartz, have recently been opened, and they doubtless get a fair share of public patronage. The Buffalo House, on South Franklin Street, has an excellent reputation. OIL EXCHANGES. The first board of trade in the world organized distinctively as an oil exchange was established in Titusville in January, 1871. L. H. Smith was the first President, G. Shamburg, Vice-President, J. F. Clark, Treasurer, and J. D. Archbold, Secretary. The Exchange occupied, the first year, a hall on the ground floor in the Parshall Block, fronting Washington Street, near where the present opera house now stands. At the end of the year it moved across the street, and occupied the first floor of what is now the Knights of Labor Building. The building was then owned by L. H. Srhith. The Ex- change continued in that building about three years, when it moved to the Ralston Block, where it remained until absorbed by a second organization in 1 88 1. The second Exchange was organized upon a broader basis than the first. It was incorporated February 14, 1880, upon a capital stock of $40,000 — ^400 shares of $100 a share. Its first officers were John L. Mc- Kinney, President; H. F. Sweets'er, Vice-President; A. P. Bennett, Treas- urer; J. A. Pincott, Secretary. It purchased the ground on which the American Hotel stood, and several feet adjoining on the west side, the whole extending from Spring Street to Pine, which is now Central Avenue. Upon 3i6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. this site was erected a magnificent edifice, tliree stories high, of red pressed brick and sandstone trimmings. This structure, with its interior finishings and furniture, was a model of beauty. The construction of the edifice and the arranging of its furniture occupied nearly a year. The entire cost of the ground, the building and its furniture was about $62,000. The assembly room is on the west side. In the southeastern part, on the ground floor, is the Titusville Commercial Bank. There are three fire proof vaults, one above another, for each of the three. floors respectively, the bank using the lower one, and the Carter Oil Company the next above. Upon the ground floor, opposite each other in the main hall, and adjoining the assembly room of the Exchange, are the two telegraph offices, the Western Union and the Postal. The rooms on the second and third floors are used for offices. NEWSPAPERS. The history of the press in Titusville possesses not a little interest. The first paper published in Titusville was issued in 1859, not long after Drake's discovery. James B. Burchfield moved a printing office from Meadville in the fall of that year and started a weekly. He however sold the -establish- ment to Albert M. Fuller and C. M. Allen, who continued to publish the weekly and do a general job printing business for some time, perhaps two or three years, until the plant was destroyed by fire. About the fall of 1863 Mr. Fuller purchased a new outfit for a newspaper office, and published the "Petroleum Reporter," until the next year, when he sold the plant to Lake and Martin, who continued to issue the weekly until February or March, 1865. William W. and Henry C. Bloss from Rochester, New York, bought the establishment and continued the weekly until June following, when they brought but the "Titusville Morning Herald," the first daily paper of the oil region. This daily paper has since been uninterruptedly issued for upward of thirty-three years. Its publishers were first Bloss Brothers. J. H. Cogswell came to Titusville and bought an interest in the paper in' the fall following. The name of the new firm was Bloss Brothers & Cogswell. This partnership continued until the spring of 1872, when W. W. Bloss retired from the association. The new "firm of "Bloss & Cogswell" con- tinued until 1883, when Cogswell retired. Henry C. Bloss continued after- ward sole proprietor of the Herald until his death in January, 1893. Since that time the widow of H. C. Bloss, Mrs. S. A. Bloss, has been proprietor of 'OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 317 the paper, while Joseph M. BIoss, her son, has been the editor. The Herald has always had a weekly edition, which circulates principally in the sur- rounding townships of Crawford, Venango and Warren counties. The Herald was the first paper to institute daily and monthly reports of oil pro- duction, runs, shipments, etc. For more than thirty years it has published daily all the important telegraphic news issued by the Associated Press. The Herald has always supported the policy of the Republican party.. Early in 1866 J. B. Close and O. B. Lake started an afternoon paper, called the "Evening Journal." During the summer following several of the leading Democrats of the city purchased Lake's interest in the concern, and, with the consent of Close, made the Journal a campaign paper. After the fall election Close continued to publish the paper for perhaps a year longer, but finally closed the office. In 1868 an attempt was made to start another Democratic organ. But the parties active in the undertaking had no capital, and the project had a speedy failure. In the spring of 1869 W. C. Plummer and Charles C. Wicker began the publication of a daily paper, called the "Morning Star." The paper was Democratic in politics. But the proprie- tors lacked capital, and the publication was discontinued in the fall following. In the summer of 1870 James T. Henry came from Jamestown, New York, and helped to organize the Titusville Printing Association. Mr. Henry had no capital, but he was known as a journalist of some ability in the State of New York. The Printing Association was incorporated, with a capital of $25,000. William H. Abbott was president of the company, and at the be- ginning, its largest stockholder. Other leading stockholders were the Rob- erts Brothers, F. B. Guthrie, F. H. Gibbs, Henry Hinkley, George S. Stewart, John Fertig, Roger Sherman, C. C. Duffield and M. N. Allen. The com- pany purchased a large outfit of materials and machinery for a first-class newspaper and job office, and on October i, 1870, issued the first number of "The Titusville Daily Courier," a morning daily paper, Democratic in poli- tics, and devoted to the advocacy of principles enunciated by the fathers of the Democratic party. The company also published a weekly edition of the paper. The first editor was James T. Henry. He was assisted by an able corps of writers and reporters. The Courier published daily the rq>orts of the Associated Press, and bestowed a good deal of work in collecting and publishing oil news. In the spring of 1871 Mr. Henry retired from the editorial chair, and he was succeeded by W. C. Plummer, who remained 3i8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.' with the paper during the rest of its history, doing editorial work the greater part of the time. In pubHshing ' the Courier its managers never spared ex- pense. It was never the recipient, in the smallest degree, of public patronage. xA.s a result, when the financial crash of 1873 came, the finances of the Courier suffered. By common consent, an arrangement was made by which M. N. Allen, who had advanced, from time to time, large sums of money, bought the outstanding claims against the company, and, uniting these with his own claims, he asked and obtained from the officers of the company a confession of judgment for the entire amount. He then proceeded by execu- tion to close matters and purchased the whole at an official sale, and con- tinued the publication of the Courier, the issue of which was not once inter- rupted during the legal proceedings. By the legal sale Mr. Allen became sole proprietor. This was in January, 1874. He continued to publish the Courier until the middle of September, 1877, when he sold the whole estab- lishment to Bloss & Cogswell, and the Courier ceased to exist. The date of the last issue of the Courier was September 17, 1877. The "Long Roll" was started at about 1869, by W. C. Allen, as an organ of the Soldiers' Orphans' School, then in existence at Titusville. It was afterward changed to the "Sunday News," and published by the same proprietor, Mr. W. C. Allen, who sold the paper to Mr. James T. Henry, in the fall of 1871, who con- tinued its issue until the summer of 1872, when he sold it to Mr. W. W. Bloss, late of the Herald. Mr. Bloss not only published the Sunday paper, but he started the same year the "Press," an evening paper. Then Dr. Roberts built for Mr. Bloss' printing establishment the three-story brick edifice now owned and occupied by the "World." The "Press" had a limited existence, but while it lasted it was edited with ability. Mr. Bloss kept the Sunday paper alDout two years after he first became its owner. In June, 1880, the "Pe- troleum Daily World" was launched upon the waves of journalism. It was an "anti-Standard" organ, supported by some who subsequently became a somewhat prominent part of the Standard association. Like some other Titusville papers it was founded on "great expectations." It had a fine equip- ment of printing materials and machinery, and abundance of capital at the start. R. W. Criswell, a journalist by profession, was editor in chief, and J. M. Place business manager. Frank W. Truesdell was the first foreman of the news room. The establishment was owned and controlled by the "World Publishing Company." In 1880 the "Sunday Newsletter" also was OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 319 established, owned and published by J. W. Graham and E. W. Hoag. In the winter of 1 880-1 the World Company absorbed the Newsletter, and in its stead issued the "Weekly World." Henry Byrom succeeded Place as manager in December, 1881, and he in turn was succeeded by George E. Mapes. Criswell was succeeded by S. L. Williams, as editor. The Daily World suspended at the end of the year 1881. On the first of March, 1882, Frank W. Truesdell & Co. bought the Weekly World, converting it into the "Sunday World," and a Sunday paper it continues, although its title is "The Titusville World." Mr. Truesdell continued at the head of the paper until his death, in the summer of 1894. Not long afterward, Messrs. Walter Izant and W. R. Hei'bert gurchased the institution, and they have continued the publication of the Titusville World ever since. On the first day of January, 1885, H. C. Eddy & Co. issued the first number of the "American Citizen," a weekly paper. Roger Sherman was the "Co.," and the "Co." was the American Citizen. He wrote the editorials, while Mr. Eddy, a practtcal printer, had charge of the mechanical part of the establishment. About the year 1889 Eddy bought Sherman's interest in the plant, which meant finan- cially nearly the whole. About a year later Eddy sold the whole to William McEnaney, who published the paper until December, 1894, almost five years, when James H. Caldwell and John L. McKinney came into possession of the institution. The new proprietors changed the name of the paper to that of "The Advance Guard," and this title the paper still carries. The present proprietor and publisher, Geo. A. Hughes, purchased the establishment in December, 1896. The politics of the paper, which is now nearing the fifteenth year of its existence, has always been Democratic. In 1896 the Advance Guard absorbed the "Saturday Review," a populist organ, whose editor, E. C. Bell, in 1897, started "The Bugle," a weekly paper. The Bugle is a hornet with a sliarp sting for all kinds of abuses. About the first of Sep- tember, of the year 1898, the "Evening Courier," issued by the "Courier Publishing Company,'' made its appearance. It is managed by two young men, brothers, Messrs. Crosby. The paper has a neat appearance. Its tone is decent and conservative. Its politics is Democratic. It is possible that some other newspapers may have escaped the search of the present historian, who will greatly regret to learn, should others be discovered, that he has omitted the mention of any. But what the misfortune a thousand years hence? 320 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. SCHOOLS. As early as 1817 Titusville had a school house. It was a log building, south of Oil Creek, and west of Franklin Street. Pupils came a long distance to this primitive institution. Then there was a log school house on the north side, a little beyond the Kelly farm. This was built about 1820. A third school building was erected on the west side, near the present cemetery, in 1823. The first teacher, a Mr. Wylie, died during the term of his ser- vice. Mr. Joseph L. Chase was among the early teachers. Charles Plum and Daniel Jones also taught in the early days. William Kelly, a native of Ire- land, who settled on, and gave the name to, the well-known Kelly farm, on Perry Street Hill, a little north of the city limits, was a teacher of distinction. He began the settlement of his farm about the year 1822. He had a good education. He taught in the vicinity about eight winter terms. During the rest of the time he was mainly engaged in clearing and cultivating his farm. He taught one winter in a log building on the southwest corner of Spring and Franklin streets, where now is E. O. Emerson's three-story brick block. Miss Sarah A. Titus, who afterward married E. H. Chase, taught in 1830, in the old Presbyterian church at the head of Franklin Street, a log building erected in 18 1 5. The names of other teachers of the period and later on were Wil- liam Martin, Joseph Nourse and Maria Tripgay. There were also, from time to time, several private schools. On a lot donated by Jonathan Titus for the purpose, near the southeast corner of Pine and Perry streets, was erected in 1837 ^ large frame school building. The expense of construction was met partly by tax and partly by private contribution from leading citizens, and the school at first was sup- ported from the same sources. In 1839 William Sweatland was the teacher. Besides teaching in the day time, he had a night school. He had in all from 100 to 120 pupils under his instruction. In 1841 Aspinwall Cornwall taught. Then for several years Moses Porter, E. P. Byles and M. C. Beebe respec- tively were teachers. Mr. Beebe taught as late as 1847. The summer terms were taught by women. Among the number are mentioned Mary. 'Morse and Elizabeth Watson. Titusville became a borough in 1847. Previous to this time the public school in Titusville was under the authority of the township directors. Afterward the inhabitants of the borough elected a board of directors who OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 321 managed the public schools within the borough limits. Among the early school directors of the borough were E. H. Chase, William Barnsdall, Joseph L. Chase, S. S; Bates, John Robinson, William Robinson, F. B. Brewer, E. P. Banning, James K. Kerr, Charles Kellogg, R. C. Sexton and R. L. Robinson. Besides the public schools, there were private schools, or select schools, academies on a small scale, in which higher branches than were re- quired in the public schools were taught. A Rev. Mr. Bailey had such a school on Union Street from 1854 to about 1857. The population increas- ing in 1859, a two-story wooden building was erected on the southeast corner of Main and Washington streets, and in 1863, with the rapidly growing needs, an important addition was made to the building, and the school was at about this time graded into departments, forming a union, or graded school. P. H. Stewart was chosen Principal soon afterward. The number of pupils still increasing, outside rooms were rented for temporary use, and more teachers were employed. In January, 1866, the union school building was burned to the ground. The directors at once decided to rebuild with a much larger structure upon the site of the old building, upon an estimated cost of $18,000. The work of re-building was rapidly pushed, and before the end of summer the new edifice, two stories high, with eight large rooms, was completed. At the opening of the fall term in 1866 the attendance was much larger than ever before. The number of pupils constantly increased. Additional • rooms from year to year were obtained outside, and still more tea:chers hired, until 1870, when a large three-story brick building, on the north side of Walnut Street, between Drake and Kerr streets, was projected. At first there were five rooms on the first floor, and four on the second. But the attendance was so large that it became necessary to make a fifth room out of the hall on the second floor, making ten rooms in all. The building was occupied by nine schools in April, 1871. In 1872 a two-story wooden school-house was erected in the south side of Oil Creek, in the Fourth Ward. In 1874 a room was added to the building, and the next year still another, making four in all. In 1873 a two-story brick school building was erected in the'^feecond Ward, on the southeast corner of Third and Elm streets, upon a plan for eight rooms. But only half of the edifice was builf at the time. In 1883 the building was burned, but it was immediately rebuilt, the brick walls not falling. In 1897 the other half was built, the whole having eight rooms. In 1891 a two-story brick school house in the Fourth Ward was, 21 322 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. built upon the north side of the wooden "building, and perhaps twenty feet away, containing four school rooms. One of the rooms in the old building is still used, making five in all. And still the necessity for more room in- creased. In 1892 there was begun the erection of a large High School building at the head of Washington Street. At this time the High School, with all its departments, had long occupied the upper part of the Commercial Block, on Diamond Street. But the High School, which for many years had occupied the Main Street building, and had subsequently been crowded out of its quarters, was soon to have a home of its own. The large brick struc- ture at the head of Washington was finished in time for the High School to take possession in the fall term of 1893. This building has a fine interior finishing, as well as fine furniture. It has an elegant assembly room. It has eleven large school rooms. The assembly room is also used constantly for the recitation of classes, making in fact twelve school rooms. It seems that educational affairs have always engaged the attention of the inhabitants of Titusville, from its earliest history as a settlement until the present time. At no period of business depression have the citizens been willing that their schools should suffer from the want of necessary pecuniary support. They pay their school taxes, however high, without a murmur, when they might complain, if the burdens they are asked to carry related to some other matter of common interest. It matters little what may be the divergency of opinion and feeling upon other subjects, the people of Titus- \'ille have ever been known to rally with singular unanimity and loyalty in sustaining their public schools. Political controversies, however heated, in- stantly . subside, if they seem to threaten the welfare of the schools. Jonathan Watson, one of the best known citizens of Titusville, years ago donated to the Board of Directors, for the use of the schools, a splendid geological cabinet. John L. McKinney, and his brother, J. C. McKinney, not long since presented to the school board $1,000 for the purpose of pur- chasing chemical apparatus for the use of the High School. The educational advantages in the High School and in the Ward schools of Titusville have attracted froih time to time many outside pupils, who, by the payftient of moderate charges for tuition, are admitted to the instruction of teachers in any department. After the erection of the Union School building on Main Street in 1859, with the additions to it in 1863, attention was soon given to the intro- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 323 duction of higher branches of study than were pursued in the common schools. P. H. Stewart was principal of the Titusville schools nearly all the time from 1864 to 1869. His place was filled for a short time by E. W. Mathews, before his final resignation. Mr. Stewart's administration, under the many disadvantages of inadequate supply of school rooms, with the rapidly increasing number of pupils, when the directors were obliged to take the best, however unacceptable, quarters that could be found, was very cred- itable. He was fortunate in having, at an early date, the assistance of other well qualified teachers. Prof. A. Wedge, a graduate of Rochester University, was one of his assistants. Latin and Greek, algebra and geometry, physiol- ogy, natural philosophy, chemistry and other advanced branches soon came to be taught. After the Main Street building, with enlarged dimensions, had been restored, and the rapidly growing attendance had made it neces- sary to rent several outside buildings to accommodate the pupils, the directors decided to employ for principal a college graduate of first-class standing. As soon as this became known, there were several applications for the posi- tion. But the board by a unanimous vote chose Mr. H. C. Bosley, of Roches- ter, New York, a late graduate of Rochester University. The salary paid him for the first year was $1,800, with the promise that, after a trial of one year, if matters should be mutually satisfactory, the salary should be raised to $2,000. Upon the recommendation of Mr. Bosley, Miss Kate Lapp, of Buffalo, was elected preceptress. The two began to teach in the fall term of , 1869. Mr. Bosley continued at his post one year. Besides supervising all the schools, he taught Latin and Greek, and some other of the higher branches. Miss Lapp continued to fill the position of preceptress perhaps a year and a half, when she was married to Mr. William H. McDonald. At the open- ing of the Elm Street schools, in 1873, in the new edifice, she was appointed principal of the schools there. She held the position for the next four years. In September, 1877, she was appointed principal of the schools on the south side, and continued in charge there for four tO' five years. From 1870 to 1 87 1, one year, Mr. A. O. Newpher was principal. But in the summer of 1871, Mr. Bosley was re-elected principal, upon an annual salary of $2,000. He was also appointed by thfe Board of Directors, superintendent of the city schools. He was re-elected in 1872 for the term of three years, and in 1875 he was again elected superintendent for another three years. The next superintendent was Mr. H. H. Hough, who held the office from 324 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1878 to 1879, one year. In his last term of office, Mr. Bosley, in view of the existing financial stringency, had voluntarily asked the directors to reduce his salary to $1,750 a year, and his request was acceded to. The salary for Mr. Hough was fixed at the same rate. In the summer of 1879 Mr. R. M. Streeter was appointed to fill the vacancy, caused by the resignation of Mr. Hough, of two years, upon the same salary of $1,750. At the end of the term, in 1881, he was re-elected for the following term of three years, and his salary raised to $2,000 a year. In 1884 he was again re-elected, but at his request his salary was reduced to $1,800. He continued to hold the office of superintendent upon an annual salary of $1,800 until 1893. Fol- lowing Mr. Streeter, Mr. R. D. Crawford held the office of superintendent for the next four years, upon a yearly salary of $1,800, leaving, by resigna- tion, a vacancy in his second term of two years. Mr. Henry Pease in 1897 was elected to fill the vacancy, and he is now in the second year of his service. His salary has been raised to $2,000 a year. In the fall term of 1871, Miss Letitia M. Wilson, assisted by Miss A. M. Clark, began first as preceptress what has become a remarka1t>le period of service as an instructor in the highest department of the Titusville schools. A few years ago her health, from the strain of constant work for many years, had become impaired, and she asked for and obtained from the school board a leave of absence, for a year, the board very properly voting to con- tinue to her the payment of her salary during the vacation. Then by order of her physician she remained out of school another year. In 1873 she was elected principal of the high school, and she continued to hold that position for the next twenty- four years. In 1897 she requested the board to relieve her of the principalship and a part of her duties as an instructor. The board granted her request, and at the same time elected her principal emeritus. Miss Wilson still continues as an instructor in the high school. Excepting the two years of her vacation, she has taught in the department twenty-seven years, and she has now begun upon her twenty-eighth. It ought to be stated that the long-continued success of the Titusville schools has been largely due to the efficiency of the women teachers. In fact, since the founding of the Union School, when Titusville was a borough, much the larger part of the teachers have been women. Some of the more prominent ones may be given. Miss M. L. French was long in the early years a strong teacher. Miss H. E. Livingston taught many years, giving good satisfac- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 325 tion. Miss Clara J. Perkins, beginning in 1868, taught many years, and she was regarded as an efficient teacher. Miss A. M. Clark in the high school made a good record. Later on Miss Henrietta G. Metcalf taught thirteen years in the high school, closing her services in 1897. She was an excep- tionally efficient instructor. Mrs. Ver Valin began teaching in the spring term of 1877, in charge of the schools on the south side. She gave so good satisfaction there that the school board elected her principal of the Elm Street school. Beginning with the fall term, she occupied that position for the next twenty-one consecutive years. The incumbency of an important post for so long a period is evidence of the good satisfaction given. Miss Addie R. Potter, the present principal of the Drake Street school,, has taught many years with apparently good success. Miss Iris Barr taught in the Ward schools several years, until promoted to her present position as instructor in the high school. The number of graduates from the Titusville high school from 1871 to 1898, inclusive, is five hundred and ninety-one — four hundred and two girls and one hundred and eighty-nine boys. The present Board of School Controllers of the Titusville School Dis- trict is composed as follows : First Ward, John J. Carter and L. W. Brown ; Second Ward, F. P. Brown and T. W. Renting; Third Ward, C. B. Fried- man and John Gahan; Fourth Ward, William Brady and E. A. Edwards. The board meets regularly on the third Monday of each month at 7 130 p. m. The officers of the board are: John J. Carter, President; John C. Edmond- son. Secretary; Henry Pease, Superintendent; J. A. C. Dubar, Controller, and T. W. Main, Treasurer. The school calendar for the present year is as follows: First Term, from September 5th, 1898, to December 23d, six- teen weeks; Second Term, from January 9th, 1899, to March 25th, eleven weeks; Third Term, from April 3d to June i6th, eleven weeks. The present corps of teachers is: Henry Pease, A. M. (Rochester), Superintendent. (Let it be understood that the words in parenthesis follow- ing the names of teachers indicate the institutions respectively from which they have been graduated; as for instance, the word Rochester, in paren- thesis, after the name of Henry Pease, A. M., means that Mr. Pease is a graduate of Rochester University.) High School. — H. D. Hopkins, A. M. (Hamilton), principal, Greek and Latin; Miss L. M. Wilson (Granville Seminary and Chautauqua College of 326 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Liberal Arts), principal emeritus, English; Miss Iris Barr, A. B. (Alle- gheny), mathematics; Miss S. A. Davidson (Titusville High School), mathe- matics; Miss Mabel Jones (Vassar), natural sciences; Miss Mary Young (Wellesley), history and English; Miss Anna Farwell (Titusville High School and New York Training School), natural sciences and English; Mrs. Emily T. Wakefield (Queen's College, London, England), supervisor of music for city and teacher of elocution in the high school ; Mrs. Carrie Reid (Titusville High School and Pratt Institute), supervisor of dra vising and teacher of drawing in the high school; Miss Mary L. Varian (Titusville High School and Berlitz School), French and German. Ward Schools. — Miss Jennie Allen (Titusville High School and pupil of Lyman Wheeler, Boston), teacher of music in the Ward schools. Drake Street School. — Miss Addie R. Potter, principal, second and third grade; Miss Eleanor Hanna, third grade; Miss Margaret Gray, seventh grade; Miss Genevra Seibert, sixth grade; Miss Alice R. Eaton, fifth grade; Miss Mary E. Bruce, fourth grade; Miss Kate Seibert, fourth grade; Miss Hester H. Burdette, second grade; Miss Mary A. O'Neil, first grade; Miss Elizabeth Smith, first grade; Miss Josephine Nelson, principal's assistant. Main Street School. — Miss Maud Parshall, principal, eighth grade; Miss Adelaide L. Chase, principal's assistant; Miss Margaret J. Condra, sev- enth grade ; Miss Inez Guist, sixth grade ; Miss Diana Ver Valin, fifth grade ; Miss Harriet J. Smith, fourth grade; Miss Harriet S. Crane, third grade; Miss Harriet E. Bates, second grade; Miss Mary A. Condra, first grade. Elm Street School. — Miss F. A. Herlehy, principal, sixth grade; Mrs. Nancy McCrea, fifth grade; Miss Pearl Taft, fourth grade; Miss Carrie Robinson, third grade; Miss Isabella Shepherd, second grade; Miss Susie E. Willard, first grade. Fourth Ward School. — Mrs. A. L. Bettes, principal, first grade; Miss Lenora M. Brown, sixth grade; Miss Edyth Palmer, fourth and fifth gi-ades; Miss Myrtle Bishop, third grade; Miss Mabel M. Crane, second grade. COURSES OF STUDY. The following prescribed courses of study to be entered upon during the present year are elective. The pupil on entering the high school, may select, under the advice and consent of the parents or guardian, any one of the four courses. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 327 /. College Preparatory Course. — First year, first term, Latin, algebra, English composition ; second term, Latin, algebra, English composition ; third term, Latin, algebra, English composition. Second year, first term, Latin, algebra, rhetoric; second term, Latin, algebra, Greek history; third term, Latin, United States history, Roman history. Third year, first term, Latin, Greek or German, plane geometry; second term, Latin, Greek or German, plane geometry; third term, Latin, Greek or German, plane geometry. Fourth year, first term, Latin, Greek or German, literature ; second term, Latin, Greek or German; third term, Latin, Greek or German. Another study is required throughout this year. Each pupil is to select that which may be required at the college which he intends to enter. If a pupil wishes to enter college with two modern languages, four years of German may be taken instead of the four years of Latin; and two years of French may be taken instead of two years of Greek or German. Music and drawing for three years, optional the fourth year. Rhetoricals throughout the course. Literature once a week during the first three years. //. Latin Course. — First and second years the same as the College Preparatory course. Third year, first term, Latin, geometry, chemistry; second term, Latin, geometry, chemistry ; third term, Latin, geometry, chem- istry. Fourth year, first term, Latin, physics, literature; second term, Latin, physics, literature or English history. Third term, Latin, physics, literature or English history. Music, drawing or rhetoricals throughout the course. Literature once a week during the first three years. ///. Modern Language Course. — First year, first term, German, al- gebra, English composition; second term, German, algebra, English compo- sition ; third term, German, algebra, English composition. Second year, first term, German, algebra^ rhetoric; second term, German, algebra, Greek his- tory; third term, German, United States history, Greek history. Third year, first term, German or French, geometry, chemistry; second term, Ger- man or French, geometry, chemistry; third term, German or French, geom- etry, chemistry. Fourth year, first term, German or French, physics, litera- ture; second term, German or French, physics, literature or English history; third term, German or French, physics, literature or English history. Music, drawing and rhetoricals throughout the course. Literature once a week during the first three years. IV. English Course. — First year, first term, English composition, al- 328 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. gebra, physical geography; second term, English composition, algebra, phys- ical geography ; third term, English composition, algebra, physical geography. Second year, first term, rhetoric, algebra, geology one-half year, botany one- half year; second term, Gredc history, algebra; third term, Roman history, United States history. Third year, first term, plane geometry, chemistry. Medieval history; second term, plane geometry, chemistry, English history; third term, plane geometry, chemistry, English history. Fourth year, first term, literature, physics, book-keeping and commercial arithmetic, or eco- nomics ; second term, literature, physics, book-keeping, and commercial arith- metic or comparative constitutional law ; third term, literature, physics, book-' keeping and commercial arithmetic or comparative constitutional law. Music, drawing and rhetoricals throughout the course. Literature once a week during the first three years. Book-keeping may be taken out of this course, as hereafter it will be given in the eighth grade. It ought to be stated that Miss Mabel Jones has been granted by the School Controllers, because of ill health, a leave of absence for the entire present year. Her position as teacher of natural sciences is filled in her absence by Mr. R. B. Brownlee, a graduate of Rochester University, New York. St. Joseph's Convent, Sisters of Mercy. — The order of the "Sisters of Mercy" was founded in Ireland, in the early part of the century, by the venerable Catherine McAuley, whose aim was to succor the poor and afflicted by spiritual and physical works of mercy. Right Rev. Michael O'Connor, when Bishop of Pittsburg, saw the need of such a noble band of women in his vast diocese, and to secure such an agency he visited Ireland, and earnestly entreated the sisters to establish in his diocese a community such as existed under the Archbishop of Dublin. His appeal prevailed. When in 1843 the sisters, under the Right Rev. Bishop O'Connor, as their spiritual head, sailed for America, the present Bishop of Erie, Dr. Mullen, then a young man, came in the same ship, "Ocean Queen," as a student with the Bishop, and the brave little band of Sisters of Mercy that has since spread itself in many dioceses throughout this country, performing the beneficent work intended by its founder of blessed memory. In September, 1870, Right Rev. Tobias Mullen, Bishop of Erie, applied at the Pittsburg convent for Sisters of Mercy to come into his diocese, seven OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 329 sisters were sent by the Pittsburg Superior, Mother Evangehst Kinsella, who, with the venerable Sister Isadora Fisher, acompanied the seven pioneers to their field of labor. They came to Titusville, where they were warmly ■received by Bishop Mullen and the priests of the city where they were to found an institution of their order. The convent of the Sisters of Mercy in Titusville had for its first superior Mother M. Nolasco Kratzer, who con- tinued from September 24, 1870, to preside over the institution until her death, September 8, 1872. She is described as the embodiment of many virtues, and in her death the sisters sustained a sad loss. She was succeeded by Mother M. Celestine RafTerty, who developed remarkable executive abil- ity, and under whose administration for many years was erected that great brick pile on West Main Street, as well as the establishment of an institution of learning. She was Mother Superior from September 9, 1872, to May 25, 1882. Mother M. Evangelist Milligen was Mother Superior for the next three years. Mother M. Celestine was again Superior from May 21, 1885, to July 30, 1891. From that date until her death, November 7, 1892, Mother M. Evangelist was Superior. From November 12, 1892, to July 26, 1894, Mother Celestine was Superior. For the next three years, Mother M. Basil O'Brien was Superior. The present Superior entered upon the duties of her office July 29, 1897. Mother Celestine died August 3, 1897. The present Superior is Mother M. Austin Kratzer. She has long served in the St. Joseph's Convent. She is a younger sister of Mother M. Nolasco, the first Superior in this diocese, who gave her life to works of mercy. Al- most thirty years apart, the two Kratzer sisters were at the head of the same community of Sisters of Mercy. It ought to be understood that the headquarters of the Sisters of Mercy of the entire Erie diocese are at Titusville, the mother home being at St. Joseph's Convent, so that all the institutions of the order in the diocese are now under the authority and administration of Mother M. Austin. The community over which she presides at present numbers sixty sisters. The strongest and most conspicuous figure of the community, since its establishment in the diocese twenty-eight years ago, was Mother M. Celestine. Her executive ability was_ extraordinary. A good deal of her work in the diocese was outside of Titusville. As before said, the great brick edifices of St. Joseph's Convent are very largely the work of her administration. At 330 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. her death she had filled the office of Mother Superior almost two-thirds of the time since the begimiing of the community in the diocese, in 1870. The schools of St. Joseph's Convent are in part parochial and in part general ; but the instruction imparted in the schools is strictly non-sectarian. The large edifices are amply provided with accommodations for boarding pupils, and the institution has always had a large number of pupil boarders. The instruction embraces both primary and higher branches, the latter in- cluding English literature, languages, natural sciences and higher mathe- matics. By the system followed it is expected that pupils will be under the care of the sisters as boarders at the'convent, or under the eye of their parents at home. But pupils from abroad, if under the custody of proper authority, may be admitted to the tuition of the schools, though not boarding at the institution. Great care, however, is exercised in this respect. CHURCHES. The earliest religious association in the Titus settlement was begun by the Presbyterians. It ought to be understood that the Titus settlement was the central point, from the first, of all Oil Creek Township. The place was sometimes called "Oil Creek," and sometimes "Titus's." No church records of the early doings of the faithful ones, who came together in the name of their Master, now exist. Upon tradition alone is the first information respecting the first religious work in the settlement founded. By tradition we learn that the Rev. Richard Stockton, of Meadville, and Rev. Samuel Tait, of Cool Spring, Mercer County, held communions among the Presby- terians of Oil Creek in the early years of the century. Religious services were held in a log barn belonging to Jonathan Titus, on the east side of Franklin Street, between Pine Street and Spring. The Kerrs and the Currys were Presbyterians, as, in fact, were perhaps most of the settlers in Oil Creek in the first two decades of this century. Finally came Rev. Amos Chase, the progenitor of the many Chases of the present generation in eastern Crawford, from Connecticut. He came as a missionary under the auspices of the Presbyterian denomination, and in 181 5 he organized the first Pres- byterian church, as a regular ecclesiastical body, in the Titus settlement. He continued the pastor of this church for about fifteen years, but at the same time performed missionary labor in the surrounding country. The first church at the start had forty members. Rev. Chase divided his time, giving I OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 331 to the Oil Creek church one-half, to a congregation at Centreville one-fourth, and to missionary work the remaining time. In 1830, when at the age of seventy, he resigned at Oil Creek and seftled at Centreville. He was suc- ceeded at Oil Creek by Rev. George W. Hampson, who began to minister in September, 1830, but was not regularly installed as pastor until nearly two years afterward. He continued pastor for about twenty-two years. His ministry ended March i, 1853. For the next five years and three months the church was without a pastor. It may be noted that the Presbyterian church of Titusville, which has had an actual existence for almost a century, has many times during the last fifty years gone for a considerable period without a pastor. During the last forty years the church has been especially strong. Its contributions for both home and foreign missions have been exceptionally large. But during this period its pastoral vacancies have been numerous. It has two church edifices, and a highly comfortable and pleasant parsonage. It pays its ministers much larger salaries than any other religious society in the community. It supports an excellent choir at a good deal of expense. Its principal house of worship is almost palatial in external beauty and interior elegance and comfort. But its pastors often resign and accqDt calls to other fields of usefulness. It is true that the pastors who go^ else- where have usually improved their own interests by making the change. And it is also true that the ministers of other denominations in Titusville resign their pastorships. But no other denomination is able to pay its pastors as large salaries as the Presbyterians can do: The Methodists^ by their system, are obliged to change pastors. The Presbyterian church, by the interregnum from March i, 1853, to July I, 1858, suffered much from apathy. The fold in the long absence of a shepherd became sadly scattered. Finally two elders, William Kelly and C. M. Allen, called a church meeting in the fall of 1858, and something like a reorganization was effected: Rev. George H. Hammer had begun to minister to the church July i, 1858. But his work was not easy, and in 1861 he resigned to take the command of a cavalry company, enlisted in Crawford County. He was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Wykoff, who officiated until 1863. Rev. W. C. Curtis served from 1863 to May, 1865. Rev. W. H. Taylor ministered from November, 1865, to 1869. Rev. Alexander Sinclair was pastor from November, 1869, to May, 1874. Rev. Robert Sloss from January, 1875, to 1877. Rev. W. J. Chichester, from November, 1877, to 332 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. March, 1881. Rev. J. L. Maxwell, D. D., from May, 1 881, to April, 1887. Rev. M. D. Kneeland, D. D., from December, 1887, to October, 1890. Rev. W. P. Stevenson, from May, 1891," to June, 1898. When the division of the Presbyterian church occurred in 1837, into the old and new schools, the Titusville church joined the new school, and continued with that branch until a reunion of the parts in 1870. Soon after the beginning of the century the little congregation held its meetings in private houses, in barns, in school houses, and sometimes in groves. At about the year 18 12 a log church was built upon the east side of the old burying ground, near the head of Franklin Street. In 1837 there was finished a frame church building immediately west of the old log church, and directly at the head of Franklin Street, where now is the German Re- formed church. The site of the church was the gift of Jonathan Titus. The cost of its construction was $1,500. As the prices of lumber and labor at that time were low, it may be inferred that the edifice was a very respectable one. In 1863 the building and part of the lot were sold for $1,000, and a lot on the southeast corner of Franklin and Walnut streets was purchased for $1,100, and upon this site a handsome wooden edifice was finished in the summer of 1865. The organ was donated the same summer by Dr. William M. Jennings, who died suddenly in Titusville in the winter of 1868-9. '^'^e same organ is now in use in the beautiful new church. The wooden church building which had been occupied as a house of worship since 1865 was moved southeastward in 1887, to make room for a more commodious struc- ture, as required by an increasing congregation. After the old edifice had been moved it was thoroughly repaired, and it has since been used as an annex of the new building, for the many purposes of common meetings, connected with the church, for lectures, concerts, etc. The new edifice was dedicated in May, 1889. Its walls are constructed of Medina red sandstone. It is a beautiful structure. The parsonage, on the west side of Franklin Street, directly opposite the rectory of St. James church, is a large two-story residence, both attractive and comfortable. It was purchased in 1870. Mrs. Charles Hyde made the generous contribution of $1,000 toward the pur- chase. Since the resignation of Mr. Stevenson, to accept a higher charge at Syracuse, New York, the church has been without a pastor. It might seem that the Titusville church has a system of graduating its ministers for more important posts elsewhere. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 333 Methodist Church.— Among the early settlers of what is now Oil Creek Township, there were several Methodist families, but not many of the persua- sion at the central point, or "Titus's." It seems that the first class at Titus- ville was organized in October, i860. This class was composed principally of women, and its leader was James H. Davis. The Titusville Circuit had been formed in 1857. In i860 it became a four weeks circuit, including in its points Titusville, Hydetown, Riceville, Centreville, Spartansburg, Bethel and Chapman's. In 186 1 it was reduced to two points, Titusville and Bethel, the latter in the northern part of Oil Creek Township. In 1864 the branch at Titusville became a distinct established church. After the forming of the class in i860, meetings were held in the school house, in the Presbyterian church and in the Universalist church on Pine Street. The ministers who rode the circuit from 1857 to 1863 inclusive were Revs. N. W. Jones, W. Hayes, J. C. Schofield, D. M. Stever and T. Stubbs. The latter was pastor of the Titusville church in 1864-5, two years. His successors have been Rev. N. G. Luke, 1866-7, two years; Rev. W. P. Bignell, 1868-9-70, three years; Rev. D. C. Osborne, 1781-2, two years; Rev. A. N. Craft, 1873-4-5, three years; Rev. J. N. Fradenberg, 1876-7, two years; Rev. W. W. Painter, 1878-9, two years; Rev. W. F. Day, 1880-1-2, three years; Rev. J. N. Fraden- berg, 1883-4, two years; Rev. C. H. Hall, 1885-6, two years;. Rev. J. W. Blaisdell, 1887-8, two years; Rev. John Lusher, 1889 to 1893 inclusive, five years; Rev. C. W. Miner, 1894-5, two years; Rev. W. W. Dale, 1896-7-8. Rev. Dale is therefore the present pastor. In 1863 two lots were purchased by the Methodist Society on the north- west corner of Perry and Pine streets, on which to erect a church and a parsonage. The church edifice, as first built, was 40x93 feet, in width and length. Its length was subsequently increased many feet. It was sur- mounted by a beautiful tower. It was first occupied in February, 1864, but it was not dedicated until November following. The distinguished Bishop Simpson preached the dedicatory sermon. The interior of the church was beautifully furnished. The cost of both church and parsonage was $16,000. The first church bell to send out its inspiring tones to the people of Titusville was purchased by private contribution, and hung in the tower of the Metho- dist church. Among the more active members of the Methodist congregation at this time were James H. Davis, A. B. Funk, Charles Burtis, James Burtis, John 334 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Brown and J. W. Wilcox. The death of, Mr. Funk soon afterward was a loss to the church and to the community. He was a man of sterling char- acter. He was especially devoted to church matters. He not only con- tributed liberally of his means, but he participated actively in all parts of church work. James H. Davis for a quarter of a century was a pillar of the Methodist denomination in Titusville. Mr. Z. Waid for a generation has been an active member. H. C. Bosley, the first superintendent of the Titus- ville schools, was especially useful in church work. The present" school superintendent, Henry Pease, belongs alsO' to the Methodist denomination. Jesse Smith, W. B. Benedict, C. S. Barrett, Norris Grossman, and others might be mentioned as prominent representatives of the Titusville church at the present time. The distinguishing quality of the Methodist denom- ination, throughout the world, warmth, has always characterized the Metho- dist church in Titusville. Heat is life, and the remarkable success of Meth- odist work everywhere is largely due to this principle prevailing almost universally in the Methodist system. Universalist Church. — The Universalists were not numerous in the early history of Titusville, but they displayed a zeal born of conviction. This fact is evident from their erection of a house of worship as early as 1844, when Titusville was a small village. This church was a frame building, on the north side of Pine Street, between Franklin and Martin. Rev. C. L. Shipman and others had previously preached the faith of Universalism in the community. It is probable that the congregations which assembled in the new meeting house were composed largely of people who had come some distance from the surrounding country. This and the Presbyterian edifice at the head of Fi^anklin Street were the only two meeting houses in Titusville, until the completion of the St. James Memorial church in 1864. This little chapel was long a useful building to the community. It was occupied fre- quently by other denominations. It was sold about the year 1862 to the German Reformed Society. In 1865 the Universalists erected on the southeast corner of Perry and Main streets a very solid brick edifice, and hung in its tower a deep-toned bell. The first pastor who ministered in the new church was Rev. F. Stanley Bacon, who entered upon his duties in the winter of 1865-6, and continued as pastor for about a year. Afterward for several years the pulpit was ir- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 335 regularly supplied by various preachers. Rev. J. Murray Bailey was elected pastor June i, 1871. He held the office until March i, 1874. Rev. Charles E. Tucker was pastor from September, 1875, to January i, 1879. Regular services were resumed in November, 1884, by Rev. H. W. Hand, state super- intendent of the Universalist convention, who preached until May following. After this Rev. C. L. Shipman supplied the church the same year until August 2d. Rev. S. A. Whitcomb preached from August 2d, 1885, to June i, 1886. Rev. A. U. Hutchins ministered from August, 1886, to July, i887.' Rev. E. F. Pember was pastor from October i, 1887, to April i, 1890. Rev. M. H. Houghton was pastor immediately afterward until October, 1892. He was succeeded by Rev. J. C. Mclnarney, who was pastor from October 1892, to July, 1893. Rev. I. K. Richardson, the present pastor, has min- istered since November, 1895. The St. James Memorial Church, Protestant Episcopal, had its begin- ning in 1862, when Rev. Henry Purdon came to the oil country as a mission- ary. Soon after his arrival he established a mission in Titusville, and at once entered upon what has resulted in a life work. In 1863 he founded a church, of which he has ever since been the rector. The massive church edifice, within whose walls of solid cut stone the St. James congregation has worshipped more than one-third of a century, symbolizes the character of the religious work and life of Rev. Dr. Purdon in Titusville. During this period of more than thirty-six years the many upheavals, the vicissitudes and the shiftings in the oil country have been sudden and often terribly destructive in their results. A few of the poor, it is true, have become rich. But many who were wealthy thirty-six years ago, have long since become poor. In the numerous disasters which, from time to time, have swept over the oil region, St. James Memorial Church has often suffered. .But during all its trials Dr. Purdon has stood constantly at his post, and unflinchingly grappled .with misfortunes, which, if met with less heroic courage, patience and calm judg- ment, would have overwhelmed his charge. Among Dr. Purdon's active supporters in the early days was Edwin L. Drake, whose discovery in Titusville in 1859 had opened to the world a won- derful industry. William H. Abbott, George M. Mowbray and F.. W. Ames gave him assistance and valuable co-operation. Jonathan Watson was also a generous friend. St. James Memorial Church was. chartered in 1863. The cornerstone of the church edifice, on the northeast corner of Main and 336 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Franklin streets, was laid in September, 1863, by Bishop William Bacon Stevens, and it was dedicated by Bishop Alonzo Potter in October, 1864. It is gothic in architecture, with walls of cut blocks of sandstone, laid in solid masonry, presenting a very substantial, as well as beautiful, structure. The interior of the church was decorated and .furnished in a style corresponding to the external beauty of the building, and with special regard to the comfort of worshippers. It has now a very fine slate roof. In. 1893 a campanile, one hundred feet high, from the summit of which are heard the tones of the St. James bell, was erected. The church was decorated by the Lambs of New York in 1896 and all the present handsome furniture placed in position, the memorial gifts of many friends. In the same year a new stone porch on the west side of the church was built, as a gift by Mr. J. C. McKinney. The chancel window is a gift of the Roberts family, in memory of the late Dr. W. B. Roberts. Also a beautiful window on the south side of the church is the gift of Edward Griswold Hollister in 1896 to his wife, Elizabeth Boyer. On the east side of the church is a very substantial, commodious brick building, a chapel, or annex of the church, erected in 1864. North of the church, on Franklin Street, is the rectory, spacious and comfortable, the main part of which was erected in 1868. The L"part next to the church was built by Dr. Purdon at his own expense. The beautiful grounds on which all the above described structures stand, embrace four full sized city lots, almost an acre in area — one hundred and eighty feet on Main Street and two hundred and forty on Franklin. This property was purchased of Jonathan Watson in 1863 for $1,200 — $300 a lot. When it is remembered that Franklin and Spring had always, since the opening of the Titus settlement, been two most important streets of the place, and that the oil development had made Titus- ville, in 1863, an active and growing town, it would seem that Mr. Watson generously parted with his lands at a low price. But this was only the be- ginning of his generosity toward Dr. Purdon's church enterprise. He con- tributed $1,000 toward the construction of the church. In view of the inter- esting auspices under which the founding of St. James Church began, it seems fitting to* mention some of the events and some of the men connected with the undertaking. Dr. Purdon was sent to the oil country by the Bishop of -Pennsylvania, the illustrious Alonzo Potter, the father of several illustrious sons, among whom may be named the present Bishop Potter of New York. In August, 1861, Bishop Bowman, assistant bishop of the diocese of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 337 Pennsylvania, while journeying toward the oil country, suddenly dropped dead on a railroad track near Kittamiing-, Pennsylvania. The sad occurrence produced a great shock among the people of his church, by whom Bishop Bowman had been beloved. Moved by a feeling of deep regard for the mem- ory of the deceased prelate, in response to an appeal by the senior bishop for contributions for the purpose of erecting a memorial church in the region where Bishop Bowman, while on an episcopal mission, had lost his life, the people had sent offerings to the amount of $4,000. The money was placed on deposit at six per cent interest until a location could be selected. In April, 1862, Dr. Purdon received the following appointment : "The Rev. H. Purdon is hereby appointed to minister at Franklin, Titus- ville, etc. He is a Presbyter in regular standmg, enjoying the confidence of his bishop and brethren of the clergy, and is commended t-o the cordial regard and affectionate co-operation of the people among whom he is to labor. "Alonzo Potter, Bishop, etc." In a private letter accompanying this commission, Bishop Potter wrote to Dr. Purdon: "It is a very critical and important time for the church in the oil regions. We have collected some $4,000 for a memorial church .to Bishop Bowman in that region. At one point, named in your commission, Titusville, a large sum additional is promised in case the church is erected there. We need greatly a resident minister on the ground, who, by thor- ough survey of the different points and by intercourse at large with the people, and familiar with the probabilities of the future, shall be able to aid us in choosing wisely for all time the location of the church, and superintend the erection of it." Dr. Purdon came forthwith to the oil country and held his first service at Franklin on Sunday, May 7, 1862, and came on to Titusville the next day. The actual residents of the place did not then exceed six hundred, but there was a large crowd of strangers present, a floating population in pursuit of wealth from the production of oil. Then followed a remarkable missionary work at different points of this section of country. After^supply- ing a pulpit in a temporary absence of the rector at Meadville, during the rest of May, Dr. Purdon was again at Franklin on Sunday, June ist, and on the afternoon of the same day he conducted services at Oil City. The next Sunday, June 8, he preached his first sermon at Titusville, in Crittenden Hall. For many weeks he was constantly on horseback, rain or shine, riding at a 22 338 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. single stretch thirty miles, from point to point, between Franklin and Tion- csta, and between both of these places and Titusville, and ministering in turn to several congregations. In 1862 he established, as already stated, a mis- sion in Titusville, and organized a vestry. Both Warren and Franklin were anxious to get the Bowman Memorial Fund, but they were unable to add to it a domestic endowment, such as Titusville was prepared to guarantee. For- tified by this guarantee, under the direction of the Titusville vestry. Dr. Purdon went alone at the beginning of December, 1862, to Philadelphia, and presented Titusville's claims. As a result of Dr. Purdon's appeal, Titusville was selected as the site of the Memorial Church, $3,000 of the fund was appropriated by the diocese to that end, and subsequently the rest of the fund was given toward the erection of the Trinity Memorial Church at Warren. When the Titusville Church was completed it received $552.50 from the Society for the Advancement of Christianity in Pennsylvania. St. Titus Catholic Church. — This church was the outgrowth of St. Stephen's Church built in 1827 about two miles northeast of Titusville. At an early day Father Ratigan from Philadelphia visited all this section of country in looking after the many scattered members of the church. Among those who ministered in the early periods were Fathers Brown and McCabe of Eric. Then Bishop Kenrick of Philadelphia from 1834 to 1840 visited St. Stephen's and made confirmations. Afterward, up to 1849, the mission was attended by priests from the various sections of the State. In 1849 it was officiated over by Rev. Joseph Deane of Erie for about a year. Next, Rev. T. A. Smith attended for two years. He was succeeded by Rev. Arthur McConnell, from Crossingville, who remained about a year. In the beginning of 1854 the church was attended by Father Berbiger. He was immediately succeeded by Father De La Roque, who remained until 1861. Father De La Roque in that year began the organization of the St. Titus Church at Titusville. He said mass in a cooper shop near the head of Frank- lin Street. About the fall of 1862 he broke ground for a church building on the present location of the church. This edifice was completed in the latter part of 1864 under Father Napoleon Mignault, who had been sent to the parish that year by Bishop Young, of Erie. John M. Kuhn, of Erie, was the contractor who built the church. The church was dedicated in 1865 by Bishop Young. Father Mignault remained the rector until the summer of 1871. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 339 In the interregnum which followed Very Rev. P. I. Sheridan, now Vicar General of the diocese, ministered. Very Rev. John D. Coady was pastor from October i, 1871, to March, 1892. Rev. Joseph M. Dunn has been rector ever since. Father Dunn's pastoral work has been eminently successful and he has the confidence in a strong degree of his people. Dur- ing the last three years he has had the assistance of Rev. D. F. Curley, a young priest of much promise. Father Coady in his two decades of ministration was a most faithful pastor. He was not only beloved by his parishioners, but he was universally respected in the community, and his memory will long remain fragrant with the people of Titusville. St. Titus' Church has long had the benefit of an excellent choir. To Mr. Joseph Seep's guardianship and training "the suc- cess of the choir is largely due, and the church owes a great deal in other respects to Mr. Seep for his generous support and earnest co-operation. The devotedness of the communicants of St. Titus' Church ought to be a lesson to people of other denominations. When several hundred worship- ers congregate not on Sundays alone, but on every day of the week, at an early morning religious service, as are seen assembling every morning in all kinds of weather the year round, at St. Titus', it must be that the pro- fessed religious belief of such people has a deep meaning. St. Walhurgas' Church, Catholic. — The German congregation of Titus- ville was organized in the latter part of the year 1871. After a consultation with the bishop of the diocese, the German Catholics, anxious to have a church of their own, began to build on the northern part of the town, on Brook Street, a small wooden edifice. The frame building was finished in the beginning of the year 1872, and on February 25 following, it was dedi- cated to God by Right Rev. Tobias Mullen, bishop of the diocese. The first pastor of the congregation was Rev. George Meyer, who was afterward stationed at Meadville. He was succeeded by Rev. James Lach- ermaier, who ministered from 1872 until October i, 1885. Under his ad- ministration a parsonage and later a schoolhouse was built. A great deal of energy was manifested by the congregation in the early years, when the number of members was small, but with the assistance of the good citizens of the town, irrespective of religious belief, the little church, the parsonage and the schoolhouse were all paid for. Father Lachermaier^was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Nau, the present 340 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. pastor, on October i, 1885. Under his administration, the congregation, having increased in numbers, became more ambitious, and they planned the erection of a new church. The cornerstone of this was laid September 20, 1 89 1, by" Bishop Mullen, assisted by several priests. In the cornerstone was placed a statement written in the German language, giving the date of the ceremony, the name of Pope Leo XIII., the name of the bishop of the diocese, the name of Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, the names of the pres- ent and former pastors, and the names of the President of the United States and the Governor of Pennsylvania and the Mayor of the city of Titusville. After this the work was pushed forward to the completion of the church in the summer of 1893, when the handsome edifice was solemnly dedicated to divine service, on August 27, by Bishop Tobias Mullen. There were pres- ent on this solemn and joyous occasion, besides the resident pastor and sev- eral other friends, the former pastors of the congregation. Solemn high mass was celebrated by Father Lachermaier, and the sermon preached by Father Meyer. The new church is a beautiful and imposing structure, veneered with brick, an honor to the congregation and to the city. It is sur- mounted by a very fine spire covered with aluminum, containing a sweet- toned bell, which was presented to the church in December, 1895, by the former pastor. Rev. James Lachermaier. On the 2Sth of February, 1897, the congregation celebrated the silver jubilee of their organization, by a sol- emn high mass at 9 o'clock A. M. A large concourse of people partici- pated in the solemn services, thanking God for the benefits received for a quarter of a century. Baptist Church. — About the month of February, 1864, two Baptist cler- gymen. Revs. B. C. Willoughby and H. H. Stockton, began a series of meetings in the old Universalist church on Pine Street. A paper to organize a Baptist church in Titusville was signed by fifteen persons on February 15. On May 9, 1864, an organization of a church society was effected with eleven members, as follows : Russell Chappel, James Parker, David Hanna and wife, Henry J. Esler and wife, Mrs. G. W. Hughson, L. S. French, D. K. Williams and wife, and John R. Madison. Of these original members, D. K. Williams and wife alone remain. Rev. J. J. Gundy was the first pastor. He assisted in the organization of the church society, and remained pastor until July, 1865. He was succeeded by Rev. J. L. Hayes, who resigned the next year. Rev. J. N. Webb was the next pastor, serving from February, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 341 1867, to November, 1869. Next, Rev. Andrew Murdock was pastor from May, 1870, to April, 1875. Then Rev. William Gilkes served from October, 1875, to 1877. In April, 1877, Rev. J. H. Gunning succeeded and served two years. In 1879 Rev. Frank H. Rowley became pastor, and served until 1885. He was succeeded by Rev. L. D. Lamkin, who served for the next five years. Rev. F. W. Lockwood next served five years. From 1895 to 1897 Rev. J. C. Thoms ministered. Since then the church has been without a pastor. But recently. Rev. Owen James, D. D., of Nashville, Tennessee, has accepted a call from the church, and he is expected to enter upon his duties during November, 1898. The present beautiful and imposing church edifice was begun in the summer of 1865. But after finishing the basement and beginning the brick walls of the superstructure, a temporary roof over the whole was constructed and the work suspended until after the Rev. J. N. Webb entered upon his pastoral work. Mr. Webb soon began the completion of the church and after two years of hard effort he succeeded. The church was dedicated in the summer of 1869. Mr. Webb is entitled to a great deal of credit for his indefatigable perseverance, in giving to his people a home for divine wor- ship. The church now has a fine slate roof. The church building is situated on the southeast corner of Walnut and Perry streets. St. Paul's Reformed Church. — In 1861 the congregation, afterward known as the German Reformed Church of Titusville, was organized by fifteen original members. Not one of the persons who entered into a com- pact as a church society is now living. Rev. Zischka was the first shepherd of this fold. Besides him, the following ministers served up to 1871 : Revs. Leberman, Ebbenhaus, Bemer, Masaltsky and Kraus. Their first church, the old Universalist church, was on Pine Street, — now Central Avenue — on the north side, near the northwest corner of Pine and Martin. In 1871 the society sold this church and purchased a site at the head of Franklin Street. At this time the society had about one hundred members. The new organization then took place, with the name of the German Reformed Church of Titusville, Rev. Fuendling being the first pastor. The church at the head of Franklin Street was finished and de:dicated in 1872. The Emperor of Germany made to the congregation the present of a cannon, captured in the Franco-Prussian war. This cannon was melted and cast into a church bell which now hangs in the church whence, it sends forth, not the roar of 342 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. angry battle, but notes of peace and mercy. Following Mr. Fuendling, Rev. J. H. Eberly ministered to the congregation. From 1878 to 1881 Rev. John Roesch was pastor. From 1882 to 1886 Rev. John Niehofif. From 1886 to 1893, Rev. Henry Dieckmann. Since 1893, Rev. Loren Selzer, the present pastor, has ministered. In 1897 the congregation, by more than a two-thirds vote, decided to change the name of the church and, in part, the mode of worship. Previous to this, the services had been in the German language. It was decided at this meeting that the morning services should be in German, and all others in the English language; also that the name of the society should be "The Re- formed Church of Titusville." B'Nai Zion, Hebrew. — The first meeting of the Jewish Reformed So- ciety was held August 2, 1863, A Strasburger was chosen president and Jacob Strauss, secretary. On September 6 Felix Jesselsohn was elected teacher and reader. On November 15 the name of "The Titusville Hebrew Congregation" was adopted. The congregation first worshiped in a build- ing where the Palace Livery Stable now stands, on Exchange Alley. The next place of worship was in the Merchants' Exchange building, on the north side of Spring Street, and immediately east of Exchange Alley. The next place was in a building where the Exchange Block now stands. They next held meetings where now is the building of James Brown, on Diamond Street, until 1872, when the B'nai Zion Temple was completed on the east side of Franklin Street, a short distance south of Spruce. This temple was dedicated by Dr. J. A. Wise of Cincinnati, on June 28, 1872. Rabbi Jesselsohn remained pastor until 1869. Rabbi Joseph Swed next officiated two years. Then Rev. Dr. Eger ministered three years. He was succeeded by Rev. Felix Jesselsohn, who remained until 1887; but his ser- vices during this time had several intervals. From 1887 Rev. M. Faber served constantly for the next ten years. At the present time the temple is without a rabbi. The congregation owns the house of worship, the temple, and the building adjoining it on the north side, and a burying ground on Cherrytree Hill, a little south of the city limits. This property was pur- chased at the first organization of the society. The congregation was char- tered under the laws of the State, and the name of the society was changed, in 1871, from the "Titusville Hebrew Congregation" to the "B'nai Zion Congregation of Titusville." OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 343 B'nai Gemiluth Chesed Orthodox Hebrezu Church was first organized in 1863. In 1870 the church was chartered. The first rabbi was Mr. Bern- stein. Another was Mr. Sigel. After 1870 among the pastors were Revs. Jacobson, M. G. Levensohn, H. Cohen and H. Levin. Then there were Rev. M. Mendelsohn, and Rev. Levensohn again. The present pastor is Rev. J. Newman. At first the congregation met in different halls. Then they built a synagogue near the northeast corner of Martin and Water streets. In 1880 they sold the synagogue to the D. A. V. & P. R. R., and built the pres- ent synagogue on North Martin Street, and in that temple they have wor- shiped since. The present officers of the church are E. Steinfirst, president; M. Berwald, vice-president; F. Phillips, treasurer, and H. Gerson, secretary. The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Imnianuel Church was organized October 10, 1871, in the basement of the M. E. Church, corner of Perry and Pine streets. Rev. C. O. Hultgren, of Jamestown, N. Y., presided, and Rev. H. O. Lindeblad, of Sugar Grove, acted as secretary. It started with forty communicants. Its first trustees were Rev. C. O. Hultgren, G. Y: Palm- quist, John Henrickson, John Peterson, L. J. Cederquist, P. J. Hultgren and Jacob Svenson. Its first recording secretary was John Peterson. A con- stitution and by-laws were adopted, and by vote it was decided to have the congregation incorporated. Its first deacons were L. J. Cederquist, N. P. Ekman and A. Ryden. The first church edifice was a frame building on the northeast corner of Oak and Second streets, built in 1872, at a cost of about $3,000. Here the congregation worshiped nineteen years. Then, as the location was not quite convenient, and the building in need of repairs, it was decided at a congre- gation meeting on September 30, 1890, to buy the corner lot on the northeast corner of Elm and Perry streets," and upon it erect a new church building. The lot was purchased and a new church built. It was finished in 1891, but was not dedicated until 1893. The new lot is 90x90. The church is a wooden structure with its walls veneered with brick. Its dimensions are 38x60x20. The entire cost of building and lot was $8,000. The congrega- tion owns a parsonage at 166 North Monroe Street, bought in 1886. On Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11, 1896, the church celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. The "names of the pastors and their respective terms of service are as follows: Rev. J. W. Kindborg, from 1872 to 1875; Rev. A. J. Ostlin, from 344 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. i?>yy to 1879; Rev. M. U. Norberg, from 1880 to 1881; Rev. N. G. John- son, from 1882 to 1886; Rev. J. A. Hultkrans, from 1886 to 1889; Rev. A. J. Ryden, from 1892 to 1894; Rev. A. P. Sater, its present pastor, has min- istered since 1894. This church seems to be in a prosperous condition. The Swedish Congregational Church was organized February i, 1893, with ten members. Their first minister was Rev. C. O. Seaburg, who served eight months. The next and present pastor is Rev. A. J. Isaacson, who has served during the last five years. The church has now thirty-five communi- cants, and the number is steadily growing. The African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized about 1869. Rev. Benjamin Wheeler was the first pastor. He served until 1872. The colored people had held religious meetings before 1869, but not with a reg- ular organization. The erection of a house of worship was begun in 1870, but it was not completed until the following year. Its first location was on the southeast corner of East Elm and Myrtle streets. It was called "Trinity Chapel," and it was dedicated in August, 1871, by Right Rev. D. A. Payne, D. D., bishop of the diocese. It was subsequently moved to its present site, on the north side of Spruce Street, between Kerr and Brown. Mr. W. J. Booth contributed the lot on which the parsonage stands, adjoining the church on the west side. Rev. J. M. Morris was the next pastor, serving from 1872 to 1875. Next, B. Wheeler, from 1875 to 1877. Next, W. A. J. Phillips, from 1877 to 1879. Next, J. M. Morris, 1879 to 1880. Next, A. B. Palmer, 1880 to 1883. Next, S. T. Jones, from 1883 to 1885. Next, I. N. Ross, from 1885 to 1889. Next, W. S. Lowery, 1889 to 1893. Next, George C. Sampson, 1893 to 1898. Rev. Ishmael D. Till, B. D., is the present pastor. The Free Methodist Church, whose house of worship, a brick structure with a slate roof, stands on the southeast corner of Perry Street and Central Avenue, is described by a prominent member of the denomination, as follows : "The organization of the Free Methodist Society of Titusville is coincident with the first camp-meeting held by the Oil City district of the Pittsburg Conference of the Free Methodist Church in Roberts' Grove about ten years since. This meeting continued for eight days and was emphasized by a sim- ilar meeting one year later, the converts of said meetings being the nucleus of the present organization^ which holds regular services in its neat brick church, corner Central Avenue and Perry Street, under the pastorate of Rev. F. E. Glass. The principles and issues of this denomination are so rigid and an- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 345 tagonistic to the popular mind and the general trend of men's everyday life, that their growth is small in comparison with some other bodies of Chris- tians, and, because of their rigid adherence to the doctrines and practices of original Methodism, they are now by many regarded as peculiar and unneces- sarily particular. But they steadfastly refuse to change and alter either their doctrines or practices, to conform to meet the caprices, demands and styles of what to them is this ungodly "worldly" nineteenth century. For several years they met from place to place, at a "pilgrim's house, empty store- room or hall, easily accommodating their demands. Six years since, their ■Pittsburg annual conference met and was entertained here, holding their business sessions and religious services in Armory Hall. Many converts were made at this time, and steps were immediately taken for the erection of a suit- able place of worship. The same was consummated a year later under the pastorate of Rev. J. M. Critchlow. The short itinerant system of pastorates obtains with the Free Methodist Church, never exceeding two years. This has given Titusville the services of several representative men of this de- nomination. We recall in order. Revs. D. B. Tobey, now presiding elder of the Oil City district; A. C. Shower, S. M. Sandy, now of Hope Mission, Pittsburg; R. H. Bentley, now of McKeesport; J. M. Critchlow, now of Franklin ; W. B. Roupe, now of Hite and Tarentum ; Thomas Wain, now of Bolivar; C. F. Reid, now of Leechburg, and F. E. Glass, the present pastor." TITUSVILLE INDUSTRIES. The Titusville Iron Company. — The foundation of this institution was laid more than a generation ago. In i860 an iron foundry was erected on the spot which has ever since been occupied as an iron industry, which every year, since its beginning, has turned out large quantities of manufactured products. Among those who, in the early days of the plant, after a machine shop was added to the foundry, were interested in the works, was Jonathan Locke, who subsequently continued during the remainder of a long life to operate a machine shop at Titusville,- Pleasantville and Bradford. John C. Bryan was many years a; prominent figure as one of the proprietors and managers of the works. With him was long associated Captain John Dil- lingham. The institution has finally passed into the hands of some of Titus- ville's wealthiest and most enterprising citizens. Under their direction for nearly ten years, the plant has prospered and grown to large proportions. 346 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The present owners of the industry, on October 20, 1889, organized themselves into an association under the name of "The Titusville Iron Com- pany, Limited." On January i, 1896, the association reorganized as a cor- poration, under the laws of Pennsylvania, absorbing at the time and adopting, as one of its component parts, the Joy Radiator Works, with the new name of "The Titusville Iron Company," and with an addition of $250,000 to its capital. The executive officers of the company are : John Fertig, president ; J. C. McKinney, vice-president; D. Colestock, secretary; B. F. Kraffert, treas- urer. The board of directors are John Fertig, J. L. McKinney, J. C. McKin- ney, John J. Carter, E. C. Hoag, B. F. Kra£fert and D. Colestock. The company manufactures as specialties the Acme steam engines and boilers, the Olin gas engines, steam pumps, stills, agitators and blowers, tanks, tank cars, general plate workers, eccentric powers, pumping jacks, brass and iron castings. This institution has done more work in the construction of oil refineries, that is, in the construction of stills, engines and boilers, pumps, and brass fittings of all kinds, etc., than any other similar plant in the United States. At the radiator branch of the company's works, are made steam and hot water heaters and radiators. The Joy radiators are gaining a world-wide reputation. The demand for them comes not only from all parts of the United States, where the heating of rooms is necessary, but from several foreign countries. The radiator branch has eight acres of land, which the company is rapidly covering. The heavy increase of orders for the radiators has caused the company to give a contract for a large addition to its build- ings, as well as to order a large amount of new manufacturing machinery. The company has secured control of the Bryant moulding machine, a re- markable contrivance, one of which does the work of one hundred men. The company has branch offices at 152 Centre Street, New York City; 82 Lake Street, Chicago, and 10 and 12 Wood Street, Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania. The first engineers in the world have made thorough practical tests of the Joy radiators, in comparison with others, and as a result they certify to its superior merits. It is not by favor or courtesy to individuals, that the Joy radiators are selected for heating such wonderful edifices as Ivin's Syn- dicate Building, now in process of construction, on Park Row, New York, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 347 thirty stories high, the highest building in the world; or the Standard Oil Company's new building in New York, or the Hotel Waldorf, or the St. James Building, or the Produce Exchange, the Lorillard Building, the University of the City of New York, the Barnard College new buildings, the Bank of New York, the Hotel Marie Antoinette, the Buttenweiser Building, the W. W. Astor Apartment Building, the Lowe Building, Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, all of New York City. In Philadelphia the Joy radiators heat the Pennsylvania Railroad's Broad Street Station, Reading Railroad Terminal Station, Drexel Building, Drexel Institute, Pennsylvania Institu- tion for Deaf and Dumb, the Presbyterian Hospital, Hotel Lafayette, Glad- stone's Apartment House.. Then may be mentioned St. Mary's Maternity Hospital in Brooklyn, New York; Delaware & Hudson Canal Company's buildings, Albany, New York; United States Hospital, Fort Wadsworth, New York Harbor. The above are a few of the public buildings which are heated by Joy radiators. In England, Marlborough House, the London residence of the Prince of Wales, uses these radiators. They were adopted and installed by the eminent firm of engineers, John King, Limited, London. In this country might be mentioned the residence of John Jacob Astor, Rhine- cliff, New York; the residence of Mrs. Robert Garrett, Baltimore, Maryland, and a great many others. The company is behind in its orders, and the works are crowded to their fullest capacity. The central institution, with its great brick pile, occupies a whole square, in Titusville, on Franklin, Mechanic, Washington streets, and Water Street, on the north. Queen City Tannery. — In 1889, Mr. Samuel G. Maxwell, of Boston, Massachusetts, made a tour through several localities of Pennsylvania, and other parts of the country, in search of a desirable location for a large tan- nery. Among the places which he visited was Titusville, and upon investi- gation he became impressed with the apparent advantages of the point for a tanning establishment of large dimensions. He conferred with certain members of the Titusville Board of Trade, in reference to the starting of a tannery here. Encouraged by what he saw and heard, he returned to Bos- ton and consulted with the firm of Lucius Beebe & Sons, upon the proposi- tion to join with them in building and operating a tannery at Titusville. As a result of the discussion, the Beebes proposed to Maxwell, who had a thor- ough experience in the tanning business, that he, with the assistance of Titus- ville citizens through' their local Board of Trade, build the tannery, and they 348 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. furnish the . working capital for operating it, he to superintend its con- struction and its manufacturing business, and they to market its product. Should the project be consummated, the profits of the business, after allowing the Beebes a commission of five per cent of the sales, should be divided equally between Mr. Maxwell and the Beebes. Mr. Maxwell then returned to Titusville, and again conferred with the Board of Trade. The result was that the Board of Trade agreed to furnish the site for a tannery and the necessary funds for constructing the tannery buildings. The money expended by the Beard of Trade was to be a loan to the Beebes for the period of ten years, at six per cent interest a year, the interest payable semi-annually. The Board of Trade, through its trustees, five in number, should continue to own the land, as real estate, on which the tannery should be located, until the end of ten years, when upon payment of the loan by Beebes, they would become owners of the real estate as well as owners of the manufacturing plant. This proposed agreement was consum- mated. The Board of Trade has furnished land for the tannery works to the amount of ten acres. The present trustees, who represent the Board of Trade in the contract with the Beebes, are L. K. Hyde, treasurer; Junius Harris, James H. Caldwell, E. O. Emerson and E. T. Roberts. The trustees liave loaned in all, to the Beebes, $35,000. They divided the loan fund into shares, each share $100. Those investing in the fund receive on the first day of January, every year, six per cent interest on their investment. The grounds of the tannery begin at the northwest, where the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. crosses Central Avenue, and now extend eastward about to Monroe Street. The building of the tannery began in January, 1890, and the manufacture of leather at the works began in July following. For the first three years, the production consisted exclusively of upper leather for boots and shoes. Since then the tannery has manufactured only sole leather. In 1892 the company was incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania, taking the name of "The Queen City Tannery." The plant has gradually grown to large proportions. For the last two years it has consumed annually 16,000 cords of hemlock bark, and at present it is turning out 1,400 sides of leather a day. During the last two years its production of solt leather ex- ceeds by far that of any other tannery in the United States. It uses the best machinery and the best processes of tanning known in the trade. The com- pany carries in stock, bark, raw hides and leather, over $1,000,000. It ships OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 349 to the leather centers in all parts of the United States, besides exporting largely to Great Britain, Germany and other foreign countries. Among other parts of machinery at the works, there are five one hundred horse-power boil- ers. The tannery uses only foreign hides. At the last session of Congress Titusville was made a port of entry for the receipt of foreign hides and for the export of leather to foreign countries. ' This 'adds a good deal to the advantages of the tanning business in Titusville. E. R. Young & Sons. — The plant was founded in 1878 by Edmund R. Young, who has been at the head of the plant ever since. In 1879 he took Robert D. Locke into partnership, which lasted about seventeen years, with the firm name of Young & Locke. In 1896 Mr. Young purchased Mr. Locke's interest, and took his sons into partnership. Since then the firm of Young & Sons have operated the plant. The business consists of a ma- chine shop, boiler shop and foundry. The works are located on 68 and 70 South Franklin Street. The company deals extensively in' second-hand oil well supplies, second-hand machinery, pipes, fittings, engines and boilers,- etc. The institution has been in operation for twenty years, and it has always done a good business. It is proper to say that Mr. Young is highly respected in the community, both as a business man and as a citizen. Cyclops Steel Works. — These works_ manufacture superior grades of crucible tool steel and extra refined hammered iron. They were established in 1884, and were operated for two years by the firm of Burgess, Garrett & Co. In 1886 the firm dissolved, and Mr. Charles Burgess has been sole pro- prietor ever since. The steel produced is of a very superior quality, equal to the best in the market, whether imported or of domestic manufacture, and is made for all kinds of tools. A specialty is made of self-hardening steel, and other grades for purposes in which extreme hardness, a fine cut and smooth finish are required. It is coming to be universally used in many of the largest works of the country. A grade of extra refined hammered iron of exceptional purity and strength is also produced in considerable quan- tities. The Titusville Forge Company. — This is one of the manufacturing plants established in the city under the auspices and support of the Titusville Industrial Fund Association. It has been two years in operation. Its pres- ent executive officers are J. T. Dillon, President ; Willis E. Fertig, Secretary and Treasurer. The Board of Directors are J. T. Dillon, W. E. Fertig and 03>- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. W. D. Kernochan. The works produce iron and steel forgings. The plant is being enlarged and in a short time it will give employment to sixty skilled mechanics, with twice its present production. It will then turn out from 1,500 to 2,000 tons of finished work a year. It will then consume 7,500 tons of coal and 250 tons of sand a year, also work 3,000 tons of crude iron and steel annually, also use 25,000 fire bricks a year. The forgings manufactured are crank shafts and cranks for steam and gas engines, steamboat shafts, and cranks and other marine forgings, locomotive and car axles, heavy forgings for steam shovels, and mining and dredging machinery. Also forgings for cotton and sugar presses. The Barnes Smith Company has an iron foundry near Junius Harris' property on East Spring Street. The Smith Pump Company, in the same vicinity, manufactures pumps for tanneries, paper mills, sugar mills, etc. W. J. Smith is at the head of the business. Mr. Ed Herlehy has a repair and machine shop in the same locality. The Keystone Brass and Iron Works, on South Washington Street, have been in operation for many years. The plant has made a specialty of brass products. W. G. Abel is the present proprietor and manager. Titusville Chemical Works. — The construction of this extensive plant began in the fall of 1871. Its first proprietors were Rennie, Roberts & Dunn. The works were finished and put into operation the following summer. At that time there was- a large oil refining capacity in Titusville which consumed the greater part of the sulphuric acid manufactured by the plant. But not long after the works had begun production, an establishment for restoring spent acid used at the refineries was built at Boughton, two miles south of the city. Previous to this the refiners had dischai-ged their spent acid into some stream of water which carried it into Oil Creek, or directly into Oil Creek, when the works were situated upon its banks. This was absolute waste. When Hutchings & Farrar started the restoring works at Boughton, they bought all the spent acid at the Titusville refineries, took it to their works and there re-distilled it, with a small percentage lost. The restored acid was bought back by the refineries. This business not only reduced the amount of sales by the Chemical Works to the refiners, but lowered the price, as a result of competition, and hurt the profits of the large plant. There was also some competition from the manufacturers of acid at Cleveland and Pittsburg. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 351 Finally two rival chemical works at Cleveland combined and bought the Titusville plant. This was in 1874. The combination afterward bought the Boughton works, and it has operated both plants ever since. The name of the new association was "The Titusville Chemical Company." Its first offi- cers were D. M. Marsh, president; C. A. Grasselli, treasurer; J. H. Mansfield, secretary. Its head office and its largest works are at Cleveland, Ohio. It has other btanches at New York ; Olean, New York ; Chicago, Illinois ; Parkers- burg, West Virginia, and Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. It manufactures sul- phuric acid, muriatic acid, nitriq acid, mixed acid, aqua ammonia, sulphate of soda, refined glycerine, blue vitriol, sal soda, soda ash, glauber salts, sul- phate of zinc, etc. Titusville Elastic Chair Company, Limited. — This company was or- ganized March 3, 1884, on a capital stock of $20,000. Its first board of man- agers comprised J. H. Dingman, James H. Davis, E. T. Hall, J. R. Barber, N. Crossman, L. P. Scoville, E. J. Smith. Its executive officers were J. H. Dingman, chairman; L. P. Scoville, treasurer; J. H. Cogswell, secretary. The present board are E. O. Emerson, J. H. Cogswell, N. Crossman, C. S. Barrett, R. L. Kernochan, Theodore Reuting and S. S. Bryan. N. Cross- man is chairman and C. S. Barrett secretary and treasurer. The works of the company extend on West Central Avenue, a little west of the Methodist church, to Reuting's planing mill, and to the north as far as Cherry Alley. It has extensive buildings, with careful provisions against fire. In the summer months the works manufacture elastic chairs. But during the rest of the year they make principally upholstered and cobbler-seat chairs. The elastic chairs are very popular, especially for easy chairs for school rooms, churches and public halls. The company has employed as many as eighty hands, but now it has about forty employees. A large part of its work is done by machinery. The plant originally known as The Titusville Furniture Company, Lim- ited, is now owned and operated solely by F. O. Swedborg. It is located on West Central Avenue, between Washington and Perry streets. It manu- factures most kinds of domestic wooden furniture, not including chairs and bedsteads, using a great deal of the native wood. The plant seems to be well managed, running constantly on full time, from year to year, an evidence that its products have an established demand. The Specialty Manufacturing Company. — This institution was incor- 352 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. porated in 1892 under the laws of Pennsylvania. Its first officers were L. T. Gorenflo, president ; R. L. Rice, treasurer ; D. J. Whitney, secretary. Its pres- ent officers are L. T; Gorenflo, president; Joseph Seep, vice-president; M. J. Hughes, secretary and treasurer. The industry turns out a large variety of domestic articles of wooden material, with iron connections. In 1897 there was a large addition of buildings and machinery. The demand for its prod- ucts is rapidly growing and its business is now crowding. . It uses a good deal of machinery, and employs at present thirty-five hands. It is located above Hale's lumber yard, in the west end. ' The Titusville City Mills. — This industry is more than fifty years old. It asks no odds of steam or electricity. Its motive power is water, water, water, flowing perpetually through a conduit, a river diverted from Oil Creek by a dam across the stream at the west end, turning at the mills wheels and wheels, grinding and grinding grain. This is what the mills have been doing more than one-half of a century. For many years genial John Eason has been at the head of the establishment. The wheels go round and round, and John Eason goes around, to see that not a screw is loose, or a cog broken. Long before Titusville had become a city, and before Drake had tapped the oil fountain, these mills were pulverizing the gifts of Ceres. Titusville may go to decay and John Eason be gathered to his fathers, but the water in his mill race will continue to flow, either in its present channel, or perhaps over the native bed of Oil Creek, forever. Generations will pass before the old mills shall be forgotten. Franklin Street is old. But Eason's Mills are the oldest industry by far in the city. Castle Brothers have long manufactured carriages at their present quar- ters on Central Avenue, facing the Oil Exchange. For more than a quarter of a century they have been engaged in the business. During this time they have given employment to many men. They have gained a reputation for good work. The Stevens' Barrel Works. — Until within the last twenty-five years the manufacturing of oil barrels in Titusville was for the most part a profit- able industry. It is itrue that as early as 1873 the importance of white oak staves had become necessary. The forests in the vicinity of Titusville were originally well stocked with white oak. But from i860 to 1867, the great bulk of crude oil, as well as refined, was shipped in "barrels. Wooden tanks mounted on flat cars were gradually introduced, and these in turn soon gave OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 353 place to iron tanks, long horizontal cylinders, which have been in use ever since. But for some time after this, refined oil continued to be shipped from the refineries iii barrels, and as a result the woods near the oil country came to be stripped of white oak timber. But still the coopers were able to do a good business until the introduction of machine-made barrels, manufactured often and shipped into the country from places outside. The result was tO' close down domestic barrel shops. The large cooper shop of C. J. McCarthy on South Monroe Street has done very little business during the last five years. Mr. George Stevens, who has made oil barrels for more than thirty years, has continued to turn out some work during the dullest periods, by pur- chasing choice timber lands, outside of the State, in forests which abounded in white oak. But barrels made by machinery were offered on the market at prices which largely shut his work out. Finally, becoming tired of the disadvantage, the firm of George Stevens & Company decided to rig up their works, located on Kerr, Spring and Brown streets, with machinery and pro- duce barrels at as low a figure as any one outside could. Having done this, the firm sold the plant to Mr. W. J. Stevens, son of the founder. The new proprietor now proposes to carry on a large business, and employ as many men as formerly. If this is done, the production will be largely increased, and the institution become a benefit to the coopers of Titusville. Cold Storage. — This plant is a large concern. It w,as begun in 1897, and completed and put into operation in April following. Its proprietors are Pastorious & Wager. Their building is on Diamond and Martin streets and Central Avenue. It is built of brick, constructed very substantially, five stories high, including the basement.. By the use of chemicals and ma- chinery it makes its own freezing agents. It stores on commission meats, eggs, dressed poultry, butter and all other products which require protection against heat, and it buys and sells on its own account, whenever it can do so at some advantage. Its principal motor is a powerful gas engine. It has also a large stationary steam engine, for use in an emergency. It has a large artesian water well, sunk to the proper depth for supplying an unlimited quantity of pure water. The plant maiaufactures the purest of ice in large quantity. During the summer and fall it has turned out from five to eight tons a day. The great purity of the ice has created for it an unexpectedly large demand. The coming summer the proprietors intend to double their capacity for ice production. An elevator rtmning from the bottom of the 23, ^54 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. basement to the highest floor is worked by machinery propelled by the main motor. There is other machinery for pumping water from the artesian well, moving ice, etc. This plant promises to become a very useful institution for the city and the inhabitants of the surrounding country. The Charles Horn Silk Company was organized in 1897 under the laws of Pennsylvania. Charles Horn is its president and general manager. The building of the works was begun in 1896, and finished the next year. They are located at the head of Brown Street. The main building is 408x60 feet, two stories high, with walls. It has an addition about 60 feet square, which contains the engines and the dye-house. The motive power of its machinery consists of five gas engines, manufactured in Titusville, each of thirty horse- power. The plant employs at present about two hundred hands. Its produc- tion is constantly increasing. The plant manufactures silk ribbons exclusively. The works were built largely by the money of the local Industrial Fund Association. The Titusville Gas Company is the present title of the company which, until the present association came into possession of the institution, was known as the Titusville Gas and Water Company. The charter of that com- pany permitted the corporation under it to sell water to consumers, as well as gas. But, as the owners of the charter had never availed themselves of the privilege, and manufactured and sold illuminating gas only, and as the municipal plant furnishes to the inhabitants of Titusville an exceptionally fine quality of water, the present company decided to drop the word "water" from the title of the association. The original charter was obtained in 1865. The mechanical works of the plant were constructed in 1866, and the mains laid so as to be ready for commercial service in the spring of 1867. From that time until the present the plant has furnished the community with manu- factured illuminating gas. It continued to light the streets until 1889, when •electric street lighting came into use, and for a time afterward when the early electric plant occasionally was interrupted by a break in the machinery, or some other cause, a return was made to gas for street lighting. The executive officers of the present company are William E. Fricht- man, president; Charles E. Fennessy, secretary; James H. Fennessy, treas- urer. The works are located in the west end. Reuting's Planing Mill and Sash Works. — At the death of George Rent- ing, in November, 1887, his youngest son, Daniel F. Reuting, succeeded to OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 355 the lumber business which the father had carried on for about half a century. In 1888 the son erected a planing mill, and a sash and blind factory, upon a part of the ground of the lumber yard, which he has operated ever since. The entire works and the lumber yard occupy the entire space west of the chair factory, between Central Avenue on the south side and Cherry Alley on the north, almost to Monroe Street. Mr. Renting carries a large stock of seasoned lumber of all kinds, not only at his mill, on Central Avenue, but on the west side of Monroe Street, between Spruce and Elm-. He also has a considerable quantity piled at the sidetracks of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. His planing mill business has grown to large proportions. During the past season his orders for dressed lumber have crowded his works to their full- est capacity. He gives constant employment, summer and winter, to be- tween thirty and forty men. He buys the greater part of his lumber in the winter time, and when the close of fall comes he finds his stock worked down to what it was twelve months before. Shank's Planing Mill. — I. L. Shank, a lumber man, opened a lumber yard in 1897 on East Central Avenue, west of Drake Street, which extends through to East Spring Street. During the summer of 1898 he erected a plan- ing mill in connection with his lumber yard. During the time his planiing mill has been in operation it seems to have had plenty of work. ; Hale's Planing Mill. — Mr. Edgar Hale has carried on at the west end, near the W. N. Y. & P. R. R., a planing mill, sash and blind works, as well as a lumber yard, for many years. His plant is among the best known in- dustries in the city. Titusville Table Works. — This plant was the successor of the Union Furniture Company, started in 1883. Mr. C. P. Casperson, the superintend- ent, had prospered so well in the management of the biasiness of the company, making the industry highly successful, that he was able to absorb nearly all the stock of the plant. But in the tide of his prosperity he was ruined in a single night by the great fl.ood and fire of June, 1892. Not only was his industry and his home destroyed, but his wife was drowned and in trying to save her he nearly lost his own life. The local relief committee subse- quently gave him enough money for the construction of a new building and new machinery. But he needed capital for operating the plant. So that after rebuilding and putting in new machinery, he did little in reviving the business until about two' years ago, and even then he worked only in a lim- 356 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ited way. But the last two years he has done something. He has taken into partnership Mr. P. Poulson, who, Hke Mr. Casperson, is a practical mechanic, and the prospects of the new firm begin to have a more encouraging look. Trolley Railroad. — Beginning in the summer of 1^97 the Titusville Electric Traction Company built first a road to connect Pleasantville with Titusville. The privilege of constructing a tramway through the streets of Titusville was granted by the municipal government in 1897. It was ex- pected that the line, after its completion between Pleasantville and Titusville, would be extended to Hydetown. The building of the road from Titusville to Pleasantville was somewhat tardy. But during the winter the company built an electric power plant near East Titusville. Not, however, until the summer of 1898 were the trolley cars running between Titusville and Pleas- antville. The western terminus of the line was at first between Perry and Monroe streets. The track entered the city on the line of the old plank road and then ran into Central Avenue at the old toll-gate. Continuing westward it entered Diamond Street at the junction with Central Avenue, and then passed on to Spring Street at the crossing with Franklin. Then it ran up West Spring, stopping, as stated, first between Perry and Monroe. It was then extended slowly on Spring Street up tO' within a short distance east of the entrance into Woodlawn Cemetery. It took a long rest at this point until about the first of September, when work was resumed, and during the latter part of the month the cars were running as far west as Bucklin House. Then a larger force of workmen were put on the track, and by the middle of October the rails were laid as far as Hydetown. It should also be stated that a track, connecting with the main line, was laid in the summer from Spring Street on Franklin as far south as the main line of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. The company already has over two miles of track in the city, and next. year it is expected that the line will have branches and connections in several other streets. In the short time of its operation the business of the road has yielded unexpectedly large receipts from its passenger .traffic. Titusville Electric Light and Poiuer C ompany .-^Th.\s company was instituted in the summer of 1892. A franchise was granted by the city coun- cils, approved by the Mayor, permitting the company to erect poles of suffi- cient height, size and strength, and string wires at a minimum distance above the ground in all the streets and alleys of the city, as needed. The company erected a very substantial brick building on South Washington Street, on OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 357 the west side, near the passenger station of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R., planted its poles and stretched its wires ovei; a large part of the city, so that early in 1893 it was in full operation. The work of the plant so far has been confined principally to the production of both incandescent and arc lights. It lights 'all the city buildings, the city hall, the engine and hose houses, etc. It has also by special contract, from time to time, furnished street lights. Many halls, churches and stores are lighted by the plant, and many hotels have either incandescent or arc lamps or both. A large number of private houses are lighted with incandescent burners. The plant has abundance of excellent machinery. IN MEMORIAM. A writer has said that the character of a community is indicated by its burial grounds. A stranger visiting Titusville might accept the above pre- cept as true, by an inspection of its principal cemetery at the present, time. The first burying ground was a little at the east of the head of Franklin Street. A Mr. Blood, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and Mrs. Ruth Curry, it is said, were the first persons buried there. Mr. James Kerr, a brother of Mr. Samuel Kerr, the founder, with Jonathan Titus, of Titusville, was buried there in the spring of 1818. His remains were afterward removed to Wood- lawn, where they now rest. But the remains of Samuel Kerr, the clistin- guished pioneer, still sleep in the old cemetery. Upon the headstone of the grave it is recorded as follows: "Samuel Kerr^ died August 29, 1839, aged 72 years." Upon another headstone is recorded: "Robert Lewis died Jan- uary 18, 1813, aged 25 years." The late Robert Lewis, who died September 20, 1898, was his son. He was born July 18, 18 13 — six months after his father's death. Not a few other names of old residents are still to be seen in the old cemetery. The land for this first cemetery was donated by Jona- than Titus. Woodlawn Cemetery. — ^This beautiful "silent city of the dead" is situ- ated at the northwest, a little outside the city limits. In November, 1870, Jonathan Watson, E. H. Chase and R. D. Fletcher purchased of the late Samuel Kerr, the oldest son of James Kerr, above spoken of, and a brother of the present Adam Kerr, seventeen acres of land for the purpose of erect- ing thereon a cemetery. The plan of the cemetery was drawn by William Webster, of the firm of Coutant & Webster. In 1882 an addition of land was purchased by Mr. Kerr, making a total of the cemetery grounds of thirty 3S8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. acres. Subsequently Mr. Fletcher purchased the interests of Chase and Wat- son, and he has ever since been sole proprietor and manager of the property. Mr. Fletcher has expended large sums of money in improving and beau- tifying the grounds. The many costly monuments in the cemetery are evi- dence that he has, not spent his money in vain. The mausoleum lately built by Mr. J. C. McKinney is immediately adjoining on the south side of the family lot of James Kerr, who, as related above, died in 1818, — eighty years ago. In this lot are buried the remains of the late Samuel Kerr, who sold the thirty acres of land to Messrs. Watson, Chase and Fletcher for the cem- etery. The McKinney mausoleum is a remarkable piece of art. Its cost is about $20,000. Calvary Cemetery is the burying ground of St. Titus congregation. It is situated on the south hill, a little outside of the city limits. On the same hill, further west, are two Hebrew burying grounds, one for the B'nai Zion Congregation and the other for the B'nai Gemiluth Congregation. The St. Walburga Cemetery is about a mile west of the city, on the Hydetown road. PUBLIC HALLS. The oldest of public halls of note in Titusville was the Crittenden. It stood immediately east of the brick building now occupied by Barber & Ccoley, fronting upon both Diamond and East Spring streets. It was burned down in the winter of 1860-61. The building at the time was not finished, and the floor of the hall, which was in the second story, was not properly supported to hold an audience. For .the purpose of rendering the hall floor more secure against the weight of a crowd of people upon it at a concert, upright props were placed beneath it. But, when pressure came from a crowd above, it acted unequally. The result was that one prop becoming loose, by too much weight upon others, fell down. Then, by a little shifting of the pressure from above, another prop disappeared, then another, and next the flooring, where a large stove filled with burning coal was standing, broke down, precipitating a number of people, together with the stove, to the floor of the room below. Of course the stove emptied its burning coals, setting on fire a pile of shavings on the lower floor. The stove stood near the entrance a.t the top of the stairs, so that the fire from the shavings cut off egress by the stairway. There was something like a panic, but fortunately no one was seriously injured. Several were slightly burned, but none severely. Some OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 359 jumped out of windows to the ground, and escaped with sHght bruises. One or two perhaps had an arm broken. People from outside came to the assist- ance of those strugghng to escape, and in a short time all were out of dangeri The flames made quick work in reducing the building to smoke and ashes. Mr. Jeremiali Crittenden, the proprietor, immediately began a new edifice in the place of the one destroyed, and after a few months he had completed what now still stands on Diamond on one side and on East Spring on the other, the Crittenden Hall. It was ready for Dr. Purdon's first sermon in Titusville, on Sunday, June 8, 1862. The Crittenden Hall was in constant request for several years afterward, for concerts, theatrical plays and all kinds of public meetings on secular days and evenings, and for religious ser- vices on Sundays and Sunday evenings. It may interest some readers to know that the concert at Crittenden Hall, which suddenly came to an end because of the fire spoken of, was given by Miss Juvenilia Tinker, afterward Mrs. Hull, the distinguished vocalist, and her sister, afterward Mrs. John Porter, whose husband was once a well- known citizen of Titusville. Ths Bliss Opera House was built in the summer of 1865 and opened to the public in the winter following. It remained a public hall for several years afterward. It stood on the north side of Central Avenue, a short distance east of Martin Street, until finally absorbed by E. T. Hall's business block. Its builder was Mr. James Bliss. In the same year — 1865 — Corinthian Hall, now Academy of Music, was built by Frey & Bear and on. the south side of Spring Street, between Frank- lin Street and Exchange Alley. Until the opening of the Parshall Opera House, in the winter of 1870-71, Corinthian Hall for five years was the most important public hall in Titusville, for theatrical plays, political mass meet- ings, concerts and various gatherings at which the leading representatives of the community are accustomed to assemble. Then came ■ The Parshall Opera House, of which mention has already been made. This was the high temple of the muses in Titusville from 1870-71, to April 14, 1882, upward of eleven years, when the Parshall block was burned. Messrs. McCrum, Mathews and Smith were the first lessees and managers. After their incumbency, which lasted several years, Mr. James Parshall, the owner of the building, managed the institution. Interesting reminiscences cluster about the Parshall Opera House, where the best theatrical talent, with few 36o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. exceptions, in the land, played in rapid succession to crowded houses. Shake- sperian tragedy drew large audiences in those days. The "sweet, entrancing voice of the awakening viol," in the hands of Ole Bull, enthralled a delighted audience in the Parshall Opera House twenty-seven years ago. The Emery Opera House. — The next opera house was opened in the spring of 1886 by Messrs. David Emery and C. F. Lake, on the south side of East Central Avenue, near where is Shank's planing mill. Mr. Emery had converted a battery building which belonged to him into the Opera House, and he took Mr. Lake into association with him to manage the Opera House business. The location of the building was not quite favorable in all respects, but the performances in it were generally well patronized. It burned down, however, on February 2, 1887. The Titusville Opera House. — Soon after the burning of the Emery Opera House Mr. Lake purchased the vacant lot on which the Parshall House had stood, on the southwest corner of Spring and Washington streets, and upon the south end of it, on the west side of Washington Street, he erected a very substantial brick edifice, for a first-class opera house. The interior of the house is very attractive. It is well arranged, esjpecially the acoustic requi- sites. It was opened to the public in September, 1887. It has been honored by such celebrities of the drama as Richard Mansfield, Frank Mayo, Janaus- chek and others of equal rank. Mr. Lake subsequently sold the property to Mr. John J. Carter, who has since sold it to Mr. John Gahan, his manager, the present owner. Armory Hall. — Several years ago, Mr. M. R. Rouse erected on the north side of Central Avenue, between Drake and Kerr streets, an Armory for the accommodation of Company K, National Guard, which has recently returned from service in the West Indies war, of which he was long its captain. He continued to hold the office until a few years ago. On the floor of the building Mr. Rouse built and furnished a public hall. This hall has always been in much request. Also connected with it is a large dining-room, with kitchen accommodations, for entertainments which require suppers and other refreshments. The hall is a pleasant and convenient one for lectures, amuse- mtots, etc. Music Hall, on the north side of West Spring Street, between Perry and Monroe, is well patronized. It is largely used as a dancing hall. It is owned and managed by Mr. Benjamin Lang, who has ample provision for furnishing OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 361 large or small parties with food refreshments. The hall is also used for lec- tures, concerts, etc. It was built about thirty years ago, by Mr. Carl Dufft, father of Carl Dufift, the New York vocalist. The Titusville Woman's Club is one of a large number of similar or- ganizations, extending over nearly all parts of the United States, and joined together in confederation. The institution had its beginning in 1868, in the city of New York, when was formed there a woman's club, a sisterhood that took the nam^ of "Sorosis." It announced as the object of its organization: "The promotion of agreeable and useful relations among women of literary, artistic and scientific tastes; the discussion and dissemination of principles and facts, which promise to exert a salutary influence on women and society in general, and the establishment of an order which shall render the female sex helpful one to another and actively benevolent in the world." In spite of newspaper ridicule and popular prejudice against the under- taking, Sorosis prospered, and gradually won the confidence of many women in several parts of the country, and by degrees clubs similar in character to Sorosis were instituted in various cities. The rapid growth of these clubs led to combination, or association. In 1890 began a national federation which now embraces a tmion of five hundred and eighty-two clubs. The general work of the clubs composing the federation has also gradually come to em- brace a wide range of subjects. At the biennial convention, which met at Denver last June, twelve hundred delegates were present, representing re- spectively nearly all the localities of the Union. The Titusville Woman's Club is an integral part of the great federation. In March, 1892, a meeting of Titusville women was called for the purpose of forming a distinct organiza- tion. About thirty women responded by their presence to the call. On March 26, a constitution was adopted and club, officers elected. Since then the club has steadily increased in membership, and interest in its work. Its standing in the community has also steadily grown, and its influence in society as a useful institution is sensibly felt. At first its meetings were held from house to house at the homes, of the members. Then for some time they were ac- commodated in the Thistle Club rooms, the Presbyterian Chapel and St. James Parish House. The club has now rented commodious rooms in the new Odd Fellows' Block, fronting on Central Avenue, near the Oil Ex- change, and furnished them with elegant taste. The quality of the club's work has kept pace with the increasing membership and improved facilities. 362 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Carefully prepared yearly programmes have embraced as subjects discussed by members, respectively appointed to the task, on "Eminent American Women," "France," "Greece," "Nineteenth Century Literature," "Educa- tion," and "Our Country." In addition to the regular work, club classes numerously attended have been held during the last twO' years, for the spe- cial study and discussion of subjects relating to literature, history and art. The progress made in these exercises has been so highly satisfactory that they will be continued. The aim of most of the club's work is by study, reci- tation, mutual criticism and co-operation to advance in intellectual and aesthetic culture. Experience so far demonstrates that most members of the club court, rather than shirk, duties which might seem as tasks, in the work of intellectual training. The club realizes an obligation on its part of assisting to promote the local interests of the community of Titusville. One of its late questions to be discussed is : "How can we make our city more desirable as a place of residence?" About two years ago the club was mainly instrumental in re- opening the Titusville Public Library, which had been closed for several years, from the lack of necessary support. The session period of the club lasts six months — from the close of October to the first of May, each year. During the six months of vacation an executive board, which at all times exercises supervision over the affairs of the club, takes care of temporary business which may require immediate attention. The regular meetings of the club are bi-weekly. The Titusville Library Association was organized in 1876, but the library was not opened to the public until the following year. Its first officers were B. D. Benson, president; Roger Sherman, secretary, and J. A. Neill, treasurer. The original fund of the institution was the gift of $100 each by thirty in- dividuals. The library has always been a circulating one. Tickets were is- sued at $2 each, good for one year. The holder of a ticket was permitted to draw a fresh book every two weeks, on returning the one last issued. If the book was kept beyond two weeks the delinquent had to pay five cents a day as long as the return was delayed. The library was kept open many years. For some time a free reading room, containing newspapers and magazines, and other current periodicals, was kept with the library, and under the charge of the librarian. But the income from the sale of tickets was never sufficient for the current expenses of the institution and the purchase of new books. In OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 363 time the generosity of contributors of money showed weariness, and finally the sale of tickets ceased, and the mtoagers of the library closed its doors. About three years ago the Woman's Club began to urge upon the com- munity the importance of restoring- the institution to the public. For about a year following the subject was discussed, until the women carried their point. The association was reorganized by the election of Dr. George W. Barr, president; R. L. Kernochan, secretary, and E. T. Roberts, treasurer. Rooms on the second floor of the city hall were procured, and on January i, 1897, the library was reopened to the public. Of course the generosity of wealthy citizens had first been revived. The price of tickets was reduced to $1.50 each. Mrs. C. J. Allen has been librarian under the new administration. Since the reopening there have been several creditable additions of new books, late publications, to the new library. The officers of the association, as well as some others, have shown laudable zeal and generosity in fostering the in- stitution. It is due especially to the memory of the late Roger Sherman to record the constant support which he gave to the ilibrary from the beginning until its suspension several years ago. He was not alone in good offices ; but his efforts to sustain the institution were unceasing, and they seemed to ex- ceed those of any other citizen. INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATIONS. The citizens of Titusville have long co-operated in aiding the starting of manufacturing industries in their town. At about 1880 there was organized a Board of Trade in Titusville. In 1879 the leading citizens had assisted with their capital in the founding of the Petroleum Iron Works. The Board of Trade rendered material aid to Mr. T. C. Joy in the starting of his works for the manufacture of heaters. Following the Board of Trade was the "Merchants' Association," whose objects related to an increase of local in- dustries. The merchants of the city organized themselves into 'a body under the name above mentioned for promoting the end stated. Finally "The Titusville Board of Trade" in 1889 was chartered as a permanent organization for the purpose of caring for all legitimate manufacturing busi- ness in Titusville, to exercise a general guardianship over the establishing of new manufacturing plants in the city. The first board of executive offi- cers were E. O Emerson, president ; W. B. Roberts, first vice-president ; J. J. Carter, second vice-president; J. H. Caldwell, third vice-president; W. H. 364 . OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Andrews, fourth vice-president; R. D. Fletcher, treasurer; E. T. Hall, secre- tary. The board of directors were John L. McKinney, James P. Thomas, David McKelvy, David Emery, F. O. Swedborg, Joseph Seep, E. T. Rob- erts, H. C. Bloss, John Schwartz, A. S. Ralston, S. S. Fertig, A. H. Steele, R. L. Kernochan, W. H. Cornell, Junius Harris, F. P. Brown, James R. Barber, George W. Barr, W. B. Benedict, S. S. Bryan, Jr., C. F. Lake, E. O. Emerson, Jacob Ullman, W. T. Scheide, R. E. Hopkins, U. C. Welton, J. G. Benton, J. C. McKinney, John Fertig. The present officers are Samuel G. Maxwell, president ; Daniel F. Rent- ing, vice-president ; A. P. Cooley, secretary and treasurer. The directors are Charles Burgess, W. B. Benedict, S. S. Bryan, John Fertig, James R. Barber, James H. Caldwell, John L. Emerson, E. T. Hall, Junius Harris, E. T. Rob- erts, Jacob Ullman, W. W. Tarbell, A. S. Ralston. As a result of the work by the Board of Trade the citizens helped to organize and start in 1882 the Titusville Furniture Company, wdth a capital of $10,000, the plant already described as owned now solely by Mr. F. O. Swedborg. The Union Furniture Company, which started in 1883, with a capital of $8,000, was aided in the same way. Also the bedstead works, with a paid-up cash capital, which began in 1883, had similar assistance. The Titusville Elastic Chair Company, Limited, was founded in 1884, and since operated by Titusville capital. The foregoing mentioned establishments are gix'en as instances of co-operation by citizens of means, under the auspices of the Board of Trade, in fostering home industries. But the most important of such plants is the Queen City Tannery, an account of which has already been given on preceding pages. The Titusville Industrial Association, Limited, organized and chartered in 1896, is by far the most important institution established for building and supporting domestic manufacturing industries. It is to a given extent under the Board of Trade direction ; that is, the Board of Trade is its agent in in- vestigating and passing upon applications from various manufacturers for aid in starting plants in Titusville. The Industrial Association has a capital of $250,000, to the total amount of which the directors of the association may make loans on interest in limited sums respectively to new local manufactur- ing enterprises. The stock is widely distributed throughout the community, in large and small amounts, a share being $100. Several of the citizens sub- scribed each for one hundred shares, or $10,000. The institutions, which OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 365 ti])on the recommendation of the Board of Trade, have so far received loans, are the Forge Works, the Horn Silk Mill and the Cold Storage Plant. The first officers of the association were John L. McKinney, chairman; John J. ("arter, secretary and treasurer. The directors were E. O. Emerson, John Fertig, Joseph Seep, Louis K. Hyde, Charles Burgess, Samuel G. Maxwell, Junius Harris, John J. Carter and John L. McKinney. The present officers are John L. McKinney, President; John J. Carter, First Vice-President; Louis K. Hyde, Second Vice-President; Samuel G. Maxwell, Third Vice- President; D. F. Reuting, Fourth Vice-President; E. C. Hoag, Treasurer; A. P. Cooley, Secretary. The Directors are John Fertig, Joseph Seep, James H. Caldwell, J. C. McKinney, Charles Burgess, E. T. Hall, W. W. Tarbell, Junius Harris, W. B. Benedict, James R. Barber, John L. Emerson, E. T. Roberts, S. S. Henne. SOCIETIES. Social organizations in Titusville are legion. Some of these are more strictly fraternal. Others are co-operative in the way of rendering assist- ance to brethren in affliction, in sickness or perhaps even in extreme want. Others are organized to insure the families of members a given sum of money in case of death, life insurance companies. Others combine with fraternal association the guarantee of given sums in case of sickness of a member, or a member's wife, and a moderate sum, intended to cover funeral expenses, when a member, or his wife, dies. Of course, fraternity char- acterizes all, but it is more distinctively the end of association in some than in others. Chorasin Lodge, No. 507, L 0. O. F., appears to be the oldest fraternity now in existence in Titusville. Its first stated meeting was held on Wednes- day evening, June 28, 1854, when the following officers were elected and installed : J. H. Clement, N. G. ; J. G. Burlingham, V. G. ; G. E. Brewer, Secretary ; Z. Waid, Treasurer. The lodge meets every week on Wednesday evening, at its hall in the Chase & Stewart block. Its present officers are Thomas Murdock, P. G. ; William Falkinburg, N. G. ; Samuel R. Paist, V. G. ; J. A. Palm, Secretary; W- P- McCutcheon, A. S.; J. A Todd, Treasurer. Oil Creek Lodge, No. 303, F. & A. M., was chartered December i, and instituted December 22, 1856. The charter officers were Truman Pierce, Master; Jonathan Watson, S. W. ; Warner Perry, J. W. Its present Master is C. F. Lake. 366 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Shepherd Lodge, No. 462, F. & A. M., was instituted April 7, 1870. The following officers were installed : James R. Barber, W. M. ; F. A. Hall, S. W. ; C. P. Hatch, J. W. ; J. J. Carter, Treasurer; Theo. J. Young, Secre- tary. Its present officers are James R. Barber, W. M. ; Samuel G. Max- well, S. W. ; Charles H. ■ Henderson, J. W. ; Thomas W. Main, Treasurer; J. A. Palm, Secretary. Aaron Chapter, No. 2oy, R. A. M., was chartered May 3, 1866. Its first officers were C.'L. Wheeler, H. P.; J. F. Cheshire, K. ; David Crossley, Scribe. Its present officers are R. E. Taft, H. P. ; William G. Abel, King ; Samuel G. Maxwell, Scribe; John Kellogg, Treasurer; John S. Bradley, Sec- retary. Rose Croix Commandery, No. 38, K. T., chartered April 11, 1871. The first officers were John Fertig, E. C. ; Hezekiah Dunham, Gen. ; R. H. Boughton, Jr., C. G. ; James R. Barber, Prelate; A. A. Aspinwall, Treasurer; H. B. Cullom, Recorder. The present officers are J. J. McCrum, E. C. ; R. E. Taft, Gen. ; L. L. Shattuck, C. G. ; Henry Kehr, Treasurer ; J. S. Brad- ley, Recorder. Occident Council, No. 41, R. & S. M., chartered June 13, 1871. Its first officers were A. A. Aspinwall, T. I. G. M. ; J. J. McCrum, D. I. G. M. ; James W. Graham, P. C. of W. ; R. W. Holbrook, M. of Ex. ; A. D. Hat- field, Recorder. The present officers are Reuben E. Taft, T. I. G. M. ; J. J. McCrum, D. I. G. M. ; C. E. Spicer, P. C. of W. ; John Kellogg, Treasurer; J. W. Graham, Recorder. Shepherd Lodge, No. 74, A. 0. U. W., was instituted' May 30, 1874, when the following officers were elected and installed : C. L. A. Shepherd, P. M. W. ; W. C. Plummer, M. W. ; A. O. Paul, Foreman; Eli Parsons, Over- seer; A. G. Davis, Guide; V. A. Haines, Recorder; J. R. Levan, Financier; Daniel Wingart, Receiver; Andrew Robinson, Watchman. The trustees were C. L. A. Shepherd, A. O. Paul and C. H. Smith. Its present officers are G. Bodamer, P. M. W.; Fred Schultz, M. W.; C. D. Mook, Foreman; G. Hoffman, Overseer ; J. A. Palm, Recorder ; J. A. Mather, Financier ; C. M. Hayes, Receiver; W. J. Curry, Guide; H. Volkstadt, I. W. ; W. N. Hancox, O. W. The trustees are F. H. Aldrich, B. Abel and George W. Barr, M. D. The Medical Examiner is George W. Barr, M. D. J. A. Palm, representa- tive to the Grand Lodge. Queen City Lodge, No. ^04, L 0. O. F., was chartered April 19, 1888, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 367 and instituted May 8, the same year. Its first officers were T. W. Main, N. G.; R. B. McDannell, V. G.; M. C. Robinson, Secretary; C. W. Newton, Assistant Secretary ; R. D. Cooper, Treasurer. . Its present officers are Jacob Rupersberger, N. G. ; Frank Robinson, V. G. ; W. S. Strong-, Secretary; Elam Davidson, Assistant Secretary; C. B. Friedman, Treasurer. The Queen City Lodge is exceptionally a prosperous institution. The number of its members is larger than that of any other social organization in Titusville. In 1894 it erected a large three-story brick block on the south- east corner of Central Avenue and Washington Street. This block is in several respects the handsomest in the city. The lodge, with its halls and quarters, occupies the entire third floor, and rents all the rest of the building below. The Western Pennsylvania Odd Fellows' Relief Association, which has its home office in Titusville, was organized November 21, 1872, and char- tered in April, 1873. It insures Odd Fellows, their wives and daughters only. Its general office is in the Queen City Odd Fellows' Building. Its present officers are R. D. Crawford, President; Joseph Henderson, Vice- President; R. D. Cooper, Treasurer; W. W. Pennell, Secretary; J. M. Waid, M. D., Medical Inspector. Titusville City Lodge, No. 2^1, K. of P., was chartered April 15, 1871. It surrendered its charter in 1877, but regained it in 1879, and reorganized by the election of the following officers: Thomas Allison, C. C. ; Simon Strauss, Jr., V. C; Thomas Whitby, K. of R. and S.; Robert H. Bailey, K. of F.; John Bentz, K. of Ex.; A. H. Stein, Prelate; John'H. Smith, M. at A. At present P. J. Corell is C. C, and Thomas Whitby, K. of R. and S. Also No. 329, K. of P., was instituted in May, 1898, with H. M. Sackett, C. C, and W. W. Pennell, K. of R. and S. Also as auxiliary to the two lodges of K. of P., the Rathbone Sisters were organized in October, 1898, with Mrs. Gardner as E. C, and Miss Dane, Secretary. The Uniform Rank, No. 29, K. of P., was organized in 1887, with Simon Strauss, Jr., Captain, and Thomas Whitby, Recorder. The present officers are John G. Dane, Captain, and Thomas Whitby, Recorder. Endowment Rank, K. of P., insurance branch of No. 29, composed of the members of that lodge, was organized in 1881, with S. Strauss, Jr., President, and D. P. Roberts, Secretary. The present officers are John H. 368 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Smith, President; S. Strauss, Jr., Secretary. The order has paid to Titus- ville members in death claims from $12,000 to $15,000. The Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society was organized in 1866. It is auxihary to the B'nai Zion Congregation. Titusville Lodge, No. 264, B. P. 0. Elks. — This branch of the order was organized June 21, 1893. Its first officers were W. W. Tarbell, E. R. ; George H. Coburn, E. L. Kt. ; William McEnaney, E. Loyal Kt. ; R. L. Rice, E. Lect'g Kt. ; William Schwartz, Secretary; George A. Chase, Treasurer; A. C. Love, Tyler. The present officers are C. F. Lake, E. R. ; Samuel G. Maxwell, E. L. Kt. ; J. A. Dunn, M. D., E. Loyal Kt. ; C. H. Ley, E. Lect'g Kt. ; H. W. Brann, Secretary; G. H Chase, Treasurer; Hugh Boylen, Tyler. Titusville Branch, No. i, C. M. B. A. — On April 15, 1877, this branch organized with fifteen charter members. The first officers chosen were Rev. J. D. Coady, Spiritual Adviser; C. B. Friedman, President; Joseph Fleming, First Vice-President; T. F. McManus, Second Vice-President; John Coots, Recording Secretary; David Shannahan, Assistaiit Recording Secretary; D. D. Hughes, ^ Financial Secretary; John Theobald, Treasurer; William Lynch, Marshal; William Dillon, Guard. The Board of Directors were Joseph Fleming, Hugh O'Hare, John F. Theobald, William Dillon and T. F. McManus. On June i, 1877, Deputy L. J. McParlin, of New York Grand Council, organized the branch with a charter and installed the first officers. This branch was the fourth branch organized. It was the first branch of the order organised in Pennsylvania, and on April 7, 1878, it was designated as Branch No. i, under the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania Grand Council, which had just been organized. This branch has the honor of receiving the first benefit, amounting to $2,000, paid by the order. The number of deaths in this branch is twenty-two in all, on which have been received in benefits a total of $43,000. Officers for 1898 are: Chancellor, Francis McDonald; President, M. Quinlan; First Vice-President, H. A. O'Hare; Second Vice-President, Jas. E. Gray; Recording Secretary, P. J. Callahan; Assistant Secretary, F. A. Doherty; Financial Secretary, P. Cummisky; Marshal, Frank Reardon; Guard, M. Curtin; Trustees, Henry Seep, Peter McDonald, Peter Mullen, John Coots, James Kennedy. The St. Walhurga Branch, No. 12^, was instituted November, 1892. Its OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 369 first officers were Rev. Joseph Nau, Spiritual Adviser ; John S. Bohn, Presi- dent; Henry W. Mayer, Jr., First Vice-President; John W. Andres, Second Vice-President; J: T. Geser, Recording Secretary; A. E. Vinopal, Assistant Secretary ; P. J. Hoenig, Financial Secretary ; B. Dorschel, Treasurer ; George J. Dartois, Marshal ; John Leisgang, Guard. Trustees, P. J. Hoenig, Henry W. Mayer, Jr., B. Dorschel, Casper Graf, A. Faremyer. The present officers are: Rev. J. Nau, Spiritual Adviser; Charles Fuchs, Chancellor; H. Bes- selman, President; Edward J. Mayer, First Vice-President; H. C. Roueche, Second Vice-President; J. T. Geser, Recording Secretary; Assistant Secre- tary, H. W. Maier; Financial Secretary, Karl Schoppert; B. Dorschel, Treas- urer ; W. R. Buser, Marshal ; W. A. Maier, Guard. Trustees, George Man- gel, John Geser, A. E. Vinopal, John Rombach, H. W. Mayer'. The St. Titus Branch, No. 144, C. M. B. A., was instituted November 12, 1895. Its first officers were M. H. Acton, President; L. L. Gilson, First Vice-President ; Samuel Kerr, Second Vice-President ; J. J. O'Hearn, Record- ing Secretary; M. O'Hearn, Assistant Secretary; John M. Dunn, Financial Secretary; John P McGrath, Treasurer; Joseph Moran, Marshal; James Nash, Guard. Trustees, John Bly, V. S. Fuller, F. L. Kelly, George Popeney, John McGrath. The present officers are M. J. McMahon, Pres- ident; T. J. Callahan, First Vice-President; A. Hanovan, Second Vice-Pres- ident; Francis H. Powers, Recording Secretary; J. J. O'Shaughnessy, As- sistant Secretary; R. J. Fisher, Financial Secretary; John McGrath, Treas- urer; J. Hanovan, Jr., Marshal; Thomas Donohue, Guard. Trustees, M. H. Acton, Samuel Kerr, A. Hanovan, J. J. Shaughnessy, M. J. Lynch. Charter Branch, No. 5, L. C. B. A., was instituted February 23, 1890. Its first officers were Mrs. Margaret Seep, President; Mrs. Anna Condra, First Vice-President ; Mrs. Julia Maier, Second Vice-President ; Miss Susie Nugent, Recording Secretary; Miss Fannie Herlehy, Financial Secretary; Mrs. Kate Seep, Treasurer; Mrs. Ella Kelch, Marshal; Mrs. Mary Arm- buster, Guard. Its present officers are Mrs. Margaret Franz, Past Presi- dent; Mrs. Frances Callahan, President; Mrs. Mary Flynn, First Vice-Pres- ident ; Mrs. Johanna O'Rourke, Second Vice-President ; Mrs. Josie Jennings, Recording Secretary; Mrs. Josie Gahan, Assistant Secretary; Mrs. Letitia Reardon, Financial Secretary; Mrs. Mary Breen, Treasurer; Mrs. Mary Andrews, Marshal; Mrs. Margaret Smith, Guard. The Trustees are Mrs. 24 370 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Mary McDonald, Mrs. Ellen Lowman, Mrs. Jennie McMahon, Mrs. Alice Lynch, Mrs. Mary Willoughby. Santa Maria Branch, No. iiy, L. C. B. A., was instituted March ly, 1894. The first officers were Miss Lilian Seep, President; Miss Mary Pow- ers, First Vice-President; Miss Anna Fisher, Second Vice-President; Miss Mary O'Neill, Recording Secretary; Miss Mary Gallagher, Assistant Secre- tary; Mrs. Mary Taylor, Financial Secretary; Mrs. Nellie Brann, Treasurer; Miss Margaret Moran, Marshal; Miss Mary Oxner, Guard. The trustees were Miss Mary Seep, Miss K. Taylor, Miss Margaret Bergen, Mrs. Anna Keating, Mrs. Louisa Potts. The present officers are Miss Mary Taylor, President ; Miss Alice Whalen, First Vice-President ; Miss Elizabeth Maurer, Second Vice-President; Miss Margaret Bergen, Recording Secretary; Miss Catherine Loehr, Assistant Secretary; Mrs. Margaret McDonald, Financial Secretary; Miss Elizabeth Lang, Treasurer; Miss Anna Fisher, Marshal; Miss Teresa Lacey, Guard. The Trustees are Mrs. Carrie Fleming, Mrs. Anna Keating, Mrs. Mary Edmonds, Mrs. Mary Lee, Miss Mary Welsh. Petrolia Encampment, No. 226, I. 0. 0. P., was instituted March 30, 1872. Its first officers were W. R. Weaver, C. P. ; N. A. Lanphear, H. P. ; George R. Oliver, S. W. ; J. S. Merrill, J. W. ; J. T, McAninch, S. ; F. M. Hills, T. ; S. B. Logan, L S. At the present time J. W. Wood is C. P., and W. W. Pennell, Secretary. Titusville Council, No. lop, Royal Arcanum, was chartered May 3, 1880. Its present officers are Charles Stingle, Regent; W. E. Thompson, Post Regent; C. M. Robison, Secretary; J. C. Edmondson, Jr., Collector; C. F. Lake, Treasurer; J. A. Todd, Chaplain; A. K. Howard, Guide; G. G. Mack, Warden; A. C. Lang, Sentry; William M. Varian, M. D., Medical Examiner; J. A. Todd, Deputy Grand Regent. Rebecca Lodge, No. 149, Odd Fellows' Auxiliary, has for N. G. Mrs. Mary Meyers, and Miss Susie Hayes for Secretary. St. Joseph's Verein is a local benevolent association, composed of the members of St. Walburga's congregation. This society is twenty-six years old, and it is in a highly prosperous condition. It has accumulated a fund of good size, showing thrifty management. It extends a helping hand to persons in distress. It pays to sick members $5 a week for six months, and for six months more $2.50 a week. When a, member dies the society pays $65 to the family for the funeral expenses. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 371 Scandia is a benevolent organization connected with the Swedish Lutheran congregation, similar to St, Joseph's Verein of St. Walburga's church. The members pay an admission fee of $1 each, and 25 cents a month as dues. A member who is confined to his home by sickness draws $5 a week for thirteen weeks. In case of death the society pays $50 for funeral expenses. The Maccabees, Titus Tent, No. 24, K. O. T. M.„ started October 9, 1885. The first Commander was R. P. Halgren, and the first Record Keeper was R. S. Hampton. The present Commander is Walter J. Smith, and the Record Keeper is Simon Strauss, Jr. The total benefits received up to the present time b}'^ the widows of deceased members in Titusville amount to nearly $20,000. L. O. T. M., Hive No. 2p, was instituted in 1893. This is a woman's branch of the Maccabees. The present officers of the society are Mary E. Locke, Commander; Loretta Murphy, Record Keeper; Margaret Kelly, Financial Record Keeper. I L. 0. T. M., Hive No. p2, was instituted in 1895. The present officers are Carrie Crone, Commander ; Eliza Aldrich, Record Keeper ; Nellie Marsh, Financial Record Keeper. Petroleum Lodge, No. 462, The Knights of. Honor, was instituted Octo- ber 12, 1877. The Silver Creek Lodge, started in 1880, was subsequently absorbed by this first one. The present officers are S. Stettheimer, Dictator; H. W. Fisher, Reporter; William Falkinburg, Treasurer; D. P. Johnson, Financial Reporter. St. Titus Council, No. ^30, C. B. L., was instituted June 3, 1895. Its first officers were Rev. Joseph M. Dunn, Spiritual Adviser; M. J. Hughes, President; Daniel Foley, Jr., Vice-President; George A. Hughes, Orator; John J. Hartery, Chancellor; George A. McAnarny, Secretary; Julius Franz, Collector; H. W; Brann, Treasurer; Napoleon Antill, Marshal; Frank Mack, Guard. The Trustees were E. F. Hughes, E. M. Herlehy and Thomas Kennedy. The present officers are Rev. Joseph M. Dunn, Spiritual Adviser; William F. Besselman, President; William Fews, Vice-President; John J. Daily, Orator : M. J. Hughes, Chancellor ; George A. McAnarny, Secretary ; J. Franz, Collector; H. W. Brann, Treasurer; Napoleon Antill, Marshal; Patrick O'Neill, Guard. The Trustees are William Fews, William Smith and Thomas Kennedy. 372 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Titusville Lodge, No. 120, D. O. H., was instituted September 14, 1865. The Harugari Society of Germans is a benevolent order. It pays to a sick member $5 a week. If a member dies the lodge pays the surviving members of the deceased $300. If a member's wife dies it pays to the surviving hus- band, $100. As reported to the Grand Lodge at its meeting in August, 1898, the Titusville Lodge had in its treasury at the time $3,167.38. During its existence in Titusville, a period of thirty-three years, it has paid in benefits from $35,000 to $40,000. The showing is exceptionally creditable to frater- nal association. The present officers of the lodge are John Knapp, O. B. ; John Hartwig, U. B. ; John Blinzig, Secretary ; S. Shertzinger, Financial Secretary; John Gutman, Treasurer. Luise Lodge, No. ip, D. 0. H., was instituted March 25, 1891. It is a woman's branch of the Harugari, in the "Hertha Degree." It is strictly independent in its functions. A sick member receives a benefit of $3 a week, and when a member dies the surviving family receives $50. The lodge has at present in its treasury $837.40. C. 6". Chase Post, No. 50, G. A. R., was first instituted not long after the close of the late Civil War. Business excitement, however, at that period tended to cause a neglect of social organizations, and because of this the charter of the Chase post was surrendered. But it was afterward recovered, and a reorganization took place on June 21, 1879, with the following officers: Joseph H. Cogswell, P. C. ; William H. Wisner, S. V C. ; C. M. Coburn, J. V. C; Robert P. Halgren, Adjutant; Ed. W. Bettes, Q. M.; Dr. J. L. Dunn, Surgeon ; Norris Grossman, Chaplain ; L. L. Shattuck, O. D. ; P. N. Robinson, O. G. ; E. R. Sherman, S. M. The present officers are George W. Barr, M. D., P. C. ; John B. Wheaton, S. V. C. ; H. W. Beverly, J. V. C. ; L. L. Shattuck, Adjutant; W. P. McCutchen, Q. M. Titusville Council, No. 254, Knights and Ladies of Security, was or- ganized November 19, 1895. Its officers are H. W. Brann, President; Mrs. Rosa Matson, First Vice-President; Mrs. P. Brice, Second Vice-President; W. J. Davidson, Secretary; J. H. Ma,in, Financial Secretary; W. H. Bevins, Treasurer; Miss Kate Hancox, Prelate; Mrs. Wakeman, Conductor; B. Dorschel, Guard; C. W. Sager, M. D., Medical Examiner. The Trustees are H. W. Brann, B. Dorschel and J. B. Bratt. CHAPTER V. PETROLEUM, AND OUR CONNECTION THEREWITH. By M. N. ALLEN. KNOWLEDGE of petroleum is perhaps as old as civilization. Long before the beginning of the Christian era, it was found in Persia, in China, in India and other ancient countries. In later times it is known to have existed in several parts of the globe. But up to the present period of less than forty years the product had been collected only upon the surface of water, springs or streams, and then in small quantities. The origin of the substance is not known, though various theories upon the subject have from time to time been suggested. Previous to 1859, so far as is now known, because of its limited production, it had not been an article of general com- merce. Before proceeding to an account of the oil trade which relates to Titusville,. Pennsylvania, it is proper to describe the chemical character of petroleum. As expressed by the etymology of the word, it means rock oil. ■ From the Encyclopedia Britannica the following quotation is made: "The proximate principles of petroleum have been determined and exam- ined chiefly by Schorlemmer in England, Pelouze and Cahonis in France, and C. M. Warren and S. P. Saddler in the United States. Many other chemists have contributed valuable assistance to the work. These researches have established the fact that Pennsylvania petroleum consists chiefly of two homologous series of isomeric compounds, having the general formula Cn H2n+2, at one extremity of which marsh gas is found, and solid paraffine at the other." In other words, petroleum is a compound of a series of hydro-carbons, beginning with a union which contains the smallest possible quantity of carbon with the largest possible quantity of hydrogen which could unite with such an infinitesimal particle of carbon, and descending in the series with each union in the course containing less hydrogen and more carbon than the one above it, until the union last formed is all carbon, except the faintest conceivable trace of hydrogen. This last in the series is solid 373 374 OUR COUNTY AND ITS. PEOPLE. paraffine, while the beginning, next to pure hydrogen, is the lightest of gases. Petroleum therefore includes, not only oil of various gravities in a liquid state, but also the substance spoken of in the oil country as "natural gas," and also paraffine, whether in a semi-liquid or in a solid condition. Heavy oils contain more carbon and less hydrogen than oil of lighter gravity, Ohio oil and Baku oil are noted for the Jarge amount of carbon in their composi- tion, while most of the oil produced in western Pennsylvania, excepting the Bradford field, has less carbon. The yield of illuminating oil is, of course, ■ greater from Pennsylvania oil than from that produced in Ohio. This is 'because of the excess of carbon in the latter. It is well to note the fact that 'the great bulk of oil produced in the United States is found on the western ■slope of the Alleghany Mountains, or upon the plane of their base, though in part, as in Ohio and Indiana, some distance westward from the foot of. ' the slope. Oil is found in Colorado, Kansas and California in paying quan- ' titles, but the production in these localities is limited tO' small areas and small deposits. As early as 1833 the older Silliman, of Yale College, contributed to 'the "American Journal of Science" an interesting account concerning a 'petroleum spring in Allegany County, New York, after he had in person visited the spring and examined the oil upon its surface. Nearly fifty years later there was opened in the vicinity of this spring, a large territory of oil production. In 1855 the younger Sillinian made a thorough chemical analy- sis and test of oil brought from Venango County, Pennsylvania, the results of which he embodied in a report to Eveleth & Bissell, of New York, who, with others, afterward sent Drake to Titusville to aid in increasing the production of oil already begun by the dipping process. In 1846 Samuel M. Kier, of Pittsburg, a druggist, began to collect oil, which rose to the surface of salt wells, at Tarentum, Pennsylvania, twenty 'miles above Pittsburg on the Allegheny River, and, from a knowledge of some of the medicinal properties of petroleum, he bottled the liquid, adver- tised and sold it as a healing remedy. In this connection it may be said that the product was then called "Seneca Oil," from the fact that the Seneca Indians, a tribe in Venango County, had long used it as a medicine. For years after Drake's discovery the inhabitants of the oil country continued to speak of petroleum as "Seneca Oil." The association represented by Drake in his original venture called itself the "Seneca Oil Company." OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 375 A contract by and between Brewer, Watson & Co., and J. D. Angier, for procuring oil from the spring at which Drake subsequently located his initial well, read as follows: "Agreed this fourth day of July, A. D., 1853, with J. D. Angier, of Cherrytree Township, in the county of Venango, Pennsylvania, that he shall repair up and keep in order the old oil spring on land in Cherrytree Town- ship, or dig and make new springs, and the expenses to be deducted out of the proceeds of the oil, and the balance, if any, to be divided, the one-half to J. D. Angier, and the other half to Brewer, Watson & Co., for the full term of five years from this date, if profitable. "BREWER, WATSON & CO., "J. D. Angier." Oil had previously been collected by absorbing it into blankets spread upon the water. After the oil had come to the surface and filled the blanket, it was expressed and caught in a tub. Pits were also dug in the soil, into which oil and water mixed entered by seeping through the ground. The oil rose to the surface and was then dipped or skimmed off. Angier dug trenches and then pumped the oil and water into a basin. The pump was worked by machinery in a saw-mill belonging to Brewer, Watson & Co., near at hand. After the oil settled at the surface of the water in the basin, it was skimmed off. It is rational' to assume as a theory that, whatever natural forces have created petroleum, the* formation occurred far below the earth's surface, and where intense heat acted. The petroleum thus formed was in a gaseous state, and by its expansive force it was pressed into all the openings in the rocks. As the gas rises toward the surface, the temperature falls and con- densation begins, the heavier hydro-carbons in the series first becoming liquid. The gas, as it rises through fissures in the rocks, sometimes finds its way into porous sand-rocks, where it is sometimes imprisoned by imper- vious rock above, and at other times the gas makes a partial escape upward, the more volatile parts being the last to condense. Petroleum thus coming to the surface, either as a liquid or as a gas, strikes a water course, and then there is found a gas spring, or an oil spring. Sometimes the oil oozes through the soil. In 1877 there was opened in the vicinity of East Titus- ville a considerable production of oil found in the ground fifteen or twenty feet below the surface. This was first discovered by accident, in digging 376 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. a hole for a water well, or some other purpose. Afterward pits were sunk expressly to find the oil. Whence the oil came ho one knew. In 1854, about a year after Angier entered into an agreement with Brewer, Watson & Co., as mentioned above, George H. Bissell, of the firm Eveleth & Bissell, New York, gave his attention to the subject of petroleum. He was led to believe that a production of important magnitude could be got from the undertaking begun by Angier. It has been reported that a certain Professor Crosby, of Dartmouth College, from which Bissell had been graduated, to get a place for his son, induced Bissell to interest hirpself in forming a stock company for procuring oil by the Angier process. Late in the fall of that year Brewer, Watson & Co. sold to Eveleth & Bissell, as in- dividuals, the Willard farm, on which was the oil spring and appliances for gathering oil, already described, containing one hundred and five acres. The consideration named in the deed was $25,000, while the real price was $5,000. As had been the intention, the deed was transferred to a stock company. The fiction resorted to as to the purchase price of the property was enacted for the purpose of helping the sale of stock. In the following January, 1855, Eveleth & Bissell deeded the property to a corporation formed in New. York City. The trustees of the corporation had among their number, Francis B. Brewer, of Titusville, with Eveleth & Bissell at the head. The name of the corporation was the "Pennsylvania Rook Oil Company." The capital stock was fixed at $250,000; the num- ber of shares, 25,000, at $10 a share; the age of the- company, fifty years. Eveleth & Bissell had much trouble in placing the stock. To add to their troubles they accidentally discovered an old Pennsylvania statute, which provided for the forfeiture to the State of the lands owned within its limits by a foreign corporation. But fortunately neither the deed tO' them exe- cuted by Brewer, Watson & Co., nor their deed to the corporation had been put upon record. They therefore made haste to have the company transfer by deed the property to Asahel Pierpont and William A. Ives, of New Haven, Connecticut, wtio in turn leased it to a new company for the term of ninety-nine years. The new association was formed on a capital of $300,000, divided into 12,000 shares of $25 each, Eveleth & Bissell taking a majority of the stock. The headquarters of the new company were fixed at New Haven. The title of the corporation was the "Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company." Mr. Pierpont, a practical mechanic, was sent to Titusville to assist Mr. Angier OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 2,77 in improving the machinery for collecting the oil. But the company failed to furnish the requisite funds, and Pierpont seems to have accomplished nothing. Disagreement among directors checked practical operations. An- gier with the rude appliances continued to gather a few gallons of oil each day. Dr. Brewer, though having no stock in the company, felt an interest in the success of the undertaking, and wrote to the managers that by a judicious expenditure of five hundred dollars, from fifty to one hundred gallons of oil a day could be collected. But the expenditure was not made. Mr. Angier was discharged from service, and the company's affairs con- tinued to drag. In the previous transfer of the property care had not in all cases been exercised to have conveyed a perfect title as to dowry interests, and this fact caused some delay in starting operations. Under an excuse to correct the neglect of the purchasers to get from those who had sold the Willard farm the signatures of their wives to the deed. Colonel E. L. Drake was sent to Titusville, but, as may be believed, for the real purpose of inspecting artesian wells, and investigate the feasibility of boring a well on the property of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. Accordingly, Drake, on his way from New Haven to Titusville, stopped at Syracuse, New York, to examine the salt wells there, and learn something of the mode of boring and pumping them. He arrived in Titusville in December, 1857. After completing the legal business of his mission, so far' as could be done at Titusville, and study- ing briefly the oil indications there, he went to Pittsburg to secure the signa- tures of Mrs. Brewer and Mrs. Rynd, whose husbands had joined in a deed of the Willard farm, as already stated, and on the trip he inspected the salt wells of Tarentum, from which Kier got the oil, which for about ten years he had been selling as a medicine. On his return to New Haven Drake made such an encouraging report of his investigations that the three New Haven directors, who were a majority of the governing board, executed on the 30th day of December a lease to Edwin E. Bowditch and E. L. Drake for a term of fifteen years, the lessees binding themselves to pay to the Penn- sylvania Rock Oil Company a royalty of five and a half cents a gallon for all the oil produced by them on the lease during its term. The other two directors, Bissell, of New York, and Jonathan Watson, of Titusville, who together represented a majority of the total stock of the company, refused ,^78 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. their consent to the contract. But at the annual meeting in January follow- ing, 1858, the lease was ratified over the protests of Bissell and Watson. After, however, Bissell and Watson had withdrawn from the meeting, the consideration was changed from five and a half cents a gallon to one- eighth in kind of all the oil, salt or paint produced. Bissell threatened sum- mary resistance in the courts, but finally there was a compromise. The time of the lease was extended to forty-five years, and the royalty was fixed at twelve cents a gallon, giving to the lessees one ye^r in which to prepare for beginning operations. The lessees and some others organized themselves into the "Seneca Oil Company." Drake was made to appear as the main stockholder. He had been for several years a railroad conductor, and had not much experience as a business man. He was now employed by the Seneca Oil Company as superintendent on a salary of one thousand dollars a year. He had little or no means of his own. He moved to Titusville with his family in May, 1858, bringing a thousand dollars which had been pro- vided for him to begin work with. His first work here was to revive the old works which had been abandoned by Angier, and he began to dig a well, at the same time making preparations for boring one on the same spot. He contracted for an engine to be ready by the first of the coming September. He engaged a driller. The engine was slow in coming and there were other delays, so that the driller, upon some excuse, got employment elsewhere. Summer and fall wore away. The company became remiss in sending money, and Drake was obliged to suspend active work until the next spring. A Mr. Peterson, who had salt wells near Tarentum, recommended Drake to employ Mr. William Smith and his sons, practical drillers, who had worked for him, and accordingly Drake engaged thein. Mr. Smith, with his young- est son, Samuel, came to Titusville about the middle of May, 1859, bringing a full set of tools, which had been made in Mr. Smith's shop at Salina, near Tarentum. In the district where Smith had operated the soil was only a few feet above the rock, so that the first thing to do in starting an artesian well was to dig a pit down to the rock. After this had been done, the drill, suspended at one end of the walking beam, began to cut its way vertically into the rock. But at the Drake well Smith found a deeper soil, which was porous and filled with water. Smith, as had been his method on the Allegheny River, began to crib the pit with timbers, to prevent the dirt from coming in. But he had OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 379 gone down only a few feet in the ground, when the water came in so rapidly that he was forced to stop. Drake then resorted to an expedient which is said to have been his invention. He doubtless consulted Smith before making the experiment. He had cut a soil pipe, with an interior diameter of about six inches, which he attempted to drive vertically into the ground. The shell of the first pipe which he tried proved to be too light, as it broke easily. He then increased the thickness of the shell, and the new pipe withstood the blows of the battering ram, as the block, which was dropped on the end of the vertical pipe, was called. Smith used four joints of this cast iron driving pipe, each joint ten feet long, before striking the rock. From the upper end of the last joint to the derrick floor the distance was seven feet. This space was supplied with a wooden conductor. The drill descended into the rock, before striking oil, twenty-two and one-half feet, making the total depth of the well sixty- nine and one-half feet. The use of cast iron pipe, which Drake originated and made a practical success, for penetrating the soil down to the rock, continued in sinking oil wells many years. It is reported that in driving a soil pipe near East Titus- ville, in 1865, a hemlock log, imbedded at a depth of one hundred and fifty feet below the surface of the ground, was cut in two. In later years a wrought iron soil pipe is used. This has at the lower end of the first joint a steel shoe. The drill goes down inside the pipe and cuts away boulders and other obstruc- tions, while the pipe, as fast as the drill clears the way, is pushed, or driven, down to the rock. After the pipe had been driven in the Drake well, the drill was lowered into the hole, and set to work on Thursday, August 25. At about four o'clock in the afternoon of Saturday, the 27th, following, the drill dropped into a crevice of the rock. The tools were then drawn from the well, the measure- ment showing a depth of sixty-nine and one-half feet below the surface. Mr. Smith and his family lived in a shanty built for their temporary use, adjoin- ing the derrick. On going to the well the next morning, Sunday, Mr. Smith found that the oil had risen in the driving pipe and wooden conductor to the derrick floor, and, in fact, both oil and water flowed out of the top of the conductor. Although it was Sunday, the news of the discovery spread rapidly through the village of Titusville and the surrounding country. Large crowds of people rushed to the well, and they continued to surround the spot for sev- 38o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. eral da)rs afterward. The community was naturally excited upon the subject and little else was talked of. Eager, however, as was their curiosity, the people scarcely dreamed of the momentous results which were to follow the sinking of this first small oil well. On Monday morning a temporary pumping apparatus was rigged. A tin pipe, attached to a pitcher pump, was let down into the hole. Then by a lever attachment with the engine, the pump was worked. The process was continued from ten days to two weeks, the well yielding from twenty to thirty barrels of oil a day, until tubing and a working barrel could be got from Pittsburg. Then after the well had been tubed, and the tubing seed-bagged, the pumping was done by sucker-rods, connected to the walking beam, as at the present time, lifting the oil from a working barrel placed at the bottom of the well. At first a large hogshead was used for receiving the oil and water. The oil was drawn from the hogshead into barrels, and the water discharged from an opening near the bottom of the hogshead, and carried away in a ditch. Every kind of a barrel which would hold oil was brought into service. Finally, a wooden tank, a rectangular box, like a vat, was substituted for the hogshead, and a cooper a few miles away, who manufactured white oak butter tubs, supplied Drake with new barrels made from the same material. At this point' a brief rest may be taken, and the attention of readers directed to the immeasurable results achieved by the experiment which Drake executed at Titusville less than forty years ago. An industry, which for more than a generation has furnished light for the nations, had its begin- ning here. Chemical skill and mechanical invention since Drake's discovery have drawn from the parts of petroleum a large number of highly interesting products of great practical utility and convenience. Upon a conservative estimate, it may be said that since the sinking of the Drake well the total sales of petroleum products of the United States have yielded more than one thousand millions of dollars, and perhaps more than double that sum. It is submitted that the man, who for more than a year was regarded by many of the citizens of Titusville and vicinity as a lunatic for his persistence in clinging to his experiment of boring for oil into the rock, who submitted patiently to derision, exhausting his means, not only for carrying on his undertaking, but for the support of his family, and experiencing as he did the pangs of poverty, the company that had employed him losing confidence in the mode undertaken and stopping his supply of funds — it is submitted OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 381 that the man, whose dogged perseverance succeeded in accomplishing a work of such infinite importance in its results, is entitled to a monument erected to his memory at the spot where the achievement was wrought. It costs no effort to use an invention after it has been made. Many an inventor, while engaged in studying a theory and making experiments to test its mechanical merits, has been an object of ridicule. Until he achieves success, his efforts are regarded as visionary. For a long time Edwin L. Drake struggled against obstacles large and small of a most discouraging character. His associates in the East, who had agreed to supply him with necessary funds, evidently lost faith in the experiment which he was making and finally ceased altogether to send him money. Most of the people at Titusville distrusted the success of his undertaking. He had no financial credit in the community. He could scarcely buy a pound of tea, a sack of flour or a pound of nails solely on his promise to pay. .Deserted by his back- ers and derided by many of the inhabitants of the locality where he was strug- gling with his experiment, with constant uncertainty as to its fate overhanging him, it may be imagined that Drake suffered a mental strain which did actually break down his constitution. There were, however, a few citizens of Titusville, who^ in his sore dis- tress stood by him, aiding him throughout his trials until his triumph came. Two merchants, R. D. Fletcher and Peter Wilson, were especially his stead- fast friends. They endorsed his paper and helped him in other ways. But for such assistance Drake, must have failed. Some years afterward when on a visit to Titusville, while referring in particular to Mr. Fletcher, Drake said: "There was the friend of my life. He it was that saved me." He' had not forgotten Wilson, his other benefactor, when he asked him years later to stand with him in front of the old well for a picture. He would have the photograph tell positively what was due to his friend in need. What a debt does the world owe R. D. Fletcher and Peter Wilson, as well as E. L. Drake! Both Drake and Wilson have long since crossed the dividing river. Fletcher still survives, managing the same mercantile establishment which he founded in Titusville more than forty years ago. It has been urged that Drake ought to have followed up the gpportunities created by his discovery in leasing oil territory and seizing upon other advan- tages, connected with the oil development within his reach. On the contrary, it is said, he permitted others to reap all the benefits of his successful experi- 382 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. merit in boring for oil. In rq>ly, it may be offered that, when Drake finished his well and saw the pump lifting and pouring the liquid treasure into a tank, he was covered with debts. His opportunities for leasing land were no better than those of any other man. He did not patent his method of boring for oil. His invention brought him no royalty. It is quite possible that Drake was not a good business man. Few inventors are. If he succeeded in paying all the debts, which he was owing when he finished his well — as undoubtedly he did — he spent nearly all the rest of his life in straitened circumstances, and at one time in ruined health he suffered with his family extreme poverty, until, when his condition became known, the oil men collectively raised him a few thousand dollars. In 1873 the Legislature of Pennsylvania voted him an annual pension of $1,500, the pension to last until the death of both him- self and his wife. When he moved away from Titusville in the early sixties, he took with him perhaps $20,000, and perhaps more. But if he had carried away $100,000, he might easily have lost it all in unfortunate investments. It was not his fault that nature had not created him a financier. He did stand patiently and heroically on guard until he gave to the world a discovery of infinite value, and for his fidelity to a theory he deserves the honor and grati- tude of mankind. The following biographical sketch, from the pen of Mr. John A. Mather, in his published work of original photographic views, taken by himself, in the early years of petroleum development, accompanied by explanatory notes and observations, is quoted here because of its supposed accuracy : "E. L. Drake, otherwise known as Colonel E. L. Drake, was born at Greenville, Greene County, New York, March 29, 18 19. His parents were respectable farmers, and gave their son a common school education. At the age of nineteen he left home to seek his fortune, which meant go west. At Buffalo he obtained the position as night clerk on the steamer "Wisconsin," running between Buffalo and Detroit, Michigan, and remained with it until the season closed. He then went to Ann Arbor and worked upon a farm about a year. He then obtained a situation as clerk in a hotel at Tecumseh for two years, when he returned to his parents in Vermont. He next went to New Haven, Connecticut, where he served as dry goods clerk for three years, and, hoping to better his prospects, accepted a similar position with a retail dry goods store on Broadway, New York City. Next he got a job as ex- press agent on the Boston and Albany Railroad, at a salary of $50 per month, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 383 and resigned in 1849 to accept another position as conductor on the New York and New Haven Railroad, which he held to the entire satisfaction of his superior officers of that corporation, and only resigned to take charge of the developments on Oil Creek, in Pennsylvania. His friend, James M. Town- send, New Haven, induced him to purchase five hundred shares in the Penn- sylvania Rock Oil Company. This was the beginning of his connection with the business that has rendered his name famous. About this time he married Laura Dow, of New Haven, a young woman of most excellent character, who was ever to him a friend and guide. In 1857, he moved to Titusville to be paid a salary of $1,000 a year by the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, to put down the first artesian oil well, called, after his name, the Drake well. In i860 he was elected justice of the peace for three years. In 1863 he sold his entire property in the oil regions for a fraction of what it was worth, realizing about $20,000, and went into Wall Street speculations, which financially and speedily swamped him. He removed with his wife and family to Vermont and thence to a cottage on the highlands of Navesink, New Jersey. Having had serious attacks of neuralgia of the spine and partial paralysis of the lower limbs, here he suffered for many years, his wife supplying the wants of him and family by her needle. He visited New York ostensibly to obtain a position for one of his sons, where he met and recognized Mr. Z. Martin, of Titusville, who noticed his wretched appearance, donated him a dinner and $20, and cheered him with the hope of getting further help. His dis- tressed condition became known in Titusville, and a subscription was raised of $4,200 by friends and oil producers with a generosity for which they have ever been famed. This fund was committed to the care of IVErs. Drake, who frugally hoarded it, and yet continued to meet a part of the family expenses with the wages of her needle. In 1873 the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a law granting him a pension of $1,500 a year, which he enjoyed up to the time of his death, which occurred on or about November 20, 1880, in the sixty-second year of his age." Mr. Mather, the author of the foregoing sketch, was an intimate personal friend of Colonel Drake, from whom by word of mouth he received verbatim the entire first part of the above narrative, down to the removal to Vermont, following the disastrous speculations in Wall Street. Of the remaining part of the biography, Mr. Mather speaks with assurance, because of the general knowledge of the rest of Colonel Drake's life.. It should be added that the 384 .. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEO'PLE. widow with four children moved in 1895 from Bethlehem to New England, where at last accounts she still resides. The office of Justice of the Peace in Titusville when Drake held it was lucrative, because of the acknowledgment of deeds, when a great deal of property changed hands, following the discovery of oil. Drake probably wrote many conveyances himself, for which he received fees. During this time he purchased from Jonathan Watson twenty-five acres of land in the borough of Titusville. He subsequently sold the same to Dr. A. D. Atkinson, realizing several thousand dollars on the investment. He was also employed for a time by Schieffelin Brothers, of New York, in buying oil for the firm. In the papers left by Thaddeus Stevens at his death, in 1868, was found the draft of a bill, prepared by himself, which he intended to present to Congress, providing for an appropriation of $250,000 for the Penhsyl- vanian, who had made one of the great discoveries in the history of the world. But Stevens went to his grave, and the national government has done nothing in recognition of Drake's remarkable achievement. It is proper now to speak of those who, so far as their names can be ascertained, were employed upon the first oil well. Coryden Redfield had helped Angier in getting oil from the trenches at the oil spring, and he gave some assistance to Mr. Smith. William A. Smith, who superintended the entire operation of sinking the Drake well, was especially well qualified for the work. He was a good mechanic and a man of character. He had gained experience at Tarentum and Salina, where he lived, in drilling artesian wells. Drake was very for- tunate in procuring the services of so good a man. When the inflow of water drove him from the pit which he and his men were digging toward the rock, he undoubtedly concurred with Drake as to the use of a soil pipe for overcom- ing the difficulty. They used the best pipe they could find ; but, as previously stated, it was too light. Then Smith constructed a pattern for casting a heav- ier pipe. A thicker pipe was cast, and it answered the purpose. After drilling several wells in different parts of the oil region, he retired to his farm in But- ler County, where he continued to reside the remainder of his life. He was born in Butler County in 1812. He died July 27, 1890. His three sons, James P., William B. and Samuel B., assisted in drilling the Drake well. They were all born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, respectively in 1837, 1839 and 1843. The second son, William B., now lives in Rochester, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 385 New York. The other two continue to reside in Titusville. James lives on West Elm Street, between First and Second streets, and Samuel at the corner of Elm and Third. One day, while pumping the Drake well, William Smith, the father, lighted a match, which ignited the gas in the atmosphere, causing an explosion and conflagration, which destroyed everything combustible on the premises. A piece of timber fell upon the safety valve, and the result was an explosion of the boiler. A flying missile struck James upon the back, severely laming him, and leaving a bunch as large as a hen's tgg between his shoulders, which he carries at the present time. When Mr. Smith and his son James came out of their shanty at the well on the Sunday morning, August 28th, and saw the oil bubbling over the mouth of the conductor, he said to James : "Jimmy, run up to town and tell Mr. Drake to hurry down and see the oil." James made haste in going to Drake's house and delivering the message. He found Drake sitting down to his breakfast. He told James to take a chair and wait till he was through with his meal, when he would harness his horse and carry him back to the well. As soon as he had finished breakfast, he hurriedly hitched his horse to a carriage and rapidly drove with James to the well. James says that when Drake arrived, and saw the oil actually flowing from the hole, he was like one inspired. That anxious, weary, painful look, which for months his coun- tenance had worn, suddenly disappeared, and he walked erect, his stature seemingly two feet higher than it had ever appeared before. The following entries in Mr. Smith's own handwriting are copied from a small account book, which he carried in his pocket while employed on the Drake well. Because they were in his pocket, they escaped the fire above spoken of. In this fire, James, the son, lost a diary which he was then keep- ing. The records copied from Mr. Smith's book are as follows : May 14, 1859. Mr. Drake, To making boring tools the full set, 2 spear boxes, 4 spear pins, 16 sucker joints, $1.50, $46.00 2.50 4.00 24.00 $76.50 25 386 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. On the next page is the following : "May the 20, 1859. Commenced work for Mr. Drake." And then follows an entry for each day's work done continuously for the next several months, at $2.50 per diem. On another page are found credits, without dates, as follows : Cash from Drake, 20 in cash. 20 in cash. 25 in cash. 10 in cash. 20 in cash 95.00 50.00 in cash. 50.00 in cash. 200.00 in cash. 232.00 in cash. 627.00 Another name deserves mention. Samuel Silliman, a landmark, who spent the greater part of his life in Titusville, a highly respected citizen, built the derrick, engine house, the shanty which the Smith family temporarily occupied as a residence, the walking beam and other parts of the wooden structure of the Drake well. Mr. Silliman a few years ago went West, and he is now living with his wife at Spokane, Washington State. Both he and his wife are octogenarians, he having reached the age of eighty-six, and his wife eighty-two. Jonathan Locke, of whom subsequent mention will be made in these pages, had a turning lathe in a saw mill near the Drake well. He repaired tools and some other work in his shop for the drillers. The general excitement which followed the success of Drake's experi- ment may, in a measure, be imagined. The wonderful discovery became almost the universal subject of conversation. Mr. Smith, who had skimmed a few gallons of oil a week from salt water at Salina and Tarentum, was astonished to see thirty barrels a day from a single artesian well. Mr. Angier had succeeded in dipping half a dozen gallons a day from his trenches. But Drake had tapped the fountain of supply in the rock. Noth- ing like it had ever before been known. There was then no end to speculation OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 387 as to the limit of the product. At this point, with only one well sunk, the location of -oil below the surface was a question of uncertainty. It was not doubted that in the Oil Creek valley the product existed in abundance. Sur- face manifestation at the first was the guide in selecting the spot for sinking an oil well. Drake very naturally had located his oil well at the oil spring on the Willard farm. The practice of following surface indications for locat- ing wells continued several years. But now for a long time past the omni- present "wild-catter" has blazed the path leading to the oil producing terri- tory. At first certain kinds of rock upon the ground, as well as oil upon the surface, were thought to indicate the existence of oil below. But in time it came to be known that no kind of surface evidence was to be relied on. The test is the drill sunk hundreds of feet into the earth. Almost immediately after it became known that the Drake well was pumping from twenty to thirty barrels of oil a day, many parties hastened to obtain leases of property on which to drill wells. Jonathan Watson leased the ground containing an oil spring near Rouseville. Mr. Bissell leased a large amount of territory. The second well sunk, following the Drake, was owned by William Barnsdall and William H. Abbott, of Titusville, and Henry R. Rouse and Boone Mead, of Warren.' It was upon the James Parker farm, within the borough limits of Titusvill'e, not far from where is now the Burgess Steel Works. The well was "kicked down." It was begun in September, 1859, and finished February 18, i860, at a depth of one hundred and twelve feet. It had a production of fifty barrels of oil a day. The third well was owned by William H. Abbott, William Barnsdall, P. T. Witherop and David Crossley. It was situated near the present' Boughton station of the W. N. Y. & P. Railroad, perhaps hklf a mile from Drake's well. This well was also "kicked down." It was finished March 14, i860. This well had a depth of one hundred and sixty feet, and it started pumping at sixty barrels of oil a day. Another well was sunk in •i860 on the John Watson farm by Watson and Tanner. It produced one hundred barrels of oil a day. The "kicking down" process employed in the early days of drilling oil wells may here be described. The mode was practical where light tools were used and the depth of the well only a few hundred feet, as was the case in territory worked in the first period of oil development, where the oil-bearing 388 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. sand was rarely reached by the drill lower than six hundred feet below the surface of the ground. Operators in those days located wells in valleys, ravines, by water courses, or sometimes on the plains, and not on the sum- mits of high land, as is done now, in some cases for the sole purpose of obviating the necessity of driving soil pipe. When engines and boilers first came into use for drilling purposes the tools were still light, and the wells still shallow, as compared with the T:ools in general use and the wells sunk in the last twenty years. The use of casing, begun over thirty years ago, required an increase of the caliber of the artesian well. Deep wells and speed in drilling required a large increase in the weight of tools. The sets of drilling tools employed in the early sixties, as compared with those now used in the Alleghany Mountains, are like pygmies in the presence of giants. ' The "kicking down" appliance consisted of a spring pole of considerable size and sufficient strength for the purpose, and an attachment at the small end of the pole, which held the tools suspended vertically. The large end of the pole_was fastened firmly to perhaps a tree, while the high stump of another tree was used as a fulcrum, upon which the pole midway rested. The tools were hung to the small end of the pole by a chain or rope, so as to have in the suspension free play, in order to get a strictly vertical line for the tools in their descent. Attached to the upper end of the rope or chain was a flat piece of solid wood, which passed upward through a correspond- ing flat mortise in the pole. This piece of wood was bored with holes, per- haps an inch apart, or more. A strong movable pin, passing through one of these holes, supported on the top of the pole the entire string of tools. As the drill descended into the hole, it was gradually lowered by drawing out the pin and slipping it into another hole, higher upon the stick. When the last hole in the perforated slat had been used, a short joint of sucker rods was inserted between it and the chain or rope below. When the last hole of the slat was reached the second time, a longer joint of sucker rods was substituted for the shorter ones. Then, as was the practice at first, a string of sucker rods, piece by piece introduced, connected the tools and the attachment at the pole, until the drilling was finished. But ex- periment led to the use of a strong rope, instead of a string of sucker rods, for letting the tools down into the well. Afterward the temper screw came into universal use in drilling, and this appliance is likely to continue. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 389 Near the small end of the pole a chain or rope was attached, and to this saddle stirrups for the feet of the workmen, two or three in number. The drillers placed each a foot in the stirrup and by a sudden simultaneous kick downward the pole was bent, letting the tools with the steel edge drop into the hole and cut the rock, the elasticity of the pole lifting the tools back into their place. In this way, round holes, a few inches in diameter, were cut vertically into the rock, to the depth of about one-eighth of a mile. Instead of a stirrup, a platform, fastened on one side by a hinge, was also used. To the opposite side was attached a chain or rope, connecting with the small end of the spring pole. The workmen, standing upon the platform near the hinge, suddenly stepping together and throwing their combined weight upon the opposite side, bent the pole and let the tools drop, when the pole would spring upward and lift the, tools for a succeeding drop. In driving soil pipe for a well, where there was no steam engine, a horse was employed in raising the battering ram. Horses were also used for motive power in drilling, walking in a circle, or upon a treadmill, as in the old style of threshing machines.' The engines and boilers first used in drilling and pumping oil wells were stationary. The boiler at the Drake well had two flues. But portable engines and boilers afterward came into general use in the business. The engine was placed upon the top of the boiler, but it could be detached and placed upon another bed, when by reason of too close exposure to the fire it became necessary to move the boiler to a place of greater safety, or from any other cause. Sometimes gas has risen unexpectedly out of the well, and, igniting from the fire in the furnace under the boiler too close at hand, the whole rig has been burned. At the present time the boiler is put intO' a safe place before the rise of gas can occur. The wooden tanks first used iti holding oil were not the truncated cone-shaped ones, bound by iron hoops, which afterward were generally adopted, but rectangular boxes held together and made liquid tight by clamps fastened by keys. The object of the foregoing minute descriptions is to put on record an accurate account, as is believed, of the methods employed in the early days of petroleum production. In th£ summer of i860, when the price of oil was falling, a settlement was made in which the Seneca Oil Company surrendered its lease, receiving 390 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. therefor a small part of the Willard farm. George H. Bissell was the purchaser, and the price named was $50,000. But, when it is remembered that Eveleth & Bissell had bought the Willard farm from Brewer, Watson & Company for $5,000, while the price named in the deed was $25,000, it might be suspected that fiction in this transaction was resorted to. Mr. Bissell became a heavy operator in oil property, and doubtless he operated with highly lucrative results. But, that he originated the method of boring into the rock, which was executed by Drake, the only successful mode for obtaining petroleum in quantity, is highly improbable, since such a claim is wholly wanting in support from the records of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, and those of the Seneca Oil Company, from first to last. The credit of- discovering Drake's method of producing oil is due to Drake him- self. Of the dozen wells which Mr. Bissell put down on the Willard farm only one-half were paying producers. Even at $5 a barrel it ^would have taken a long time for them to earn $50,000. It is probable that the total sales of oil produced on the property have not aggregated $25,000. The developments for the first few years, after the striking of the Drake well, on Oil Creek, between the Willard farm and the Foster fanti below, as a whole were light. On Watson Flats the yield of oil has been considerable. The wells there, though small, have been numerous. The quality of the oil produced there is excellent for refining purposes. During the first five years following Drake's discovery, the amount of oil discovered within the vicinity of Titusville was important. In giving some account of the oil operations of Titusville citizens, it will be imjxissible to name all, and difficult to mention definitely what each has accomplished. The aim will be to refer to the work of representative operators who have made Titusville their home, and are prominently identi- fied with the history of the town. The name of John Fertig is first introduced, because Mr. Fertig repre- sents all periods of the oil producing business, beginning a few months after Drake's discovery, and continuing actively engaged in the industry every year until the present time. A special biography of Mr. Fertig appears in this work, but a reference to his oil history is pertinent here, because of his work at the very beginning of the industry. His subsequent operations have been constant in Crawford, Venango, Butler, Clarion, McKean, War- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 391 ren and Allegheny counties, this State, and the Allegany district in the State of New York. To say nothing of producing companies, in which he has been interested, John Fertig has been an oil producer for thirty-nine years and, outside of producing companies with which he has been connected, he has been engaged as an individual in the drilling of more than two thousand wells. Captain A. B. Funk, who afterward became a resident of Titusville, in the fall of 1859 came into^ possession of the upper and lower Mcllheney farms, on Oil Creek, seven or eight miles below Titusville. In December, 1859, Funk executed a lease of several acres on the upper farm for oil pur- poses, to John Fertig, David Beatty and Michael Gorman, of Warren County, and Dr. John Wilson, of Pleasantville. The next spring the four lessees, using a hemlock tree for a spring pole and the "pole tools" — that is, the sucker rod connection between the tools and the spring pole — sunk a well on their lease on the upper farm, to the depth of two hundred feet, but, finding no oil at that depth, they abandoned the well for the time. Captain Funk, in the same summer, sunk a well with a spring pole on the lower farm, also two hundred feet, without finding oil. He decided in the following fall to procure an engine and boiler with which to drill the well deeper. At that time it took months for purchasing and placing well machinery, which now would be done in as many weeks, or perhaps in as many days. In the spring following Funk, having obtained the engine and boiler, increased the depth of the well two hundred and forty feet, making the total depth four hun- dred and forty feet, when he opened a flowing well, the first flowing well ever struck. This was in May, 1861. The well flowed one thousand bar- rels of oil every twenty-four hours. Immediately thereafter Fertig and his associates placed an engine and boiler at their well, which they had left as a dry hole, on the upper farm, pushing operations until the fourth of July following, when the same depth as that of the Funk well, that is, four hundred and forty feet, was reached. Mr. Fertig himself had hold of the temper screw, when he felt the drill drop into a crevice. The fire under the boiler was immediately extinguished, but not a minute too soon, for with a roar the oil shot upward far above the derrick. The well started at five hundred barrels a day, and it flowed for the next nineteen months. When the well began its production oil was selling at $1.50 a barrel, but before the close it sold as low as twenty-five cents a barrel. This was the second flowing well. The first was called 392 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. "Fountain Well No. i," and the second, "Fountain Well No. 2." The latter was about six hundred feet south of the Sherman well, struck in May, 1862, on the Foster farm. To the northeast was the Noble well, on the Farel farm, about six hundred feet. This latter well was opened in 1863. These three wells — Fountain No. 2, the Sherman and the Noble — formed almost an equilateral triangle, the wells situated respectively at the three angles. Both the Noble and the Sherman wells were wonderful producers, and their products, especially the oil of the former, sold for a very large amount of money. The Sherman well had a long life, and it gave to J. W. Sherman, from whom it was named, a resident of Titusville, a fortune. Mr. S. S. Fertig, another resident of Titusville, drilled the Noble well, and he owfied an interest in it. Mr. William H. Abbott, another resident of Titusville, had a large interest in it. Excepting perhaps some of the wells struck in late years in the McDonald district, the oil from the Noble well sold for more money than that of any other American well. In drilling the Noble well, Mr. S. S. Fertig used an engine and a boiler built by Tifft & Sons, at Buffalo, New York. These engines for many years afterward were widely used for well purposes. Mr. Fertig had pre- viously drilled the Caldwell well, a dozen rods lower down Oil Creek, fin- ishing it in March, 1863. He finished the Noble well on May 23d following. Both the Noble and the Caldwell were on the east side of Oil Creek, while the two Fountain wells and the Sherman were on the west side. The Cald- well was yielding several hundred barrels a day, when the Noble well was struck. But the Noble got its oil, and its production immediately fell to an insignificant quantity. Within five minutes after the pumping began in the Noble well, the oil rushed out of the tubing with terrific force. The fire under the boiler was put out in the shortest possible time. An eight hun- dred barrel tank, the only tank at the well, was quickly filled. Connection was made to an empty tank, a vat eighty feet long, sixteen feet wide and eight feet deep, belonging to the Caldwell well, and this large receptacle was £lled in less than twenty-four hours. Before the well was finished, Mr. Fertig had purchased of the Farel heirs, James, John, Nelson and Sai-ah Farel — since married to Mr. W. B. Sten-ett — one-half of the royalty, which was one-fourth of the oil, for $600. This one-eighth free interest in the production of the Noble well3/[r. Fertig re-sold, before the well was struck, to Woods & Wright for $1,000, and Woods & Wright may have realized OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 393 on this purchase $250,000. The Farel heirs, the owners of the land, after- ward became permanent and well known citizens of Titusville. Nearly all oil from the Noble wells sold for very high prices. From this time John Fertig has been a leading member of the oil fraternity. Mr. J. A. Cadwallader, a resident of Titusville for a generation, has had a remarkable experience as an oil producer. He began in the Church Run field about the year 1865, having purchased in the fall of 1864 from Dr. John Shugert a tract of that section of one hundred and twenty-four acres. His was the second producing well in the Church Run territory, the Atlantic & Great Western Petroleum Company having opened the first. His well produced for a long time forty barrels a day, giving assurance of a good paying pool of petroleum in that district. After following the producing business at Church Run, and in the Pithole and Pleasantville districts, Mr. Cadwallader turned his attention to the refining industry with Bennett & Warner, erecting large works on the Mackey farm south of Titusville, on the line of what is nOw known as the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. He resisted year after year the aggressions of the Standard Oil Company, and, as stated else- where, the Bennett & Warner refinery in 1875 passed into the possession of the Standard Oil Company. In 1876 he entered into the producing business in the Bradford field. The Anchor Petroleum Company, consisting of J. A. Cadwallader, John D. Archbold, Samuel Comfort, H. Y. Pickering and T. P. Chambers, was organ- ized, with Mr. Cadwallader as manager. After several years of successful work he was instrumental, in connection with the Vandergrift interest and W. H. Johnson, of Buffalo, in organizing the Anchor Oil Company. About this time Cherry Grove came to the front, and through the untiring efforts of Mr. Cad- wallader, its manager, the Anchor Oil Company secured three of the best lots in that phenomenal field. Mr. Cadwallader had the gauge of the first fourteen wells drilled in that field, and was able to certify that their aggregate produc- tion was 16,000 barrels a day. Up to that time not one dry well had been drilled. As manager of the Anchor Oil Company Mr. Cadwallader bought in the initial well on the Cooper tract. Closely following the latter field he helped to open the Glade Run district near Warren, with several gushers. And then, advancing up the Allegheny River, an eight hundred well of his on the Morrison farm, just above Kinzua village, broke the market. Taking a respite from so much active work, he spent several months with his wife in 394 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Europe. On his return he heard that a well had been found on the Normal School grounds at Clarion. Thither he went on the first train. After varied results for several months, while good wells and dry holes alternated, all the little band of operators left the field except Mr. Cadwallader, whose close study and minute observations convinced his judgment that the most pro- lific part of that territory had not been touched. Accordingly he set the drill to work again, and, when five feet of the sand had been penetrated, seven hun- dred barrels a day was the output. This was followed by several other large producers. With this extraordinary success in territory which, until this time, had been considered at best as doubtful, the inhabitants of Clarion borough came to regard Mr. Cadwallader as possessing almost superhuman sagacity in judging of undeveloped oil territory, and so strong is their con- fidence in his judgment in this respect that, should he build a derrick in almost any part of Clarion County, people there would expect a producing well at the spot selected. Of late the McDonald district, Groveton and other fields, some of ordinary importance, have claimed Mr. Cadwallader's attention. Mr. S. P. Boyer has lived in Titusville many years. He came to Oil City in 1865, and at first engaged in the lumber trade there. In the fall of the same year he drilled near Reno a well which proved to be dry. In 1866 he went to Pioneer, and drilled a well on the Benninghofif farm, and succeeded in getting a good producer. He continued operations in that locality until the fall of 1868, when he went to Shamburg and sunk a well, which turned out to be a paying one, on the Tallman farm. The next year he drilled several more wells on the same farm and on the Chicago tract, and several wells near Pleasantville. In December the same year he moved his residence from Oil City to Titusville. In 1870 he drilled a few wells on the Atkinson farm, and on the McGuire and Kerr farms on Church Run. In the same year he became a shareholder in the Octave Oil Company, a producing and refining association. In 1871, he drilled wells on Bully Hill, Venango County, and operated on the Grant and Robinson farms, near Parker's Landing. The next year he drilled wells on the McClymonds farm, near Karns City and Modoc. In the same year, and the next following, 1872 and 1873, he drilled wells near Millerstown and St. Joe, continuing operations there until 1874. In 1875 he went to Bradford for the first time. Development there was then in its infancy, only one well showing oil. Be- ginning soon afterward, he was extensively engaged in producing in the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 395 Bradford field until 1882. During this time he was a shareholder and was Secretary and Treasurer of the Equitable Pipe Line. To escape discrimina- tion in freight rates by rail to the seaboard, the Equitable shipped its oil by rail to Buffalo, New York, and thence the rest of the way by canal. In 1882, in company with several others, he put down six wells in the Cherry Grove district. In 1886 he became largely interested in the Kane field and in several locations in Elk County. In a part of his operations in that region he was associated with David Emery, E. O. Emerson and James H. Cald- well, and in another part with H. B. Porter and M. W. Quick. In 1890 he was one of the incorporators of the Ohio' Oil Company, and operated in Allegheny and Washington counties. In 1892 he operated in the Lima field, and in 1894 he sold his property there. Since 1893 he has been en- gaged in production at Sistersville and other fields in West Virginia and ■Ohio until the present time. The Tack Brothers, an old and well known firm, consisted of Theodore E., August H. and Frank Tack, natives of Philadelphia. Theodore was once a resident of Titusville, and Frank has lived in Titusville nearly all the time for a quarter of a century. Augustus died in 1893. The business of the firm was founded by Theodore, who opened an oil brokerage business in Philadelphia in 1863. He was soon afterward joined by Augustus. They purchased for exporters refined oil from Pittsburg manufacturers, and, to facilitate their business, they opened a branch office in Pittsburg. At that time Pittsburg manufactured the largest part of refined oil then produced. Proximity to the producing fields, cheap coal and superior facilities for mak- ing barrels gave to Pittsburg refiners a decided advantage over those at other points. But after a time discrimination in railroad freights against Pitts- burg refiners seriously injured their business. Soon after the establishing of the brokerage business, Augustus, representing the firm, engaged in the pro- ducing business in West Virginia. He purchased the famous large well on Horseneck, taking up territory there and on the OhiO' side of the river. From 1869 to 1874 the firm engaged upon a large scale in the refining busi- ness at Pittsburg, but still keeping their office in Philadelphia. The refining association was known as the Citizens' Refining Company. Their works had a crude capacity of one thousand barrels per day. The Pittsburg re- finers still suffered from discrimination against them in railroad freights, and the Citizens' Company went out of the business. Theodore and Frank 396 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. opened a brokerage business at Parker soon afterward, and about the same time Augustus engaged again in producing. He subsequently, in connec- tion with David Kirk, Albert Dilworth, John Shirley and Isaac E. Dean, purchased the property at Bullion, known as the McCalmont farm. This was a very fortunate investment, the farm yielding a heavy production of oil. Then followed the formation of the McCalmont Oil Company, and the merging of the properties belonging to Kirk & Dilworth with those of Tack Brothers. Since then Tack Brothers continued actively engaged in produc- tion, in connection with the McCalmont Oil Company. Theodore, who is Secretary and Treasurer of the McCalmont Oil Company, resides in New York, while Frank, until quite recently, was still living at Titusville. A short time ago, however, he moved to Chicago. Charles L. Gihbs, for years a resident of Titusville, has been engaged in producing during the last twenty years. In 1877 he had four wells at Wentling's Corners, near Edinburg, Clarion County, one on Jefferson Fur- nace tract, and on the Jerusalem tract. In 1880 he had at Bakers' Trestle four wells; in 1881, four at Bell's Camp; in 1882 twelve at Meek's Creek, all in the Bradford field. In the Bolivar, New York, field he had eight wells at Henry's Switch and one near Allentown, in 1884. In the same year he opened a salt well at Naples, New York, while drilling for oil or gas. In 1886, at Cogley Run, Clarion County, he had an interest in twelve wells, and in 1887 he had at Kinzua five wells. In 1888 he had at Salina, near Oil City, three wells. In 1896 he had in Ohio, opposite Sistersville, West Virginia, five wells. From 1889 to the present time_he has had fifteen well^ at Grand Valley, Pennsylvania. He has at this writing sunk one well in the English Settlement district, and is engaged in putting down another. Miles W. Quick is an old resident of Titusville. Soon after the close of the late Civil War, in which he had served four years in the signal corps of the Union army, he engaged first in the oil refining business at Cleveland, Ohio. He came to Titusville in 1868, and in 1870 engaged in producing in the Church Run district, and from that time until the present he has been actively engaged in production in many of the fields from Allegany, New York, to Mannington, West Virginia. From 1872 to 1873 he was with D. McKelvey & Company, in the producing business, with B. D. Benson & Company, with the Enterprise Oil and Lumber Company, and the Colorado OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 397 Oil Company. In the latter year he engaged in the commission business in the Titusville Oil Exchange. James Hi Caldwell, long a resident of Titusville, came to the oil region in 1865. Soon afterward he engaged in drilling oil wells. He had two wells at Pi thole in 1865. After two years work in the business, with vary- ing fortune, he was finally successful in 1867, in company with Lewis Emery, in sinking a paying well on Lot 62, Foster farm, Pioneer, the well starting off at one hundred barrels a day. At Pioneer he became a member of the oil firm of Emery Brothers -& Company.- The company was quite successful in its ventures. In 1868 the company procured the Walter Scott tract, near Pleasantville, and Ross farm, between Shamburg and Titusville, buying both. In 1869 he settled with his family in Titusville, while still interested in oil production. In 1870 he operated with Emery Brothers on Church Run. In 1 87 1 -2 he operated on the Sedgwick and Campbell farms at Ar- gyle. In the fall of 1873 he moved to Butler County and devoted himself to oil producing for the next four years with excellent success, on the Barn- hardt. Cradle, Divener and Easterling farms. In 1877 he returned to Titus- ville, where he has since continued to reside. That year he got a large pro- duction at Bullion. In the early eighties he drilled in the State of Colo- rado three wells, one of which, the last drilled, proved to .be a fine producer. From 1878 to 1883 he operated in the Babcock and the Bingham lands in McKean County, and at Garfield and Stoneham, Warren County. During the last fifteen years he has been closely associated in producing oil with Mr. S. P. Boyer. A special biography of Mr. Caldwell appears elsewhere in these pages. R. H. Lee is an old resident of Titusville. His operations in produc- tions have extended in different districts and at different periods. His best success was perhaps achieved in the Bradford field. As an oil man, Mr. Lee is best known to the public in connection with the history of refiners. James P. Thomas has been a prominent citizen of Titusville for years. He began operating for oil in 1869, on Church Run, and he has been con- tinuously engaged in producing since that time. His work has been in Butler, Venango, Crawford, Warren and Forest counties. He is at present interested in over one hundred wells. James R. Barber is a landmark in Titusville. He was intimately ac- quainted with Edwin L. Drake during all the latter's residence in the town 398 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. which he made famous by his wonderful discovery. In the fall of 1859, soon after the sinking of the Drake well, Mr. Barber, in company with J. K. Hibbard and J. W. Mclntyre, leased a part of the John McClintock farm, adjoining the Buchanan, where now is Rouseville. They at first dug a pit in the bank of the creek about six feet long and four feet wide, down to the bed rock. Then they pumped the water out of the hole. As the water afterward soaked in, it brought with it globules of oil. After the pit filled and the surface of the water was covered with oil, they laid flat upon the oil a woolen blanket, which of course absorbed the oil. Then they wrung the oil out of the blanket into a pail, or small tub. In this way they got about eight gallons a day. Oil then was worth about a dollar a gallon. They sold the first barrel of oil to Captain Hiram Hill, who kept a grocery store near the present Academy of Music, on Spring Street in Titusville. The barrel held about thirty gallons, for which Hill paid $25. They next sold a half interest in the well to Brewer, Watson & Company, and John Kellogg. They got a man named Davis and his son to "tramp" a well down, using a string of tools from Tarentum, which had been used there in boring for salt. When they reached, with the spring pole appliance, a depth of one hundred and twenty-two feet, they struck what was afterward known as the first sand. Here gas appeared, and the hole filled with oil. They thought they had struck a good well. So they tubed the hole and shut off the water by a seedbag. This was at about 5 p. m. Then they pumped for a short time with the spring pole. On returning the next morning they found that the well had flowed during the night about six barrels of oil. The oil lay in the hollow of the ground. The weather was cold and the oil was so heavy that it was thick as cold lard, so that it was collected by shoveling it with a scoop. After pumping for a day, very little more oil was got. So the tubing was pulled out, and drilling continued. At about the depth of two hundred feet a mud vein was struck, which gave trouble to the drillers, until a large gas pipe, brought from Philadelphia, was put into the hole, thus shutting out the mud. This was the first casing ever used in an oil well. Drilling was continued down to two hundred and fifty feet, when more gas and oil were struck and this time the company felt sure they had a good well. So they got a boiler and engine, retubed and again pumped the well — this time by steam. After pumping about two weeks and getting one hundred and fifty barrels, they decided to sink another well two hundred feet higher up on the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 399 Creek. They therefore engaged two men from Ohio, who had experience with the .drill in prospecting for coal, and contracted tO' pay them $1.50 a foot, the drillers to go down three hundred feet, if necessary. But the drillers had trouble in reaching the rock, as at that point it dipped sharply to the north and, instead of reaching it at six feet below the surface, as in the case of the first well, they had to go down twenty-one feet. To exhaust the water as they dug down, they first put in one pump, then another, and still another, until they had five pumps at work. As they pumped the water into the creek, oil went with it, making a large showing upon the surface of the stream. The progress of this work was so slow and apparently little effect- ual, that Mr. Barber became almost discouraged, and he was in a mood to throw his interest away, or give it to anyone who would take it off his hands, when just at this time, in June, i860, three men, Orton, Kimball and Prendergast, from the State of New York, came along and, seeing so much oil on the surface of the creek, they stopped and inquired of Mr. Barber as to who was the owner of the well. He replied that he owned one-sixth of it. They asked him' at what price he would sell his interest. Not sup- posing that they seriously desired to buy, and, to end the talk, he named as his figure $4,000, when, to his surprise, they promptly accepted the offer. They then went with Mr. Barber to Titusville, where he executed to them a bill of sale. The money which they paid him included $1,000 in gold. In 1872 and the year following, Mr. Barber operated at Triumph, War- ren County, and afterward in Butler County. He subsequently, in company with Mr. Fred Crocker, leased one thousand acres on the McQuen property, in McKean County. The character of the sand there was so different from what had been found in other fields that Mr. Barber sold to Crocker his machinery for an .interest in another well, which the latter had put down on the Buchanan farm. This well turned out to be a good one, and it was followed by a rush of operators into the Bradford field. Hugh O'Hare, who has been a resident of Titusville for the last quarter of a century, was born in 1841 in Canada, in the county of Lenox and Addington, Province of Ontario. He came to Petroleum Center in the fall of 1864. He worked on wells at Wild Cat Hollow on the Stack- pole farm, at Boughton Switch, near Titusville, in 1865, on the Hyner farm, Pithole, the same year, at West Hickory in 1866, and at Skinner farm the same year, and above Bull Run he drilled one well for Dr. Egbert, when C. 400 OUR COUNTY AND ITS TEOL'lAi. N. Payne was superintendent of the farm. In 1867 he got employment of Dr. Shamburg, superintendent of the Pittsburg Cherry Run Petroleum Com- pany. In 1868 he got from the company several leases, and he soon came to own important interests in various wells, which were in process of drilling, becoming associated with William H. Abbott, Joseph Dixon, Thomas Weaver and Charles Lockhart. The first of these wells finished and producing was No. 8, on Sheridan farm, early in May, 1868. Mr. O'Hare sold his inter- est to Mr. Lockhart for $14,000. In the same summer he, together with Abbott, Dixon and Weaver, bought the Murray farm of ninety-six acres, and five hundred acres of the Walnut Bend tract, adjoining the Hyde farm, in Cherrytree Township. They also leased twenty acres on the Purtill farm, in the Octave district, on which they drilled one well, which yielded some oil, but not enough to pay for pumping. In 1869, Mr.^O'Hare, with J. D. Mc- Farland, James Seeley and George .Weaver, on a lease from the Shamburg Petroleum Company, sunk what was known as the Lady Stewart well. The first oil got from this well was dark in color and small in quantity. He then drilled the well about seventy feet deeper, into another sand, which gave in green oil for some time a yield of over two hundred barrels a day. The others in the vicinity who were getting black oil, sunk their wells deeper, but with varying success. A. H. Bronson was especially successful in the undertaking, while Emery & Patterson were less fortunate. Between July, 1869, and 1 87 1 Mr. O'Hare bought several small wells from Dr. Shamburg and a Mr. Messimer. In the fall of 1871 he sold them tO' Paul W. Garfield. In 1872 Mr. O'Hare and Dr. Shamburg bought one-half of the McLaughlin well at Cash-Up for $24,000. Then, with S. P. Boyer and Dr. Shamburg, he bought the land on which the well was situated for $45,000, the land in- terest drawing three-eighths of the oil as royalty. Then he and Shamburg bought Boyer's one-third interest in trust. The two remaining partners next drilled the well deeper. The first day after the well was deepened, it responded in a yield of one thousand four hundred and sixty barrels, and for forty days thereafter it averaged one thousand barrels a- day. Mr. O'Hare subsequently operated in Butler and Clarion counties. He has now a production on the old James Parker farm from several small wells. It will be remembered that the Barnsdall well on this farm was the next well struck after the Drake, late in 1859. John A. Mather, who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Drake, and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 401 his devoted friend during the years of the latter's residence in Titusville, operated in the fall of 1865 on the-Morey farm at Pithole, in company with George M. Mowbray, J. J. Sutter and John C. Goetchins, but without suc- cess. In 1869 he bought the Morton well and lease, on the Walter Holm- den farm, at Burnside Bridge on West Pithole Creek. He drilled on the lease two more wells. He continued developments several years longer, and had the distinction of operating the last wells at the famous Pithole. Mr. Mather has been a resident of Titusville for nearly forty years, and he is now one of the few surviving landmarks of the place at the time when Drake opened petroletim to the inhabitants of this planet. Milton Stewart, a resident of Titusville for the last thirty years, began operations in producing in 1862. In the spring of that year, in company with three or four others, he made an effort at development on the Boyd farm. Oil Creek, for a year and a half, but without successful results. In 1865 he operated a little at Pithole and at Petroleum Center. Also in the spring of the same year he secured the first lease of "Wild Cat," on Pioneer Run, and, with the aid of other parties, completed a well in the following November. He continued to operate in that vicinity in 1866 and 1867. In the winter of 1867-8 he became interested in buying and operating on the Tallman farm at Shamburg, also in development on the Wood and other farms in the Petroleum Center district. In 1869 and 1870 he operated at Red Hot. and on Church Run, also a little at Fagundas. In 1871 he helped to organize the Octave Oil Company. The original members of the com- pany were S. P Boyer, Emery Brothers, M. Stewart, Roger Sherman; I. E. Blake and D. O. Wickham. The operations of the company were mainly carried on in what is known as the Octave district, south of Titusville, but they also extended to some interests at Karns City, Butler County, and at Cash-Up, near Pithole. In the spring of 1875 he commenced operations on the Robinson and Thompson farms south of Titusville. In 1877 ^^ ^" came interested with others in the Bradford field at Duke Center and on Indian Creek. Also during the same or the following year, with three other parties, he secured a large lease at or near Clarendon, Warren County, and drilled there a test well, which was reported to be dry. In 1880 to 1882, in company with George P. Kepler, he drilled several wells on the northern and southern, -and later on the western, edges of what subsequently devel- oped into the Grand Valley field ; also during those years and afterward he 26 402 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. became interested in operations on different tracts in the Sheffield district, Warren County. In 1883 to 1885 he operated north of Church Run at Windfall and in the Gilson district, and later at several points south of Titusville. From 1890 to 1893 he was connected with the Orion and the cLiontinental Oil companies in their work in the lower southwest fields. In addition to the foregoing, he has drilled numerous "wild cat" wells. Since 1883 he has been interested in, and has given more or less attention to, oil operations in California. B. D. Benson and R. E. Hopkins, many years prominent citizens of Titusville, who, until the death of Mr. Benson a few years ago, were always, from the first, closely associated together in all the various branches of the oil trade in which they engaged, were large producers. They came in May, 1865, from Onondaga County, New York, to Enterprise, Warren County, Pennsylvania, and to Titusville soon afterward. Their first purchase was a part of what was then known as the Rouse estate, comprising seven hun- dred acres, not far east of Enterprise. This purchase was for some time not productive, until 1868, when success came, and Benson and Hopkins organized what was known as the Colorado Oil Company. Additional pur- chases of adjacent territory gave them for several years a fine production. They were joined at about this time by David McKelvy in a close partner- ship, known as D. McKelvy & Company. In 1869 they operated quite ex- tensively • in the Pleasantville black oil district. Subsequently, following the trend of development, they became largely engaged in Butler and Arm- strong counties, also in Warren County in the vicinity of Warren, in the Wardwell district. Subsequently they early took part in the development of the Bradford field. During the years of 1875 and 1876 they managed the Columbia Conduit Company, which at that time was the only pipe com- pany using pipe of larger dimension than three inches diameter. As their in- terest in the stock of this company was nominal, and the parties holding a majority of the stock, thus possessing control of the plant, having arranged -■ with the Standard Oil Company to transfer their interest, Benson and Hop- ■ kins did the same with theirs. Immediately following this, they organized what was known as the Baltimore Pipe Line Company, with a view of build- ing a line from Parkers to Baltimore Bay. This scheme involved an outlay of nearly $3,000,000, and the capital of the originators being inadequate, they depended largely on aid from business men of Baltimore. The latter OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 403 were too timid to embark in such an undertaking in opposition to the Stand- ard Oil Company. And, as such aid could not be got, the enterprise was abandoned, after an expenditure of nearly $100,000 for right of way. Since 1880 the firm of D. McKelvy & Company gradually withdrew from the pro- ducing business, and for many years since the company has had no interest in production, excepting some small royalties. John J. Carter, who has been a resident of Titusville since 1865, has a . very interesting record as an oil producer for the last twenty-one years. He was in the gentlemen's furnishing trade from 1865 to 1877, when he sold his business and engaged in oil production in the Bradford field. He had had, however, a little experience in oil development in 1868 in the Pleasant- ville district. His first well in the Bradford field was on the lower Her- dic tract, on which was afterward Derrick City. He next bought the Alfred Whipple farm, on Kendall Creek, of three hundred acres of land, near where was afterward Sawyer City. This property has been highly productive, and it is still producing oil at a profit. Mr. Carter's books show that \;he farm has already yielded nearly a million and a half barrels of oil. In 1878 Carter, in company with B. N. Hurd, bought of Marcus Brownson a prop- erty at Bell's Camp, known as Lot 14, and Pettinger. The price of the property was 65,000 barrels of oil, to be delivered within the next two years. The property at the time of this purchase was yielding three hundred bar- rels daily. The investment proved to be a profitable one to the purchasers. Carter and Hurd- bought still another producing property of Brownson near Riterville, McKean County. Carter then bought out Hurd, and in 1886 he purchased of Porter and Gillmor Lot 6, and in 1888 he bought valuable adjoining properties. In 1879 Carter and Ramsey bought the Rew and Hodge farms, near Knox City, McKean County. They also bought other interests in the same vicinity. In 1881 Carter bought Ramsey's interest in the properties, which continue until the present to yield oil in paying quan- tities. In 1 88 1 Carter and Boden bought on the west branch of Tuna Creek an extensive producing property, composed of the Blair, the Davis and the King farms. In 1884 Carter bought Boden's interest. The property is still producing. Carter, in 1883, bought the C. B. & H. tract, a small produc; ing property, and in 1884 he bought Lot 31, a somewhat larger producing property. The former of the last two properties has been abandoned, but the latter is still producing. Another producing property was bought in 404 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1885, the Chamberlain tract, owned by Bovaird & Seyfang. In the same year Fertig & Company and Carter acquired in the Cogley Run field the Shippen lands, Rickenbrode and Gibbs farms, in all about six hundred acres. On this property the purchasers drilled eighteen wells, which gave a pro- duction of two hundred and fifty barrels a day. In 1886 Carter bought Fertig & Company's interest. He subsequently sold the property to ^Vater- house & Company. In 1886 he bought of William Ley at Grand Valley his farm of one hundred and seven acres, with three producing wells, and put down himself twenty additional wells. The farm is still producing. In 1886, the Saybrook, a producing property, was purchased of E. O. Emer- son, and sold the next year. In 1887 Carter acquired the Keatley farm, consisting of two hundred and forty acres and three small producing wells. The property, after sinking five additional wells, has failed to satisfy the expectation of the purchaser, and development on it is being closed out. In 1887 the Hickory property was bought of Dr. Shamburg, consisting of the Fogle, the Manross, Stufflebeam and other farms, containing three thousand two hundred acres, with forty producing wells yielding forty barrels a day. Sixty more wells have been drilled, and the area of the property increased to four thousand acres. On this property is established the famous River- side Stock Farm., owned by Mr. Carter. It may safely be predicted that this property will continue to yield oil in paying quantity for the next quarter of a century, and probably longer. In 1888 Lots 9 and 10, Elk Courtty, were bought by Mr. Carter, new oil territory. The venture has proved highly profitable. In 1889 Carter bought of the Enterprise Transit Com- pany four hundred and twenty-seven acres of its land at the head of Harris- burg Run, and upon this property he has operated extensively. Connected with this tract was the Rogerson piece, having fifty acres in fee. This property also was purchased. Adjoining still further was the Williams, Smith and Davis property, which Mr. Carter at the same time bought. These properties are still producing. On all the properties bought from 1877 to 1890 there were at the time of purchase collectively two hundred wells, yielding an aggregate produc- tion of one thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven barrels a day. Between 1877 and 1890 there were drilled on these properties, since their respective purchases, three hundred and eighty-five wells, making five hundred and eighty-five wells, all told. .There were sold at various times and abandoned OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 405 eighty-five wells, leaving five hundred producing wells at the present time. These five hundred wells are located on six thousand four hundred and forty- eight acres of land, in fee for the most part. These properties have produced in the last twenty-two years, three million six hundred and thirteen thousand, forty-three barrels 6f oil. To gather and operate these properties the fol- lowing expenditures have been made, to-wit: To a'mounts paid for original purchase $ 771,500 To amounts paid for drilling and supplies. . . . 775,000 To amounts for maintaining and raising oil . . 903,260 Total outlay $2,449,760 The average cost therefore of producing these three million six hundred and thirteen thousand, forty three barrels of oil has been about sixty-eight cents a barrel. It should be understood that the greater part of the above expenditure, together with the greater part of the oil produced, was prior to 1 89 1. Since that time there has been a decrease of yield, until now, when it is about half of what it then was. Between 1890 and 1892 Mr. Carter added no territory to his holdings. He has never operated in Butler, or Washington, or Allegheny, or Greene County. In the winter of 1892-3 he began an extensive purchase of options of oil territory in the Sistersville, West Virginia, field. On the first of May following, he formed the Carter Oil Company, under the laws of West Vir- ginia, subscribing for the whole capital stock of one million dollars, having previously sold to the Standard Oil Company sixty per cent of his purchases in the Sistersville field. In April, 1895, he sold the remainder of his inter- est in the Carter Oil Company to the Standard Oil Company. Since then he has continued President and General Manager of the company. Since its organization the company has largely increased its holdings and develop- ment. It has now nearly one thousand producing wells located on more than ten thousand acres of land. William H. Wood, long a well known citizen of Titusville, has had an interesting experience as an oil producer. He came to the oil country in the spHng of 1863, from Waterloo, New York. He came by way of Union City, where he visited an uncle, Mr. Wood, of the firm Wood & Johnson, manufacturers of barrels at that place, who subsequently had barrel works in Titusville, on the flats, where the radiator works now are. His first work 4o6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. in oil was to build a refinery on the Pattersoii farm, on Bull Run. His un- dertaking resulted favorably, and he sold his works in the summer of 1864 with a very fine profit as a whole. He then turned his attention to land speculation, and was fortunate in his investments, and prosperity seemed to mark all his work for several years afterward. He operated extensively in company with the late H. L. Taylor. In September, 1867, he bought the George E. Zuver farm, two miles east of Pleasantville, and operated it for the next eight years. He drilled seventeen wells on the farm, and sold it in 1875. During the period of Mr. Wood's work as a producer he has drilled wells on the Farel, the John Stevenson, the John Benninghoff, the James Tarr, and the Hess farms, on Oil Creek; at Shamburg, Gas City, and in Butler, Armstrong, Warren, McKean and Forest counties. He has pro- duced and sold oil at forty-five cents, and at ten dollars, per barrel, and at all prices between these extreme figures. Jesse Smith, a prominent citizen of Titusville, began work in 1865 by sinking a well, a dry hole, on Hammond Run. He next, in company with the McCray Brothers, put down four wells on Church Run. Next, in com- pany with the same parties, he leased and operated the William Henderson farm, in the Church Run field, drilling five wells on the property, which were fairly good producers. During this time he and Jonathan Watson sunk several wells, nearly all of which turned out to be dry. He was interested in a well called the "King of the Hills," on the Stevenson farm, near Petrol- eum Center. Mr. Smith had charge of the well. It yielded three hundred barrels of oil a day for some time. He had at Tidioute interests in wells, which he sold to the McCray Brothers. He then, in company with Jona- than Watson, bought a producing property at Foxburg, on the Allegheny River, for $20,000. This was in 1875. The investment proved to be a good one. The firm name of the property was "Watson, Smith & Son." Then Watson's interest was bought by the others and the firm name changed to "Smith & Son," who afterward sold the property, and purchased another of J. H. Caldwell at Stoneham, near Warren, which they are still operating. Fisher P. Brown, an old resident of Titusville, in 1868 had three wells on the Brown and other farms, in the Pleasantville district. In 1872 he had on Triumph Hill three wells. In 1873 he had on the Noble farm, on the flats, near the Hunter wells, three wells. In 1891 he had five wells on the Hasson farm, near the English Settlement. In 1892 he had on the Kress OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 407 farm, fourteen wells; on- the Ziegenheim farm, seven wells; on the Williams, three wells. Ii; 1894 he had on the Lowson farm one well, and one addi- tional well on the Williams in 1895. These last twenty-six wells are lo- cated in McCandless Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Frank S. Tarhell, who has lived in Titusville many years, may be classed as a pioneer operator. He came to the oil' country in the fall of 1859. His operations first were in the vicinity of Rouseville. From i860 to 1874 he manufactured wooden oil tanks uj^wn an extensive scale. For the first five years after the beginning of the oil producing business, only wooden tanks, either for receiving oil at the wells or for storing it, were used. Iron hoops cost ten cents a pound. Tanks holding from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred barrels were erected at prices ranging from thirty to seventy-five cents a barrel, according to location. To deliver tank lumber from Rouseville at Pithole cost one dollar per thousand feet. Mr. Tarbell made tanks by ma- chinery and he kept them in quantity on hand, to meet especially sudden strikes of oil. Until 1865 there was neither an iron storage tank nor a pipe line; so that the wooden tank builders for several years had a harvest, and made money. After 1865 Mr. Tarbell operated variously on Oil Creek, on Cherry Run, at St. Petersburg, Clarion County, at Karns City and other places in Butler County. Then after the opening of the Bradford field he operated extensively in that locality for years. In 1885 he operated on the Drake district, owned by the Drake Petroleum Company, of Philadelphia, in Tract 149, Grand Valley. In 1889 he began operations near Neiltown, and con- tinued work there for a few years. The McKinney Brothers, prominent citizens of Titusvill^ for many years, occupy a high place in the ranks of oil producers, both as to the length of time and extent of operations and the quantity of oil produced and sold. John L. McKinney, the older brother, began piroducing in i860, and he has since been continuously engaged in the business until the present time. James C. McKinney, the other brother, joined him in the work in 1863, and since then the two have been associated in a close partnership, which has been con- stant until the present. To enumerate their operations, in anything like minute detail, would require much greater space than the limits of this work would permit. It is not necessary. It may be comprehensively stated that the McKinney Brothers have been engaged in the production of oil in every field east of the Mississippi River. They have produced and sold as much oil 4o8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. as any other individual firm in the history of petroleum production. For sixteen years they were extensively interested with H. L. Taylor, John Sat- terfield, John Pitcairn, Jr., and T. S. McFarland in the producing business. McKinney Brothers have been interested, as principals, in more than one hundred thousand acres of oil producing territory. They continued in individual operations until the years of 1888 and 1889, when they closed out in a sale of all their producing plants to the Standard Oil Company, with which they have since been associated in merged interests. John L. McKinney is the president of the Midland Division of the South Penn Oil Company, and J. C. McKinney is its general manager, having the direction of nearly five thousand producing wells, extending from Allegany County, New York, to Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. For further information the reader is referred to special biographies of ^he two brothers which appear elsewhere in this work. OTHER PRODUCERS. The foregoing account of operations by a few Titusville producers is furnished for the purpose of indicating, by the examples thus cited, the char- acter of the work done by a large class of Titusville citizens since the discovery of Drake in 1859. The names of some others, residents of Titusville, well known as operators in oil, will now" be mentioned. Frederick Crocker was one of the striking figures for a generation of the prominent producers, who have chased new fields of development with 'untiring perseverance. In the early years of production he invented a check valve, to facilitate the action of the well pump. The appliance was exten- sively used. Mr. Crocker produced a great deal of oil on Oil Creek. He was a pioneer in the Bradford field. He afterward operated in the lower counties, and died in February, 1895. His remains were brought to Titusville, and in- terred in Woodlawn Cemetery. Jonathan Watson, one .of the fathers ol oil production, was a member of the noted firm. Brewer, Watson & Company, that, as previously mentioned, sold the Willard farm, containing the oil spring where Drake subsequently sunk his well. Immediately after Drake's discovery, Mr. Watson began oil development, and continued at the business nearly all the rest of his life. He amassed a large fortune, which came perhaps more from successful deals in OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 409 territory than from his oil production. In Jater yfears he lost a great deal money in sinking experimental wells. Marcus Brownson, one of the best knoAvn operators in production, left his mark in many fields. Most of his work was attended with excellent suc- cess. Some of his later ventures were less fortunate. But as a whole, his career as an oil producer may be regarded as a prosperous one. A. H. Branson was for a time a dashing and powerful operator, and for a time was highly successful in the Shamburg field. But, with many others, he was hurt by the exceptionally low price of oil in 1873. From his reverses at that time he never fully recovered. He was ^ ever brave and persevering, but fate frowned upon him. Dr. G. Shamburg made a fortune in the field which took its name from him. He also suffered from low prices in 1873. In later years he collected in the Hickory district a large oil property, which, as previously mentioned, he sold to John J. Carter. Frank W. Andrews, W. W. Thompson and D. H. Cady, from their achievements in producing oil at Pioneer and Shamburg, became oil princes. Lyman Stewart, brother of Milton Stewart, also made a fortune in pro- ducing oil in the same fields. He, together with Andrews, invested a large amount of money in the early part of 1869 in the Yost manufacturing plant at Corry, Pennsylvania. Lyman Stewart sunk, in that investment, $300,- 000, and Frank W. Andrews, $500,000. Andrews operated afterward in McKean and Elk counties. Both he and Cady died several years ago. Stew- art moved to Los Angeles, California, and he has for several years past been engaged in producing -oil in that state. W. W. Thompson is at present pro- ducing oil in West Virginia. Emery Brothers were successful producers in the Pioneer and Sham- burg fields. In 1 87 1 they participated in organizing the Octave Oil Com- pany, to the management of which David Emery gave his personal attention. Lewis Emery, Jr., in 1875 and y6 began the foundation of his subsequent extensive producing business in the Bradford field. He has since had large producing interests elsewhere. He has also been la,rgely engaged in the refin- ing industry. He is at the head of the United States Pipe Line Company. To the protracted and persevering efforts of Lewis Emery, Jr., is mainly due the enactment of a free>pipe law in Pennsylvania, against the opposition of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which in the Legislature of the State has for a 4IO OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. long period been regarded as omnipotent. A special biography of David Emery appears elsewhere in this work. A. N. Perrin, many years a resident of Titusville, was long an oil pro- ducer. His operations began in the sixties on Oil Creek. He was subse- quently engaged in the field of Armstrong and Butler counties, and after- ward in the Bradford district. He was an officer in the Tide Water Pipe Company. John Satterfield was another operator. He was extensively engaged, especially in close connection with H. L. Taylor, in many fields. The Union Oil Company, whose operations were directed by Taylor & Satterfieki, was an important factor, with its pipe lines, in the oil trade. But ultimately all the oil plants of the firm were absorbed by the Standard Oil Company. Both Taylor and Satterfield were once impressive figures in the oil trade. Both are now dead. But their memories survive. H. B. Porter for years was a very active producer. His principal opera- tions were in McKean, Elk and Warren counties. A. P. Bennett began the work of producing at Pithole in 1865. About the year 1877 he acquired producing interests in the Bradford field. A. S. Ralston was a very successful producer at Tidioute over thirty years ago. Since then he has resided in Titusville. He brought his capital with him, and gave to the community a very fine business block. He has done a little producing from time to time in light territory, outlying from the town, and he owns territory in the vicinity upon which he is postponing operations until more remunerative prices for oil are realized. W. B. Benedict, the present Mayor of Titusville, brought in the first well, in the Enterprise field, in the summer of 1865. Although the supply was small, the quality of the Enterprise oil was excellent — better even than Church Run oil — for refining purposes. Since 1865 Mr. Benedict has done not a little in oil producing. Mr. Benedict, when a young man, was badly burned at the oil explosion on the Buchanan farm in April, 1861, which killed Henry R. Rouse, the philanthropist of Warren County. Charles H. Ley and John D. Ley have been fairly successful in oil pro- duction. George P. Carr for several years past has done a good deal of successful work in producing in the lower fields. John J. Sharpe has a record for good fortune in the producing business. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 411 S. S. Henne has acquired a fortune as a producer. He is said to possess excellent sagacity and judgment in discerning the indications of producing territory. Charles S. Barrett was formerly engaged in oil production for many years. C. F. Lake has made some money in producing in the lower country. Dr. J. L. Dunn, though a practicing physician, has first and last done some work in boring for and lifting crude petroleum. James Farel and Nelson Farel, who thirty-five years ago, by operations on the Farel farm, including the celebrated Noble well, were made rich, have saved their wealth, and they are still prbducing oil. James J. Donehue has operated in many fields. He is at present produc- ing in West Virginia. James P Crossley, who has long been engaged in producing oil, is at present at work in West Virginia. The third well struck, calling Drake's the first, which, as previously stated, began producing March 14, i860, after not a very long life, was abandoned. In 1872 it was resuscitated, yielding a good production for about twenty years longer, until the great fire and flood in the early part of June, 1892. Mr. J. P. Crossley had charge of this prop- erty during the late period of its existence. W. J. Booth has had considerable experience in oil production. E. 0. Emerson has become wealthy in producing oil. He has operated in many fields. In late years Mr. Emerson has been largely engaged in fur- nishing natural gas to consumers in Pittsburg and Bradford, and perhaps in some other towns. J". N. Pew, a former resident of Titusville, has charge of Mr. Emerson's gas business. The late William T. Neill, whose remains have rested in Woodlawn Cemetery twenty-five years, was one of the ten original stockholders of the "Tidioute and Warren Oil Company." That company was organized at Tidioute in i860. Its capital stock of $10,000 .was divided into ten shares of $1,000 each. Twenty-five years ago the company had divided among the stockholder.': $1,200,000. William H. Abbott, in the early development of petroleum, took an active part. As already stated, he helped to sink both the Barnsdall and the Crossley wells, the second and third wells' drilled after the Drake, in the fall and winter following. 412 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. William Barnsdall has been engaged in the producing business nearly ever since his first venture on the James Parker farm in the fall of 1859. But his son, Theodore N. Barnsdall, a Titusville boy, has achieved re- markable results. The extent of his operations is probably greater than that of any other individual oil producer to-day. One more name will close the list. Some Titusville producers entitled to recognition may have been accidentally overlooked. The number of such omissions is, however, certainly small. The task of collecting the information herein presented has not been a light one. Charles Hyde, of whom more will be said in another part of this work, in the early sixties amassed great wealth in the production of oil. The Tidi- oute and Warren Oil Company, the tenth of whose stock he owned, as above stated, paid big dividends. But the fountain which discharged money into his vaults was the Hyde & Egbert farm. When Mr. Hyde, in the spring of 1866, moved into the mansion now occupied by his son, Louis K. Hyde, at the corner of Main and Franklin streets, he was a multi-millionaire, and good fortune has continued to accompany him. ENGLISH SETTLEMENT. Included in the oil history of Titusville some notice may be made of a late development in the vicinity. In 1890 an oil belt was opened in the Eng- lish Settlement, in Rome Township, a few miles northwest of Titusville. The belt begins on the Hummer farm, and runs directly north, with little varia- tion, three and one-half miles, with a width of three- fourths of a mile. Some drilling at the present time extends the belt northward. So far, • at the present writing, one hundred and fifty wells have been drilled, of which over one hundred and twenty are still producing. The depth of the oil bearing rock below the surface of the ground in the valleys is six hundred feet, the thickness of the producing rock being from twenty-eight to thirty- two feet. All the wells produce salt water with the oil. Sufficient gas is saved to furnish fuel for pumping purposes, when the wells are connected with pumping apparatus, and several wells are pumped by a single power. By means of this connected apparatus, each operator employs only one man for pumping all his wells, few or many. • Beginning at the south end of the field, Arthur Mandell & Co. have fif- teen wells on the Shaw and Hummer farms, drilled in 1891 and 1892. The OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 413 depth of these wells is six hundred and fifty feet, the thickness of the produc- ing rock, thirty feet. The daily yield of these wells was at first from ten to forty barrels. Their production now is about three-fourths of a barrel each. One man pumps the whole by the combination process. Moon & Hooker own twenty wells on the Harrison and Gibson farms, drilled in 1890 and 1891. The distance ,to the sand rock is six hundred and fifty feet, its thickness about thirty feet. The daily production at the be- ginning was ten to twenty-five barrels. These wells are all pumped by one man with the combination system. Carene Harrison has on his farm nine wells, drilled in 1893 and 1894, all average wells, and still producing. R. Corson has ten wells on the Dunlop farm, drilled in 1890, '91 and '92. Their average depth is six hundred and fifty feet. The first well produced one hundred barrels a day for some time. Its production now is about the same as that of the other nine — one-half to three-fourths of a barrel daily. ■•These ten wells are all pumped by one man. Kendall & Stewart own three wells on the R. E. Rendall farm, drilled in 1892. They are all producing. U. C. Welton owns twenty-three wells, located on the Dunlop, the Ren- dall, the Dalzell & Co., and the Nesbit farms, drilled in 1890, '91 and- '92, except two on the Nesbit farm, which were sunk in 1895. Eighteen of the wells are pumped all by one man. William Foreman owns three wells on the Harrison farm, drilled in 1 89 1, all now producing. ' ' T. Rigby has four wells on his own farm. They are all yielding about one-half a barrel each day. J. J. Sloan has six wells on the Harrison farm, drilled in 1891-92. Ope well started at fifty barrels a day, pumping that amount several months. The wells now average about one-half a barrel daily, each. Harrison Brothers have eight wells on the Harrison farm, drilled in 1891 and '92. T. N. Barnsdall owns five wells on the Hasson farms, drilled in 189 1. The wells are still pumping. E. O. Emerson owns wells on the Hicks and Selden farm, drilled in 1891 and '92. Mr. Morris has six wells on his own farm. The Spartanburg Oil Com- pany owns four wells, drilled in 1897. 414 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. OTHER SMALL DISTRICTS. Small wells have been found in late years in the southeastern part of Oil Creek Township, extending into South West Township, Warren County, within a few miles of Titusville. There is still some production in the Octave district. It may be stated that there has never been heavy production at any point in the immediate vicinity of Titusville. The Church Run field, which was opened in 1865, produced considerable oil for several years. There are still a few small wells in that section. There was opened a small pool of oil near Enterprise in 1865. It is not unlikely that small veins of oil will still be discovered, for a long time to come, perhaps in the neighborhood of Titusville; but only light production should be expected. PIPE LINES. In 1864 a pipe line between the Sherman well on the Foster farm to Miller Farm, a station on the Oil Creek Railroad, a few miles south of Titus- ville, was laid, for the purpose of pumping oil from the well to the station, for shipment thence by rail to market. Cast iron pipe was used, the connect- ing joints of which were packed with lead. The experiment failed from the want of ordinary mechanical skill in properly packing the joint so that, on trial, the pipe leaked badly, and the undertaking was abandoned. It is now known that oil can be successfully forced through cast iron pipes, the same as water, by high pressure, without leaking. But the expense of using cast iron pipes in an ordinary oil line, running over rocks, through ravines, on the bed of streams in deep water and over mountains- would be greatly in excess of that 'in the use of wrought iron pipes. It was doubtless fortunate for the oil trade that the experiment referred to resulted in failure. Otherwise a large amount of money upon lines of greater length, upon rougher ground than that between the Sherman well and the Miller farm, might have been wasted, before the discovery of a less expensive and by far more convenient pipe. Mr. Samuel Van Syckel understood the advantages of the wrought iron pipe for an oil line. And accordingly in the summer of 1865 he laid a two- inch line of wrought iron pipe from Pithole to Miller farm, a distance of about six miles, and forced oil through it by pump pressure at the rate of sixty barrels an hour, or more, successfully proving the practicability of trans- porting oil long distances through pipes by hydraulic pressure. It has since been demonstrated that oil can be transported hundreds of miles through an OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 415 iron pipe of a diameter from three to ten inches, more economically and with greater safety than by rail. To Mr. Van Syckel must be given the credit of inventing the mode of oil transportation in quantity over a long distance through iron pipes by hydraulic pressure. It is not necessary to say that he first conceived the idea of the process. It is not certain that any distinguished inventor was the first to think of the particular mechanical contrivance, with which his name is known to the public as its author. The identical idea, more or less distinct, at different periods perhaps, may have disturbed the brain of several individ- uals. The real inventor of some advantage in mechanics is the one who has first put into successful execution, to a practical result, his original mental conceptions upon the subject. Samuel Van Syckel did all this. His in- vention has conferred infinite benefit upon mankind. In building his pipe line. Van Syckel had borrowed money from the First National Bank of Titusville, and to^ secure the debt he had hypothe- cated his interest in the line. Failing to make payment he was obliged to surrender his interest to the bank. The bank assigned the interest to Jona- than Watson, who immediately turned the property over to William H. Abbott, the real purchaser, who thenceforward for a considerable period of time operated the line alone, and thence laid the foundation of what after- ward became the Pennsylvania Transportation Company. In 1866 Henry Harley finished the pipe line from Benninghoff Run to Shaffer Farm, then a station on the Oil Creek Railroad, about six miles south of Titusville. After Mr. Abbott had purchased the Van Syckel line, he entered into partnership with Harley, under the firm name of Abbott & Harley, the firm owning and operating together the lines which each had held individually. The outcome of the partnership was the Pennsylvania Transportation Company, with a large capital. Among its shareholders were Jay Gould and Thomas A. Scott. It piped oil from the producing districts of Triumph, Hickory, Pleasant- ville. Red Hot, Shamburg, Benninghoff and Pioneer, and delivered it at Miller Farm and Titusville. It received a blow from the effects of which it never" afterward recovered, in the change of management of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad in 1871 and of the Erie in 1872. At the time Gould acquired an interest in the Pennsylvania Transportation pipe line Fisk and Gould controlled both the Erie and the Atlantic & Great Western roads. 4i6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. They were at the head of the Erie, when that road, by a lease, had posses- , sion of the Atlantic & Great Western. In 1870 a railroad was built from Titusville to Union City, a station on the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad. Fisk and Gould were the principal owners of this new road, which had been built for the purpose of making it a feeder, especially in oil freights, of the Atlantic & Great Western and the Erie roads. The object was to give busi- ness to the Pennsylvania Transportation Company from the wells to Titus- ville, and the railroads from Titusville to New York, making a continuous line from the oil wells to the seaboard. If this connection had remained undisturbed for several years afterward, the business of the Pennsylvania Transportation Company would probably have been highly prosperous. But in the summer of 1871 Mr. James McHenry, then a resident of London, came to this country, clothed with power from the leading English share- holders and bondholders of the Erie and Atlantic & Great Western roads, to terminate the lease which the former held of the latter, and he did put an end to the lease. He made General George B. McClellan, the distin- guished commander of the Army of the Potomac, in the late Civil War, President of the Atlantic & Great Western, and General Harry F. Sweetser, for many years a resident of Titusville, its General Manager. This change was very disastrous to the interests of the Permsylvania Transportation Company. Almost immediately afterward Gould sold the road connecting Titusville and Union City to the Oil Creek Railroad. These changes were highly injurious to the business of Titusville. The direct connection by the broad gauge roads with New York in the East, and with Cincinnati and St. Louis in the West, under one management from Cincinnati to New York, was of incalculable advantage to a town situated as Titusville then was. It brought to Titusville the United States Express Company, and gave to the inhab- itants the benefits of competition in the prices of local express transporta- tion. The subsequent loss of this competition has proved a serious loss to the citizens of the place. But the misfortune first felt came from the harm done to the pipe company, upon whose prosperity depended, in no' small measure, the prosperity of the community. To cripple this industry was to hurt Titusville financially. The outlet of the pipe line was obstructed by breaking its continuous line to the place of market. The Oil Creek road was then under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which also' had the Philadelphia & Erie among its leased lines. Henceforward the Union & OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 417 , Titusville road became the feeder of the Pennsylvania Trunk Railroad. The Pennsylvania Transportation line, soon after the close of the lease of the Atlantic & Great Western to the Erie, was still more crippled by the ousting of Gould from the control of the Erie, by another move of McHenry. When this was consummated, the once powerful Pennsylvania Transportation Company, in all whose previous work was seen the active energy of William H. Abbott, was forced to deliver the oil which it piped to its competitors. All Mr. Abbott's extensive enterprises were bound up in Titusville, and when the pipe line was badly hurt by the loss of its connection with friendly inter- ests, Titusville suffered. And it is the justice of history to say that the splendid prosperity which the town had enjoyed since the founding of the Pennsylvania Transportation Company began its decline soon after the Erie Railroad lost its lease of the Atlantic & Great Western. The Pennsylvania Transportation Company continued to lose strength until the great rise in the price of oil, in August, 1876. It then began to show signs of distress. To make good its outstanding certificates, it bor- rowed money. It may be suspected, though perfect evidence to the effect be wanting, that the market, during the embarrassment of the Pennsylvania Transportation Company, was designedly worked in such a manner as to add to its troubles. At any rate, the company was obliged to succumb, and in October following Mr. M. W. Quick was appointed by the Crawford County Circuit Court its receiver. Mr. Quick's management of the com- pany's affairs was excellent. He continued its pipe line business in the coun- ties of Crawford, Venango and Armstrong for the next four years, when, at the foreclosure of mortgages upon its property, he wound up its business and turned over a large fund for distribution among the creditors. The TiHisvilie Pipe Line was laid from Pithole to- Titusville in 1866, by Brian Philpot, George J. Sherman and Henry E. Pickett. They soon afterward sold a one-half interest to the Empire Transportation Company, and the other half to another party, who in turn sold to the Empire com- pany, thus putting the latter into entire possession of the property. The new proprietors organized under the title of the "Titusville Pipe Company." Mr. Charles P. Hatch was superintendent of the company for several years. The line took oil from Pithole, West Pithole, Red Hot and Pleasantville, and delivered it at Titusville. The New York Pipe Line was built in 1871 by Mr. Andrew B. How- 27 4i8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. land, of Titusville, for the Empire Transportation Company from Garland, Pennsylvania, a station on the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, thirteen miles from Corry, to the producing districts of Triumph and West Hickory. In 1872 this line and that of the Titusville Pipe Company came together at Colorado, and, as they were owned by the same company, they were united and operated under one management, Mr. Rowland becoming General Super- intendent. In 1877 the entire property was sold to the Standard Oil Company. Other lines in the section of the country west of the Allegheny River as far as Titusville, extending south so as to embrace Hickory and Shamburg, and still westward so as to include the Octave district south of Titusville, were absorbed also by the Standard at about the same time. All these lines were merged into one system, afterward called the Tidioute and Titusville Pipe Lines. The Church Run Pipe connected the Church Run wells with Titusville. It was built in 1867 by A. A. Pierce, J. Foster Clark, F. W. Ames and A. R. Williams. The quality of Church Run oil was superior even to that pro- duced on Watson Flats, and it was therefore sought for by refiners. In 1879 production on Church Run became so light that the company took up its pipe and sold it. The Valley Oil Line, Limited, was orgsmized in 1887. J. W. Miller was President of the line, J. P. Thomas, Treasurer, and F. S. Tarbell, Sec- retary. It brought oil from Grand Valley and from Shamburg to the re- fining works of the International Oil Company at Titusville. The National Oil Company, at Titusville, also had a pipe line of its own for supplying itself with crude oil. These lines went respectively with the two refining establishments in the sale to the Standard in 1895. The Producers and Refiners Company laid a four-inch line in 1892 from the McDonald district, through the Butler field, to Oil City and Titusville. In 1893 the United States Pipe Line Company laid a five-inch line from Oil City to Titusville, thence to Warren, thence to Bradford, and thence to Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, a distance of two hundred and seventy miles. Through this line refined oil only was transported. But at Warren it was joined by a four-inch crude line, the pipes of both laid in the same ditch, the two running side by side the rest of the way. The contents of both lines have been gradually extended, though resisted at every step by railroads and rail- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 419 lOad influence, until now Hampton Junction, in New Jersey, has been reached, whence to the seaboard only forty-three miles remain. Beginning at Wilkesbarre, the New Jersey Central Railroad has taken the oil from the advancing termini of the two lines and carried it the rest of the way to the seaboard. The carrying of refined oil through iron pipes a long distance was first tried by the United States Pipe Line Company, five years ago. Previous to this experiment it had generally been doubted that refined oil could be forced through iron pipes, without injury to the color of the oil. The test for the last five years proves that refined oil thus carried is improved, rather than injured, both in fire test and color. There ought never to have been a question as to the improvement of the fire test, by putting refined oil through iron pipes. But it might have been feared that the color of the oil would suffer from this mode of transportation. On the contrary, it is found that the color also is benefited. The traces of sul- phuric acid which remain in all oil treated by the ordinary process are re- duced to some extent by forcing the oil under high pressure into contact with the inside surface of the iron pipe. A part of th^ remaining acid attaches to the iron, forming the oxide. To this extent danger of color to the oil is removed. There is also a trace of alkali — very small, it is true — remain- ing in most refined oil heated in the ordinary way. After a part of the acid has gone into the oxide, the remainder is crowded, by pressing the oil through the pipe, into contact with the trace of alkali, thus neutralizing the remaining trace of acid, and by the general effects of this operation the acid is rendered less injurious to the color of the oil. The Tide-Water Pipe Company, Limited.' — Because of the fact that this company, from the time of its first organization down to within the last three years, had its headquarters at Titusville, and also because its leading founders and managers for a long time had their homes here, it is proper to' give in this work some account of the institution which was the pioneer in the business of transporting by pipe crude petroleum from the producing wells to the seaboard. The company was organized at Titusville, Pennsylvania, on November 13, 1878. Its first officers were as follows : Managers, B. D. Benson, A. A. Sumner, R. E. Hopkins, H. L. Taylor and John H. Dilkes. Mr. Ben- son was chosen Chairman, Mr. Hopkins, Treasurer, and David McKelvy, 420 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Attorney. J. G. Benton was appointed General Superintendent, which po- sition he still occupies. In the construction of the line, which was soon begun, the managers were confronted with great obstacles. At that time there were no statutes, which now exist, for the appraisal and condemnation of land for giving to an oil pipe company the right of way. This was obtained for the Tide- Water Line only by lease or purchase at great expense. The line, however, was completed as far east as Williamsport about May i, 1879, the eastern terminus of the line for the next two years. At the election for managers in January, 1880, F. B. Gowan, the Presi- dent of the Reading Railroad, and James R. Keene, of New York, were chosen to succeed Stimner and Dilkes in the Board of Managers. At this period close alliance was made with the Reading Railroad, and the line was extended sixty miles to Tamanend, thus materially reducing railroad charges. Subsequently it was finished to the sea, at Bayonne, New Jersey, where the company had valuable property fronting on the deep water of the Kill Von Kull, and included in the port of New York, making the entire length of the main line two hundred and eighty-five miles. Bayonne is still the eastern terminus of the pipe line. Here the com- pany has a large refinerv, with a crude capacity of three hundred thousand barrels a month, which manufactures most of the products of petroleum, giving employment to over one thousand men. The original plan was to construct a line with an annual capacity of two million barrels of crude; but for a long time the output has been consider- ably in excess of three million barrels a year. Until within the last three years the principal business of the company was conducted at Titusville. Since then Bradford, has the principal offices. Of those active and prominent in the early life of the company, and conspicuous in its service, many have passed away, among them Mr. B.'D. Benson, who remained President of the company until his death in 1888; also Mr. Gowan, Mr. A. N. Perrin and Mr. Taylor. Out of that original Board of Managers, Major Hopkins alone survives. He is still a member of the board, and is still its leading spirit. Upon the death of Mr. Benson, Mr. McKelvy was chosen as his suc- cessor, which position he held until 1893, when ill health required his with- drawal. He was succeeded by Mr. S. Q. Brown, who is the present Presi- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 421 dent of the company. Associated with him in the management are Major Hopkins, R. D. Benson, H. C. Fahnestock and J. H. Cuthbert THE REFINING INDUSTRY. The first refinery in the oil region was built at Titusville on the James Parker farm, by William -H. Abbott, who came here from Newton Falls, Ohio, in i860. He began the construction of the refinery on November 4, i860, and finished it in January following. It had two stills, of twenty barrels each, and one of forty barrels capacity, eighty barrels in all. Mr. Abbott induced Mr. George M. Mowbray, a chemist of distinction in New York, to come to Titusville in 1862, and erect a refinery near the corner of Spring and Brown streets. Long rectangular vats were the tanks used for all kinds of oil. The manufacture of illuminating oil from coal was in full blast of operation when Drake made his discovery. Samuel Downer had coal oil works near Boston, Massachusetts. The Portland Kerosene Company had a coal oil refinery at Portland, Maine. Mr. Downer was not slow in discov- ering that petroleum was likely to supplant coal oil, and so' he built a petro- leum refinery at Corry, Pennsylvania. The Portland Company converted its works into a petroleum refinery. In 1868 Mr. James A. Hooper came to Titusville and continued to act as a purchasing agent for the Portland Com- .pany until his death, in the fall of 1872. During this time he built a house on North Perry Street and brought his family tO' reside here. After his death, his son, James M. Hooper, succeeded him in the agency. The term "coal oil" is still sometimes used in speaking of refined petroleum. "Coal Oil Johnny" perhaps never saw a drop of coal oil. Coal oil and petroleum are widely dissimilar. Henry Hinkley, about the spring of 1862, came to Titusville and built a refinery on the James Parker farm, not far from the Abbott works. He was joined by his brother, C. G. Hinkley, and the two, Hinkley Brothers, carried on their works for nearly ten years afterward. They established at Syracuse, New York, a jobbing business in refined oil, of which C. G. Hinkley had special charge. This branch of their trade continued several years. George C. Bartlett about the same time engaged in refining oil, and for a considerable period continued in the business at Titusville. 422 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. A Dr. Bryce, in the early sixties, built a refinery on Spring Hill, on prop- erty now owned by E. O. Emerson, east of Schwartz's brewery. At about the same period A. K. Murray and a Mr. Camp each had a refinery on Ham- mond Run, a little out of town on the East Cherry tree Road. In 1868 a Mr. Bennett operated a refinery on Trout Run, and at the same time a Mr. Bulkley operated the Spring Hill refinery. A Mr. Curtis had a refinery also at the same time on Monroe Street, opposite the Gibbs, Wheeler & Russell Iron Works. B. E. Moreland built a refinery on the south side of Oil Creek about the winter of 1868-9. Jackson & Cluley had a refinery in 1868, on the north side of the creek, on the west side of Perry Street, and opposite that of Moreland. Some years afterward Jackson Brothers, R. M. and John, had a refinery lower down, on the north side of the creek, on Washington Street. Until 1869 only small stills had been used at Titusville refineries. But in August, 1868, Samuel Van Syckel, who had operated a refinery in New Jersey, near New York, broke ground for a refinery for George S. Stewart and Milton Stewart — Stewart & Stewart — on the north side of Oil Creek, between Perry and Washington streets, where are now the Pennsylvania Paraffine Works. Mr. Van Syckel erected in the new works a one thousand barrel still, and one two hundred barrel still. This was the beginning of large stills in the oil country, and the idea of large stills may have originated • in the fertile brain of Samuel Van Syckel. The works began to run about January 20, 1869. The large still was first charged with crude oil costing $3.50 a barrel. But within the next two months Stewart & Stewart bought crude oil for their works at all- points from $3.50 to $6.75 a barrel, and for one small lot of superior oil. Church Run product, they paid $7.00 a barrel. They sold a large amount of refined, delivered in bulk into car tanks at the works, for twenty-four cents a gallon, and in barrels, the padcage included, for thirty and one-half cents. The highest price which they got for refined oil was thirty-one and one-half cents a gallon in barrels. The bull movement in oil in the winter of 1868-9 was started by F. W. Devoe, of New York. A range of high prices for oil continued for about three years afterward. Joseph A. Scott in 1869 bought the oil refinery on Trout Run, and operated it several years. He had previously been engaged in producing oil on Watson Flats. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 423 In the fall of 1869 H. B. Porter and John D. Archbold, at that time members of the firm William H. Abbott & Company, bought an interest in B. E. Moreland's refinery, forming a co-partnership under the name of Porter, Mordand & Company. This was the foundation of the Acme Oil Company, The company increased the capacity of its works to large proportions. The institution was absorbed by the Standard Oil Company in 1875. In the fall of 1869, Henry Hinkley and M. N. Allen, under the firm name of Hinkley & Allen,, built a refinery on the north bank of Oil Creek, a little west of Monroe Street. In the early part of 1872 Hinkley sold his interest to his partner, who continued to operate the refinery until the spring of 1875, when he sold it to Joseph Seep and Daniel O'Day. Pickering, Chambers & Company, in 1869-70, built a refinery on the south side of Oil Creek, immediately west of the Porter, Moreland & Com- pany's works, and operated it for several years, until it was absorbed by the Standard Oil Company. In 1870 George B. Easterly and James H. Davis broke ground for a refinery on the north bank of Oil Creek, immediately west of the Hinkley & Allen works. This refinery also went to the Standard in 1875. In 1869-70 Bennett, Warner & Company built a large refinery southeast of the town, and operated it until they sold the works to the Standard in 1875- In 1872 the Octave Oil Company purchased from Stewart & Stewart the Van Syckel refinery, and operated it until its sale tO' the Standard in 1875- The Acme Oil Company then embraced the Porter, Moreland & Com- pany's works, the Bennett, Warner & Company, the Pickering & Chambers, the Octave, the Easterly and the Allen refineries, all owned by the Standard Oil Company. The Acme continued to refine oil in Titusville until the early eighties. The great oil fire which occurred in the summer of 1880 wrought a fearful destruction to the Acme's property, and the former active opera- tions of the company at Titusville were never, except in a limited measure, restored, "the company built an extensive refining plant at Olean, New York, and turned its back upon Titusville forever. In the fall of 1872 Richard H. Lee bought what was left of the old Hinkley refinery, after a destructive fire in the previous summer. He at once rebuilt the works and operated them until 1876, when he leased them 4M OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. to the Acme Oil Company for three years. During the three years the works lay idle. In 1879 Mr. Lee was one of the incorporators of the Atlas Kefining Company, at Buffalo, New York, and was elected its Vice-Presi- dent. At the same time he sold his Titusville refinery to the Atlas Com- pany. The major part of the stock of the Atlas Company was held by N. W. Kalbfleisch, who, in 1882, sold a controlling interest to the Standard Oil Company, and eventually Mr. Lee's interest also went to the Standard. Rice & Robinson. — On the first day of October, 1874, Reuben L. Rice and Joseph C. Robinson, of Titusville, entered into a co-partnership for dealing in petroleum. They first started a jobbing trade in refined oil, and continued in this business until 1881, when their occupation had grown to such large proportions that they erected a refinery of their own. Their works were located on the west side of Monroe Street, and on the north side of the main track of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R., occupying a large space of ground. The name of the firm was Rice & Robinson. Not long after they had begun to refine oil in their own works, they sold a third interest of their plant to J. W. Witherop, who became an active partner in the concern. The name of the new firm was Rice, Robinson & Witherop. They then in- creased the capacity of their works and gained a large trade. They had agencies for selling their products, at Buffalo, New York, and Boston, Massachusetts. At the latter place they loaded from their own wharf vessels for foreign export. On November i, 1889, the other two partners bought Witherop' s interest in the plant. In December, 1890, they sold a third interest in the works to Robert Foggan, the new firm taking the name of Rice, Robinson & Foggan. In May, 1894, Foggan bought the entire interests of Rice and Robinson, and he has since had possession of the plant, but has not done much in operating it. Frank Tackey has recently come into possession of the works. The International Oil Works. — This refining plant was built in 1885 by James P. Thomas, who afterward associated with him in the ownership and operation H. P. Berwald and Henry Grenner. The works occupied a large part of the block on the northeast comer of Monroe and Mechanic streets, covering the ground occupied formerly by the Gibbs & Sterrett Manufacturing Company. It had a capacity of refining twenty-five thou- sand barrels of crude oil a month. Connected with and a part of the re- finery was the Valley Oil Line, which piped oil from Grand Valley and Sham- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 425 burg and Pleasantville to the works. The works, with its pipe lines, were sold to a New Jersey company in 1895. National Oil Company. — The National Oil Company was formed in 1886. It was organized to produce oil, pipe oil, refine oil, ship oil by rail or water, and sell to the trade or direct to consumers, both crude and refined oil. It built a refinery in 1886 on what was once the Parker flats, south of Central Avenue and east of Petroleum Street. The refinery had a capac- ity for refining about one thousand barrels of crude oil a day. The company also had a production of about one thousand barrels daily, at Grand Valley and Pleasantville. It owned and operated its own pipe - lines, for bring- ing oil from the wells to the refinery. It shipped its. products on its own tank cars to St. Paul, Minnesota, Troy, New York, Providence, Rhode Island, and other towns in different parts of the country, where it had re- spectively agencies for supplying the trade. In 1893 the refining part of the National Oil Company was consolidated with the Western Refinery. The new association was known as the Union Refining Company. In the spring of 1895 the plant of the Union Refining Company was sold to the Atlantic Refining Company, of Philadelphia. The National Oil Refining Com- pany, however, ha? continued its crude producing business in several parts of the country. It has a large number of wells which yield at the present time from ten thousand to twelve thousand barrels a month. John Fertig and W. C. Warner are at the head of the company. American Oil Works. — This refinery was built in the fall of 1885 by William Teege, Frank Tackey and others. It is situated on the flats, on Brown Street, near the D. A. V. & P. R. R. It has done a good business ever since it started, thirteen years ago. It is now owned by T. B. Westgate and the heirs of William Teege, and it is managed by T. B. Westgate and W. E. Teege. The Titusville Oil Works, built several years ago by outside parties, is situated on the Parker flats, in the eastern part of the town. It is now owned and operated by Frank Tackey, who seems to have an excellent trade. The Oil Creek Oil Works. — In the fall of 1882 and winter following Anthony Nelson built this refinery. It is situated a short distance west of the old Easterly refinery. The plant has been owned and operated for the last six years by a New York company, whose President is Alfred Heyn. Climax Oil Works. — This plant, situated on East Main Street and 426 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Parker Flats, is owned and operated by James H. Caldwell, who makes a specialty of both gasoline and machinery oils, especially the former. It also does a general oil refining business. Mr. Caldwell ships in his own tank cars gasoline of the lightest possible character, as well as refined oil, to all parts of the United States. Pennsylvania ParafUne Works. — This establishment is owned by parties living abroad. It is located on the ground of the old Stewart refinery. It manufactures especially paraffine products. Mr. E. J. Lesser is the Man- ager of the works. John Schwartz owned and operated a refinery on the north bank of Oil Creek, near the foot of South Kerr Street. It was destroyed by the great fire and flood which visited Titusville in the early part of June, 1892. All that was combustible about the works was burned. The iron tanks and stills were rent to pieces by explosions, and the terrible current of the flood gashed a deep cut into the earth on the north side of the works, making a new channel of the creek, and forming an island of the ground on which the re- finery had stood. The Western Re-finery, which is referred to in the account of the Na- tional Oil Company refinery, was located near the latter plant. When the two works were united, Mr. George Stevens was one of the principal owners of the Western. Joseph McDondl was at one time one of the proprietors of the Western. COMMENTS. In conclusion, the writer thinks it proper to call attention to a few im- portant facts, some of which have already been referred to in the preceding pages, to-wit: A citizen of Titusville, Edwin L. Drake, was the practical inventor of the only successful mode of producing petroleum in quantity. Another Titusville man, Samuel Van Syckel, was the practical inventor of the method of transporting oil, by hydraulic pressure, through iron pipes, an invention of infinite utility in the petroleum industry. Another Titusville man, E. A. L. Roberts, was the practical inventor of a process for largely increasing production, by exploding torpedoes in oil wells. Still another Titusville man, George M. Mowbray, a chemist, contrib- uted his scientific skill to the refining of petroleum for use as an illuminant. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 427 The processes adopted by him have since been universally employed. Mr. Mowbray also made an improvement in the production of nitro-glycerine and in the modes for its use. He furnished the dynamite, and superintended its explosion, in blasting the rocks, in the construction of the Hoosac Tun- nel, one of the remarkable achievements of the century. CHAPTER VI. TITUSVILLE— CONTINUED. BY M. N. ALLEN. ATTORNEYS AT LAW. AMONG the early practicing members of the legal profession established in Titusville the names of J. H. Baker, B. S. McAllister, Clark Ewing and Gurdon S. Berry will be rememjjered. All these four lawyers died years ago. Ewing was a partner of F. B. Guthrie from 1864 to the fall of 1869, when he died. Guthrie continued to practice law in Titusville, having as- sociated with him Julius Byles in 1888, when he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he is still engaged in the practice of law. The firm of Guthrie & Ewing and that of Guthrie & Byles, extended over a period of nearly a quarter of a century. Samuel Minor practiced law in Titusville for about twenty years. He also moved to Los Angeles, California, where he died two or three years since. Roger Sherman began the practice of law in Titusville about the year 1870, in partnership with M. C. Beebe, of Pleasantville, under the firm name of Sherman & Beebe. The legal part- nership did not last many years. Mr. Beebe continued to reside at Pleasant- ^'ille, with a law office there, until his death several years ago. Mr. Sherman practiced law in Titusville until his death, in September, 1897, for a period of more than twenty-seven years. L. W. Wilcox practiced law in Titusville many years. Julius Byles studied law in the 'office of Benjamin Grant, at Erie, Penn- sylvania. He was admitted to the Erie County bar in August, 1868. He immediately afterward began the practice of law in Venango County, Penn- sylvania, and continued iil his practice there until about January i, 1870, when he came to Titusville and entered into partnership with F. B. Guthrie, under the firm name of Guthrie & Byles. The firm lasted until Mr. Guthrie left for California in the fall of 1888, a period of over eighteen years. Mr. Byles continued in the practice of his profession alone until 1890, when he associated with him in the profession Eugene Mackey, the partnership of Byles & Mackey lasting until the present time. Eugene Mackey first read law in the office of Sherman & Grambine, 428 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 429 but finished his study in the office of Julius Byles. He was admitted to the bar in March, 1889. He entered into partnership with JuHus Byles May i, 1890, with whom he is still associated in the legal profession. Both members of the firm practice in Crawford and all the neighboring counties, before the Supreme and Superior courts of the State, and before the United States courts. Their office is on the second floor of the Chase & Stewart Block, fronting on Spring Street. M. J. Heywang read law in the office of Roger Sherman in Titusville, from 1872 to 1875, when he was admitted to the Crawford County bar. He has been engaged constantly ever since in the practice of law in Crawford and the adjoining counties. He practices before the Supreme and Superior courts of Pennsylvania, and in the United States courts. Mr. Heywang has an important record for successful practice before the Interstate Com- merce Commission. His office is on the second floor of the Chase & Stewart Block, rooms Nos. « i and 2, fronting on Franklin Street. George A. Chase began the; study of law at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, with Alexander Miller in 1865. He was admitted to the bar in that city in 1868. In 1873 he was appointed United States Commissioner, and he has continuously held the office ever since. He has been City Solicitor of Titus- ville ten years. He has practiced law in Titusville for the last thirty years. He has practiced in all the courts of Pennsylvania, and in all the courts of the United States. His office is on the second floor of the Chase & Stewart Block, fronting on Spring Street. Samuel Grumbine began to read law with Gurdon S. Berry in 1871, while teaching in the Soldiers' Orphan School at Titusville. His studies were interrujited by his election as City Clerk in 1872. He held this office two years, and resumed the study of law with Harris & Fassett in April, 1874. He was admitted to the bar of Crawford County by Judge Lowrie, Novem- ber 17, 1875. He was afterward admitted to the bar of Venango, Warren, Forest, Erie, McKean and Lebanon counties, also in the District and Circuit courts of the United States for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and the Supreme and Superior courts of the State. His office is on the second floor of the Algrunix Block. C. W. Benedict began to read law at Pleasantville at the age of eighteen, in August, 1 88 1, in the office of M. C. Beebe. He was admitted to the Venango County bar in August, 1884. He immediately afterward opened 430 OUR COUNTY AND ITS- PEOPLE. an office at Pleasantville alone there for about four months. Then he went into the office of Mr. Beebe as a partner, with the firm name of Beebe & Benedict. The partnership lasted until Mr. Beebe's death. He was ad- mitted to the bar of Crawford County in 1886. He practiced law at Talli- poosa, Georgia, in 1888-9. Settled in- Titusville in 1890, and has practiced in Crawford and the surrounding counties since. His office is in the Chase & Stewart Block, fronting on Franklin Street. George Frank Brown was registered as a student of law in the courts of Crawford County in November, 1891, and on the 24th of November in the same year he entered the office of Roger Sherman in the city of Titusville, and continued in that office until February 28, 1895. On that date he was admitted to the courts of Crawford County as a member of the bar, where he has since continued to practice. He also practices before the Supreme and Superior courts of the State, and in the courts of the several counties adjoining Crawford. He is a City Solicitor, tO' the office of which he was elected in June, 1898. His office is on the second floor of the Ralston Block. Chester L. Kerr, in November, 1891, was registered in Crawford County as a student of law in the office of Sherman & Grumbine, at Titus-_ ville. During the school year of 1892-3 he read law in the office of Henry Newman at Chicago, 111., and attended the sessions of the Chicago College of Law. In 1893-4 he was in the office of Samuel Grumbine in Titusville. On October i, 1894, he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, and was graduated with the class of 1895. On June 2, 1896, he was admitted to the bar of Crawford County. He immediately opened an office in Titusville on the second floor of the Chase Block, over Thompson's drug store, opposite the city fountain, where he is still located. He is a mem- ber of the bar in the State of Michigan, and practices in the counties ad- joining Crawford. Waldron M. Dame read law in the office of R. & W. M. Ingraham, in Brooklyn, New York, and he was admitted to the bar in 1867. He came to the oil country in 1870 and practiced law here until 1887, when he was elected City Recorder of Titusville and served in that capacity until 1889, when the office was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Since 1896 he has served continuously as City Clerk, and since '1894 he has also OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 431 performed the duties of Secretary of the Water Department. His duties in the two positions are of a semi-legal character. George Bryan began the study of law at the law school of Richmond, Virginia, College, September, 1879. He was graduated in that depart- ment in June, 1881, and also thereupon admitted to the bar of the State and Federal courts of Virginia. He then spent two months at the University of Virginia in law study, taking the summer course of that institution. He practiced law in Richmond until April, 1890, when ill health required him to suspend work. His bad health continuing, he was unable to resume prac- tice until September, 1895, when he was admitted to the bar of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. He has since been engaged in practice in Crawford and adjoining counties. In 1898 he published a volume of law upon Petro- leum and Natural Gas. His office is on the second floor of Sherman & Beebe Block, southwest corner of Washington Street and Central Avenue. Jules A. C. Dubar began the study of law in the of&ce of Sherman & Grumbine in 1868, and continued in their office until admitted to the bar at Meadville, September 22, 1891. He practices in all the courts of the State, including the Supreme and Superior courts, as well as the United States courts. Office at the City Hall. Sidney A. Schwartz registered in March, 1893, as a student of law in the office of M. J. Heywang in Titusville. He was admitted to the bar of Crawford County in September, 1896. His office and residencfe is at the corner of Third and West Spring streets. DOCTORS OF MEDICINE. 'As stated in the foregoing pages, Dr. Isaac Kellogg was the first phy- sician located at Titusville. The names of some of the earlier physicians since his time have been given. Dr. John Shugert and Dr. W. B. Shugert were among later practitioners. Dr. William M. Jennings was a prominent physician at Titusville in the early sixties. He was successful in oil terri- tory investments, and being at the time young and unmarried, he disposed of his office, discontinued practice and about the year 1864 took up a temporary residence in New York City. About three years later, having returned to Titusville, he resumed the work of his profession. He married a daughter of Mr. John Waid, of Steuben Township, and a sister of the present Dr. J. M. Waid, of the city, and forming a partnership with Dr. Rjichardson in 432 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1868, he was getting a good practice, when an accident very suddenly ter- minated his life. In the month of December, 1868, he occupied with his wife private rooms, while they took their meals at a hotel. One morning he went as usual to Clark's drug store, where now is Renting's drug store, to take some medicine before breakfast. As he was entering the store some one engaged him in conversation, and, while intent upon the subject of the colloquy, he approached leisurely to the spot on the shelf where the bot- tle containing the medicine was placed, and reaching for it while still talk- ing, he inadvertently took the wrong bottle, poured the usual quantity into a glass, swallowed it and soon after returned to his rooms and walked with his wife to the hotel for breakfast. While eating he began to experience strange sensations, and after a little remarked to his wife that he feared something serious ailed him. Could he have drank the wrong medicine? He did not long speculate upon the subject, but rising from the table hurried to the drug store and found standing beside the medicine which he had in- tended to take a bottle containing a deadly poison, which he then knew he had taken into his stomach. He hastened to his rooms and toM his wife of what had happened and said to her that in a short time he would be a dead man, that nothing less than a miracle could save him. His warning soon proved true. His partner and other physicians were summoned, but all efforts to save his life were unavailing. Dr. T. F. Oakes, who practiced in Titusville from 1865 to 1867, was able and accomplished. He died at his post. Dr. George 0. Moody began the practice of medicine in about the fall of 1862. He had a high standing in his profession. After practicing sev- eral years in Titusville, he went to Europe, made a study of specialtifes at Vienna and at some of the best universities and hospitals elsewhere and, re- turning home in the early seventies, he resumed his professional work. But in the winter of 1886-7, ^^ the midst of a highly useful career, he suddenly one evening dropped dead in his own house. Heart difficulty was probably the cause. In the death of Drs. Jennings, Oakes and Moody the medical profession lost three strong men. But other able practitioners have sur- vived in Titusville for a generation. Dr. William Varian had superior advantages in his early medical edu- cation. Two of his maternal uncles. Dr. Washington L. Atke, of Philadel- phia, and Dr. John L. Atlee, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, were eminent sur- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 433 geons, who brought fame to American surgery by a bold advance in the mode of operations. They taught the profession that abdominal tumors could, with the aid of anesthetics, be safely removed. By their improved methods in mechanical stirgery the loss of human life has been greatly reduced. Dr. Varian studied in the office of his uncle. Dr. Washington L. Atlee, and took his degree of M. D. March 4, 1854, at Pennsylvania Medical College, in Philadelphia. He practiced medicine in Pittsburg one year — from March, 1854, until March, 1855 — when he moved to Chicago, where he continued in active practice until the breaking out of the Civil War in 1861. Having passed medical examination by the regular army board, he was commissioned by President Lincoln surgeon United States Volunteers on the 4th of Sep- tember, 1 86 1, serving continuously from that time until the close of the war. He was mustered out September 6th, 1865. During the war Dr. Varian held numerous positions of authority and responsibility as medical director and superintendent of armies, army corps, military districts and de- partments, and large hospitals in the field and in the rear. Served on the staffs of Generals B. F. Prentiss, John Pope, Gordon Granger, Phil. Sher- idan, U. S. Grant, Rosecranz and Heintzelman, and made a record for efficiency in the organization of general hospitals, in the field and outside; and in directing the medical service of armies on the field of. battle, in the transportation of the sick and wounded to the hospitals, with care for their condition as they were moved, and for their proper treatment while they were in hospitals. In 1864 Dr. Varian was promoted to the rank of lieuten- ant Colonel, and at the close of the war he was sixth in rank in the medical department of the volunteer surgeons in the United States army. At the close of the war, September 10, 1865, ^^ settled at Titusville, where he has since been engaged continuously in active practice. Ever since coming to Titusville he has been a prominent member of the National, State and County medical societies. He was Vice-President of the State Medical Association in 1880, and President of that body in 1882. In his practice for a genera- tion at Titusville he has made a special record in abdominal surgery, as well as in general surgery and gynecological practice. He is vigorous in all his powers and has still before him years of additional usefulness. At the age of 66 he is ripe, but not ready for harvest. Dr. George W. Barr has practiced medicine in Titusville longer than any other living physician. He began the study of medicine in 1852 under 28 434 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the preceptorship of Dr. George Sweetland, of Evans, New York. He sub- sequently studied under the instruction of Levi Aldrich, M. D., of Angola, New. York; Dr. Charles H. Wilcox, physician in Buffalo Marine Hospital; and Professor James P. White, who appointed him resident physician of St. Mary's Lying-in Asylum, in 1855. He attended two full courses of lectures at the medical department of the University of Buffalo, from which he was graduated in 1856; also a post-graduate course at Bellevue Medical College, 1864-5. He began the private practice of medicine in Gowanda, New York, in 1856, and continued there engaged in the duties of his profes- sion until appointed examining surgeon upon the staff of General R. B. Van Valkenburg, at Elmira Barracks, in 1861. He was surgeon of the Sixty-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, 186 1-3, and has been United States Pension Examiner since February 12, 1884. He settled in Titusville February 6, 1865, where he has since been extensively engaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery. Dr. Barr is a member of the Venango County Medical Society, of which he was President in 1893. He has been a member of the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania since 1867. He is a member of the American Medical Association. He was a member of the Ninth International Medical College, 1887, and of the Pan-American Medical Congress, 1893. Dr. Barr has been a member of the Titusville Board of Health since its organization in 1879, and has contributed largely to its practical efficiency by his per- sonal attention to its work. He has long officiated as surgeon of Chase Past, No. 50, Grand Army of the Republic, and ever since his residence in Titusville he has been the medical examiner for several of the leading life insurance companies. Theodore J. Young, M. D., studied at Meadville, Pennsylvania, from 1857 to i860, with Dr. John C. Cotton as his preceptor, and attended a course of medical lectures at Wooster College, at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1 860-1. He was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1867-8. He passed examination by the Pennsylvania Army Board of Surgeons at Har- risburg, Pennsylvania, in 1862. He served as volunteer surgeon at the battle of Centerville, Virginia, the second battle of Bull Run, in 1862. He was appointed assistant surgeon of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Pennsylvania Infantry, January 30, 1863. That regiment had volunteered for nine months, and it was mustered out May 17, 1863. On the next day, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 435 May 18, he was appointed assistant surgeon of the Seventh Pennsylvania Voktnteer Cavalry^ acting as surgeon of the regiment, or in charge of the brigade hospital, the first brigade, second division of cavalry in the Army of the Cumberland, as necessity required, and taking an active part in nearly all the battles and engagements of that well known "Sabre Brigade." Dr. Young served as surgeon on the staffs of Generals Hatch and R. H. G. Winty. He also had charge of the division hospital at Huntsville, Alabama, and Eufaula, Georgia. He was mustered out at Macon, Georgia, August 23, 1865. He located in Titusville, Pennsylvania, October, 1865, where he has resided and been engaged in active practice ever since. He became a member of the Crawford County Medical Society in 1868, and was its Sec- retary in 1872. He was delegate to the American Medical Association in 1872; President of Crawford County Medical Society in 1878, and subse- quently its Secretary and Treasurer. He was delegate to the International Medical Congress, held in Berlin in 1890. He served as surgeon of Oil Creek R. R. from 1879 to 1884, and of the D. A. V. & P. R. R. from 1879 to 1887, and of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. from 1884 to 1894. He was a member of the National Association of Railway Surgeons from 1891 to 1894. He is now Pension Examining Surgeon, receiving his appointment October i, 1893. He is examining surgeon for the New York Life Insur- ance Company, appointed in 1869; Guardian Mutual, appointed in 1869; Germania and Hartford, appointed in 1870; Travelers, ap- pointed in 1884; Mutual of New York, appointed in 1887; Metro- politan, appointed in 1895, and others. He was County Physician from 1879 to 1890. His contributions to medical literature will be found in Medical Report in State Transactions, Volume IX, Part I, June, 1872; Hays American Journal of Medicine, No. CXL, October, 1875 ; Amputation of Clavicle and Scapula on Child Six Years Old, from railroad accident, and a recovery, together with many more contributions in pamphlet form. Morris Bailey, M. D., began the study of medicine by reading medical works at home. Then he read in the office of Dr. C. P. Kibby, in Spring- field, Massachusetts. He next studied at Castleton College, Vermont. In 1848 he was graduated from the Electric Institute, of Springfield, Massa- chusetts. He was subsequently engaged in office practice in Baltimore, Maryland. He practiced eight years at Bellows Falls, Vermont. He studied at the Philadelphia College of Medicine and Surgery in the winter of 436 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1864-5, ^nd was graduated from that institution, receiving the degree of M. D. He came to Titusville in February, 1865, where he has had a large practice continuously ever since. He is a member of the American Eclectic Medical Association. Dr. J. M. Waid began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Albert Logan, in Woodcock Borough, in 188 1. He studied there five years, dur- ing which time he took two courses of lectures in the medical department of the Western Reserve University at Cleveland, Ohio. Then he took a course in the medical departmejat of the Western University of Pennsylvania, re- ceiving the degree of M. D. in 1888. In the spring of 1889 he came to Titus- ville, where he has continuously ever since practiced medicine. He is a member of the Venango Medical Society, of the State Medical Society, and of the American Medical Association. James L. Dunn, M. D., began the study of medicine in 1846, studying during the summers and teaching in the winters. He was graduated .from the medical department of the Western Reserve College, at Cleveland, Ohio, March 6, 1850. He practiced medicine from 1850 until the breaking out of the Rebellion in April, 1861, when his office was at Conneautville, Pennsyl- vania. He immediately entered the three months' service, as captain of Company D, McLane's Erie Regiment. At the end of the three months' term he recruited his company for three years, and placed it in camp at Erie, Pennsylvania, where it became Company H, Eighty-third Regiment, P. V. At this time he received the appointment of surgeon Perinsylvania Vol- unteers, with the rank of major, and was assigned to duty in the mustering office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he remained until March 6, 1872, when he was mustered as surgeon of the One Hundred and Ninth Regiment, P. V. He went to the front with his regiment, and while at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, he was appointed brigade surgeon of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Bank's Corps. In this capacity he continued during the entire remaining part of his service in the Twelfth and Twentieth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, • Army of the Cumberland and Army of Georgia. On his return home he at once resumed the practice of medicine and sur- gery. In 1865 he was appointed United States Pension Surgeon, a posi- tion which he held for thirty years. He has practiced medicine in Titus- ville for almost thirty years. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 437 Dr. James Alfred Dunn studied medicine in the office of his father, Dr. J. L. Dunn, fi-om 1882 to 1885. He was then a student four years at the New York Homeopathic City Medical College, graduating in 1889, taking the degree of M. D. Returning to Titusville, he engaged in the practice of his profession in partnership with his father, with whom he is still associated. Dr. S. N. BurcMeld was graduated at the Chicago Medical College in 1887, and he has practiced in Titusville ever since. E. C. Quinby, M. D., began the reading of medicine with Dr. Anson Parsons, at Springboro, Pennsylvania, in 1877, and the same year he entered the Homeopathic Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio, graduating in 1881. In July of that year he came to Titusville and commenced the practice of medicine, in which he has been continuously engaged until the present time. He is a member of the Hahnemann Medical Society, Cleveland, Ohio, and the American Institute of Homeopathy. Dr. Hugh Jameson was graduated from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1889. He practiced in Edinburgh, Peebles and in the West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. He is a graduate of the West Penn- sylvania Medical College, Pittsburg. He has practiced at Titusville since 1890. He is a Fellow of the Royal Obstetrical Society of Edinburgh, and a member of the Venango County Medical Society. W. G. Johnston, M. D., commenced the study of medicine in 1886 in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1889. In October following he ire-entered and took the post-graduate course during the winter of 1889-90, also doing hospital work in the dispensary at the same time. He is a member of the Venango County Medical Society, of the State Society, of the National Society and of the Association of Military Surgeons of America. He was for several years the secretary and health physician of the Titusville (Pennsylvania) Board of Health. For several years he was an assistant surgeon of the i6th Regiment, N. G. P. When the Spanish- American war broke out he offered his services with his regiment, and on May 5, 1898, was mustered into the U. S. service as first lieutenant and assistant surgeon of the i6th Pennsylvania U. S. Vol- unteers. From Chickamauga he was sent on detached service to Macon, Ga., to examine the recruits for the Third U. S. Immune Regiment. After finishing this duty he was sent back to his regiment, and later on assigned to the I St Division Ambulance Company of the ist A. C. With a detach- 438 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. merit of this company he went with his regiment to Puerto Rico, and there was in the advance with the i6th Pa. Regiment. He participated in the battle of Coamo, August 9, 1898, and the engagement at Aibonito-, August 12, 1898. He was later assigned as second in charge of the ist Division Hospital in Puerto Rico, near Coamo, and afterward he had charge of it. \A''hen his regiment was ready to move, he was relieved of his care of the hospital, and assigned back to his place in the regiment. He next marched with his regiment and returned with it to the United States. Among other positions, he is medical inspector of the State Board of Health for Craw- ford County. /. C. Wilson, M. D., began the study of medicine in the office of his father. Dr. George Wilson, at Luthersburg, Clearfield County, Pa. He was graduated from the University of Maryland, at Baltimore, in 1884. He first practiced, after his course at the university, eight years at Sigel, Jefiferson County, Pa. He was next associated with his brother. Dr. H. M. Wilson, five years, at Evans City, Butler County, Pa. He came to Titusville in Septem- ber, 1897, and has since practiced here. He is a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society and of the Pennsylvania Medical Association. Dr. Catharine Walker began to read medicine with Dr. Asa S. Couch at Fredonia, N. Y., in 1882. She was graduated in 1885 at the Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, taking the degree of M. D. She after- ward practiced at Fredonia from the fall of 1885 to the fall of 1887. Then she attended at New York Polyclinic Medical School and New York Post- Graduate Medical College for six months, in the winter of 1887-88. In 1888 she settled in Buffalo, N. Y., and practiced until 1892. In 1893 she began practice at Rochester, N. Y., and continued there until 1896, when she changed to Titusville, where she has since pursued the duties of her profes- sion. C. E. Spicer, M. D., commenced the study of medicine in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, under the preceptorship of Dr. J. W. Ingerson. He was graduated from the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical Institute in 1884. Froin July, 1884, to December, 1887, he practiced at Vicksburg, Michigan. From the latter date until November 7, 1888, he practiced at Grand Rapids, Michi- gan. He began practice at Tryonville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, in December, 1888, and continued there until April, 1891, when he moved to Centerville, a few miles northward, and practiced at the latter place until OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 439 November, 1897. He then came to Titusville and has since practiced here. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Eclectic Medical Society, a State asso- ciation ; also a member of the Western Pennsylvania Eclectic Medical Society, and of the Central Eclectic Medical Society. He was president of the State Eclectic Medical Society for the 'year 1892. Dr. C. W. Sager began the study of medicine in the office of J. A. Monroe, M. D., at West Alexander, Pa. He also read with O. A. Palmer, M. D., at Warren, Ohio. He studied at the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical In- stitute, 1883-84; at the American Medical College, St. Louis, in 1885; and at the Hahnemann Medical College, in Philadelphia. He practiced n\edicine at Southington, Ohio, from 1884-85; at Middlefield, Ohio, from 1885 to 1889, and at Titusville from 1895 to the present time. He is a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy. Preston Steele, M. D., commenced the study of medicine in 1889 in the office of Dr. E. P. Wilmot in Frapklin, Pennsylvania. He was graduated from the Cleveland Medical College in 1893. He was assistant physician at the Huron Street Hospital, 1893-94. Located at Titusville in 1895, where he has since continued in the practice of his profession. Dr. F. H. Sinning is a graduate of the American Eclectic College at Cincinnati, Ohio, in which he subsequently held a professor's chair. He has since practiced at Pittsburg, Pa. He came to Titusville about six years ago, and has since pursued his profession here. He treats special diseases. DENTAL SURGEONS. , Dentistry has kept pace with other branches of science relating to the human body in the advance and improvement of the methods made within the last few decades. Dental surgery has come to be regarded as a learned profession, and to the honor of dentists of standing in the profession it may be said that there is a common effort on their part to protect the public against the evils of dental quackery, and exalt the rank of their calling. Den- tal colleges are now classed among the institutions of learning. Dentistry now ranks as a highly important branch of surgery. Dr. W. M. Coombs is the veteran surgeon dentist of Titusville. His professional work has a high standing. He began the study of dentistry in Titusville in 1864, under Dr. George J. Luce, with whom he continued for the next three years. He then spent one year in practice at Rome, N. Y., 440 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. and another year of practice in Kansas City. He subsequently returned to Titusville, where he has been in constant practice since December i, 1870. /. A. Todd, D. D. S., began the study of dentistry in the spring of 1861 in the office of Dr. F. O. Hyatt at Cortland, New York. On February 28, 1878, he was graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, at Philadelphia, receiving the degree of D. D. S. He came to Titusville the same year, and has continuously practiced his profession here since that time. Dr. Todd is a member of the Lake Erie Dental Association, of which he was once president, and a member of the State Dental Society. Dr. C. A. Black commenced the study of dentistry in March, 1886, with Dr. R. V. Bettes, at Mercer, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and remained with him until the following September, when he entered the Philadelphia Dental College. He was graduated from that institution, with the degree of D. D. S., in 1888. In March following, the same year, he located in Titus- ville and has been constantly engaged iix the practice of his profession ever since. Dr. W. J. Peebles studied at the Dental College and Hospital of Oral Surgery, at Philadelphia, Pa., from October, 1892, to March, 1895, taking the degree of D. D. S. He has practiced dentistry in Titusville ever since. Dr. C. L. Sherwood began the study of dentistry in the dental depart- ment of the Ann Arbor, Michigan, University, in 1893, and was graduated from that institution in 1896, taking the degree of D. D. S. He has prac- ticed his profession in Titusville ever since. He is a member of the Lake Erie Dental Association. MII^ITARY RECORD. At the breaking out of the late civil war, the borough of Titusville, though still a small village, was an important business center of a large area of farming country. The lumber business of the section still gave employ- ment to a large number of men. The prospect of war tended for a year or two to suspend many branches of trade, and demand for lumber was es- pecially checked. The prospect of losing employment, together with a gen- uine patriotic spirit in the community, encouraged enlistments into the Union service. The record of the community in responding to the call of the government for troops is a bright one, and one concerning which the older and the younger of the inhabitants of Titusville, and their posterity follow- ing, may justly feel proud. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 441 Company F of the Erie Regiment, organized for the three months' ser- vice, under the command of Colonel John W. McLane, was the first company formed at Titusville. It was mustered April 21, 1861. Its officers were: Charles B. Morgan, captain; James Farrell, first lieutenant; David P. Sig- ler, second lieutenant, and Franklin Parks, first sergeant. As the short term of service drew near a close, Colonel McLane prepared to organize a regi- ment to serve three years. Then Company A in the new regiment, 83d Penn- sylvania Volunteers, absorbed Company F, of the three months' term. The regiment was mustered in July 29, 1861. Its officers at first were: Charles B. Morgan, captain ; David P. Sigler, first lieutenant ; David P. Jones, second lieutenant. Both Sigler and Jones were afterward respectively captains of the company, as al*o William O. Colt and E. W. Whittlesey ; James W. Hun- ter and Martin V. Gifford were each in turn first lieutenants. William H. Lament, Pierce Hanrahan and David R. Rogers were respectively second lieutenants. George A. Quillen was first sergeant. Edwin W. Bettes, well known afterward as a citizen of Titusville, was sergeant-major of the regi« ment. The 83 d made a glorious record, and Company A shared in its laurels. Company K, of the ^yth Regiment, was the pride of Titusville. The Post No. 50, G. A. R., at Titusville, is named in memory of its brave com- mander, Cornelius S. Chase, who gave his life to his country. He was the son of the late Joseph L. Chase. He was wounded at Fair Oaks, May 31, [862. He died from the effects of his wounds in the hospital of Philadelphia eighteen days afterward, June 17, 1862. His brother, William Wirt Chase, was the sergeant-major of the regiment. He was honorably discharged from the service, having served from October 10, 1861, to October 28, 1862. The 57th Regiment was mustered in November i, 1861. The officers of Com- pany K were at first; Cornelius S. Chase, captain; Alanson H. Nelson, first lieutenant; Chester F. Morse, second lieutenant. Lieutenant Nelson suc- ceeded on the death of Captain Chase to the command of the company, and ■held the captain's commission until mustered out, at the expiration of the ser- vice, Nov. I, 1864. Thomas J. Crossley, who both before and after the war was. well known in Titusville, became by promotion first lieutenant. John M. Robinson and William H. H. Hirst were each in turn second lieutenants. Company B, of the ii^th Regiment, 12th Cavalry, mustered in March, 1862, for three years' service, was recruited at Titusville in the fall and win- ter, 1861-62. Its first commander was Rev. George H. Hammer, who re- 442 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. signed his pastorate of the Presbyterian Church at Titusville to recruit the companjr and lead it into service. In May, 1862, he was appointed chaplain of the regiment. At first the officers of the company were : George H. Hammer, captain; Sidney B. King, first lieutenant; and Charles W. Fenner, second lieutenant. Upon the promotion of Hammer to the chaplaincy, Sidney B. King became captain; Charles W. Fenner first lieutenant, and Daniel B. Lewis second lieutenant. King was discharged from the service June 12, 1863, when Fenner succeeded to the captaincy, but was discharged from the service January 5, 1865. Lewis succeeded to the office March 22, 1865, and was mustered out with the company July 20, 1865. Company I, of the i^6th Regiment^ P. V., for nine months' service, was mustered in in August, 1862. Its first officers were Asa Chapman, captain; William P. Dale, first lieutenant; Henry S. Lockart, second lieutenant; An- drew J. Hatch, first sergeant. Captain Chapman died December 27, 1862, from wounds received at Fredericksburg, on the 13th of the same month, and he was succeeded by First Lieutenant Dale on the day following his death. Company I, ijoth Regiment, Bucktails, P. V., was mustered in in Sep- tember, 1862. Its first officers were : John W. Sigler, captain; Miles W. Rose, first lieutenant; George W. Tryon, second lieutenant. Captain Sigler was wounded at Gettysburg. He continued in command of the company until the close of the war. He was mustered out with the rank of major June 23, 1865. Lieutenant Rose was also wounded at Gettysburg. He was discharged February 23, 1864.' Tryon was promoted from second to first lieutenancy March 2, 1864. He was discharged on surgeon's certificate before the close of the same year. Gilbert Gordon, who is still a well-known citizen of Titus- ville, was promoted from sergeant to first lieutenant November 22, 1864. He was mustered out with the rank of captain June 23, 1865, but the date of his commission is June 24, 1865. Francis A. Magee was promoted from ser- geant to second lieutenant. May i, 1865, and to first lieutenant June 15, 1865. He was mustered out June 25, 1865. Francis Gilson was commissioned sec- ond lieutenant June 15, 1865, and mustered out June 25, 1865. He had first served as sergeant. Peter Fink, sergeant, was mustered out June 25, 1865. Company D, 163d Regiment,, i8th Cavalry, P. V., was mustered in in October, 1862. Its first officers were Joseph Gilmore, captain; Andrew Cun- ningham, first lieutenant; Bethuel R. Mackey, second lieutenant. Gilmore OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 443 was promoted to major November 28, 1862. Cunningham was promoted to captain December 8, 1862, and discharged September 19, 1863. Mackey was promoted to first Heutenant December 9, 1862; to captain December 3, 1864. He was discharged May 15, 1865, at the close of the war. Joseph L. LesHe was promoted from sergeant to second Heutenant, July i, 1863, and to first lieutenant May 17, 1865. Frank Palmer was promoted from sergeant to second lieutenant December 8, 1862, and discharged June 20, 1863. Francis* M. Magee was promoted from sergeant to second lieutenant May 18, 1865. The six companies, after the last mustering out, returned tO' their original rendezvous with greatly thinned ranks, and of those who came back many have already been borne to their final resting place in the cemetery. OTHER MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. The Titusville Citizens' Corps is a local military company, independent in its association. It was organized at about the year 1871. Its object has always been largely for the education and training of its members in mili- tary drills. It is also intended to perform the duties of emergency service, especially in quelling local disturbances of an extraordinary character, when the police force .might require assistance. Fortunately no such emergency has ever yet arisen. At first the social relations of the members may have tended to attract young men to its ranks. At different periods the drill of the corps has been excellent. The late Dr. W. B. Roberts took a great deal of interest in the organization, and to his generosity the corps was much indebted. Battery B was organized in 1879. The late David Emery was the founder and its first captain, with D. R. Herron first lieutenant arid James R. Barber second lieutenant. It was a part of the National Guard of the State, and under the command of the Governor. Captain Emery, in 1880, built for the use of the company an armory, which was dedicated in the summer of 1880 by Governor H. M. Hoyt. The battery company disbanded in 1883, and an infantry company was formed to take its place. This was Company K of the 1 6th Infantry Regiment, N. G., P. V. The company was mustered in July 30, 1883. Its first commissioned officers were D. R. Herron, captain; M. R. Rouse, first lieutenant; Seth Church, second lieutenant. In 1881 Her- ron was elected high sheriff of Crawford County, and his duties as sheriff required him to reside at the county seat. After his retirement from the 444 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. company Lieutenant Rouse succeeded him as captain. Church became first Heutenant, and other promotions followed in their proper order. Rouse was captain several years. He built an armory for the use of the conipany, which the company continues to occupy as its headquarters. Each year the com- pany went into camp, generally if not always at Mt. Gretna. Two or three years ago Captain Rouse resigned and he was succeeded by Ulysses G. Lyons. 'At the late opening of hostilities between Spain and the United States, most of the members of Company K offered their services, under their company organization, to the national government. By order of the State Executive the company left for Mt. Gretna in the latter part of April, 1898. The com- missioned officers were Ulysses G. Lyons, captain; James W. Young, first lieutenant; Anton Daub, second lieutenant. The non-commissioned officers were: Ralph Armstrong, first sergeant; George M. Dame, quartermaster- sergeant; Vernor Tryon, sergeant; Angus Decker, sergeant; Clyde Sim- mons, sergeant; Samuel P. Henderson, Herbert E. Davidson, George B. Sloan, William B. Shreve, Philip Koff and Fred C. Radack were corporals. Company K, i6th P. V. I., left Titusville for Mt. Gretna April 27th. It was mustered into U. S. service May 10, 1898. It left for Chickamauga, Ga., about May 15, 1898, arriving about May 17th. Sergeant Ralph Arm- strong, June loth, was ordered home on recruiting service. He returned June 19th with thirty-two newly enlisted men. The company left July 5th from Chickamauga for Charleston, S. C, arriving there July 7th, and left Charles- ton July 2 1 St for Puerto Rico. Arrived at Ponce at about July 28th. Ordered to do provost duty at Ponce. Relieved from that duty August 5th. Joined the regiment near Juan Diaz. The engagement at Coamo in which the company participated occurred August 9th. Went to camp at Coamo same day. Broke camp at Coamo October ist. Marched to Cayey and went into camp October 3d. On the same day the division received orders to march to Ponce. The i6th Regiment began the march October 7th. Remained at Coamo the night of October 8th. Remained at Juan Diaz the night of Octo- ber 9th. On arriving at Ponce, orders were received to go at once on board of ship, October loth. Arrived home October 19, 1898. Philip Koff, corporal, died on board U. S. hospital ship Relief; August 13, 1898. He was buried at Ponce. Elmer E. Grant died at ist Division, 1st Corps, Hospital, Chickamauga, Ga., July 13, 1898. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEO'PLR. 445 Corporal George B. Sloan died at Division's Hospital September 8, 1898, at Coamo, P. R. Buried in the regimental cemetery, same place. William H. George died at Division's Hospital, September 9, 1898, at Coamo, P. R. Buried in the regimental cemetery, same place. Philander Young died in U. S. General Hospital at Ponce, P. R., Sep- tember 15, 1898. By Regimental Order No. 20, July 4, 1898, Frank E. Coover, Audley V. Rowe, Harvey B. Marsh, John A. Daub, Harry J. Boles and Gurdon W.- Hall were each promoted to the rank of corporal. And by Regimental Order No. 32, September 9, 1898, Charles Liebrich and John Courtenay were each promoted to the rank of corporal. The company at one time had one hundred and three men, besides the three commissioned ofificers. ACCIDENTS. In all communities there occasionally occur startling events, great fires or other sudden disasters, which are long remembered by the inhabitants. On the Fourth of July, i860, a cyclone struck the little village of Titus- ville, unroofing houses and moving from their base other buildings several rods. Not far from the same time another cyclone came down the valley, doing also not a little damage. The house of Mr. George Brewer, a brother of the late Dr. F. B. Brewer, was one of the buildings unroofed. This house ■ stood on East Pine Street, now Central Avenue, on the southwest corner of Pine and Drake streets. It was subsequently purchased by Mr. A. B. Funk, and long afterward known as the Funk mansion. Another accident was the falling of the Roberts Building, now the Hotel, Brunswick, in December, 1871. It was a four-story brick building, with a high Mansard roof, making a fifth story. The lean-to part, now the west part of the edifice, was not then erected. Take of¥ the leauTto, and there would remain the front on Spring Street, as it then was when the edifice was first raised. The building adjoined the Parshall Block on its west side, the walls of the two edifices in close contact. The brick work of the new building had been hurriedly raised during very cold weather. No complete interior parti- tions had been constructed. Joists for flooring had been placed, as story after story was raised. The stories, as now, were very high. The Mansard roof was of itself a very heavy structure. All the upper walls were green and either frozen or soft. Some one a short time before the accident had 446 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. noticed a bulge outward of the wall in the first story next to the Parshall Block. While it had been the intention to lay the wall of the new building close to that of the Parshall Block, it is likely that a little open space between the two was left and that a column of water between the two walls, from the top to the bottom, was frozen. The wall of the Parshall Block was dry and solid, so that it could not easily be moved. But the wall of the new building. when not frozen, was damp and the mortar soft. The Mansard roof with its great weight pressed heavily upon the structure below. The Opera House in the Parshall Block was on the west side and adjoining the new building. The Opera House was upon the second floor, and extended upward three stories to the roof. It had two galleries, the second above the first. One night, while the late Frank Mayo was playing in the Opera House, "The Streets of New York," he was roused from his couch by the smell of sul- phurous fumes of coal, which the villain of the plot had set on fire and placed in his rpom for the purpose of killing him by suffocation, and he called out "Charcoal!" At that instant an .indescribably terrific crash, with a frightful jar of the Opera House, was heard. Those in the audience not familiar with the play, though frightened, at first thought it was a part of the performance. But it was only for an instant that any one had such an impression. With blanched faces and every symptom of terror the people rose from their seats, to rush to the stairway and escape from the building. The next instant MayO' was on his feet, waving his hand and shouting: "Keep your seats; it is nothing." His assurance prevented a panic. Those nearest the doors were able to pass out without a jam, and in a very short time the hall was empty, the actors, with _ the rest, losing no time in making an exit. The people in the Opera House were in reality badly frightened, but Mayo's presence of mind fortunately saved many from serious injury by the rush of a panic stricken crowd for the doors. Some imagined that there was an earthquake, and were afraid they would be buried in the ruins of the great building of the Parshall Block. When the audience reached the street they immediately learned the cause of their fright. Where now is the lean-to was a three-story wooden building, owned and occupied by Mr. J. H. Whalen. The edifice which fell to the ground occupied all the space between the Parshall Block and the Whalen Building. When the brick edifice fell, its upper walls dropped upon the Whalen Building and crushed it, almost as if it were an egg shell. On the first floor Mr. Whalen had in front a boot and shoe store, with a shoe shop in OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 447 the rear. On the second floor Mrs. Whalen had in front a millinery store and shop. In the rear were the family apartments. On the third floor Mr. and Mrs. Ballantine had rooms, taking thejr meals outside. Mr. Whalen's family consisted of himself and wife, and two children, who all slept upon the second floor. Their servant girl slept upon the third floor. The acci- dent occurred at about half-past ten at night. Mr. and Mrs. Ballantine were in bed, as was also the servant girl. Sarah, the older of the two children, was away from home. The other, Freddie, a lad seven years old, was in his crib, but not asleep. Mrs. Whalen had just descended to the first floor to speak to her husband, who was still in his store, when the terrible crash came. That four out of six persons in the building should have escaped with only trifling bruises was certainly remarkable. Little Freddie, however, was killed. His mother, leaving him in his crib, descended to speak with her husband, who was still in his store. She had been there scarcely five minutes when the heavy walls of the brick edifice fell upon the Whalen Building, breaking it down as easily as they would have crushed a child's play-house. Mr. Whalen was crowded to one side of the room, so that to save himself he jumped out of a window, while his wife was caught among timbers and pinioned by them. At the same time she heard the little boy, who had gone down with the fall- ing mass, calling, "Mamma, mamma !" his voice growing fainter and fainter, until it ceased altogether. By one of those extraordinary efforts, born of desperation, which seem to possess superhuman strength, Mrs. Whalen suc- ceeded in releasing herself from the vise which had held her. Her little boy was buried under the. debris which had poured down upon him. Brave men from outside, hearing Mrs. Whalen's cries, rushed to her aid, and, when told by her where she had last heard Freddie's calls, they at once set themselves at work with all the energy they possessed to remove the broken bricks, tim- bers and debris from the spot where the mother thought the little fellow was lying. Fortunately they- soon found the body. It was about eight feet from the spot where Mrs. Whalen had been bound by the timbers. Mr. and Mrs. Ballantine were landed on the second floor in a very un- comfortable position. But they had not long to wait before men came with ladders and helped them out of their distress. The servant girl, who was also in bed on the third floor when the wooden building was crushed, was precipitated to the lower floor, in a most desperate plight. Her descent was a terribly rough one. Every shred of clothing was torn from her body. A 448 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. colored porter of the Parshall House took off his overcoat and, buttoning it around her, led her to a place where she was properly cared for. The brick block was rebuilt the next year, 1872, and finished in palatial style in 1873. The remnants of the Whalen Building were moved away. The Roberts Brothers purchased the ground on which it had stood and upon it erected a three-story brick lean-to, upon the west side of the main building. The entire new structure was very substantially built, from the ground to the roof. Solid brick partitions run through the entire length of the edifice and extend from the basement to the top of the highest story. Heavy iron rods at every story interlock the building from side to side and end to end. When the great fire occurred in April, 1882, the walls of the Parshall Block all fell to the ground, while not a brick of the Brunswick Hotel adjoining moved out of its place. The flames went through the interior of the hotel and consumed everything combustible there, but its brick walls stood as intact as when built ten years before. The Mansard roof, however, was abolished, and in ■ its place a fifth story was erected. The Great Oil Fire of 1880 was a memorable calamity in the history of Titusville. Early on Friday morning, June nth, there was a thunder shower, when two reports in close succession were heard. The first came from an electric explosion — lightning. The second was from an explosion of petro- leum vapor in the top of a large tank filled with crude oil, on the hill south of the city, west of Perry Street. The. writer speaks from personal knowl- edge. He was sitting in his house on the corner of Main and Monroe streets when he heard the two explosions spoken of. He immediately suspected that an oil tank had been struck. He went at once to the corner of the street and saw an oil tank on the south hill on fire. When oil in a tank is struck by light- ning, it is customary to say that lightning has struck the tank. This expres- sion is often erroneous. A wooden tank might be rent by an electric current. But an iron tank, connected by large iron pipes with water connections, as this tank had, would form a perfect conductor for a current of electricity. Light- ning rods have in some cases been erected on the top of iron tanks, a useless provision for warding off electric currents, unless the tanks have no connec- tion with water or moist ground. In the present case the lightning passed through the atmosphere, making a noise which is called thunder. In its course it set fire to the vapor coming from the oil in the tank through open- ings in the roof, the same as electricity ignites gas in a gas engine. The OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 449 oil vapor in the hot weather of June was dense at all points. The tank was nearly full of oil. The electric current ignited the vapor, which conveyed the flame as a fuse back through the opening of the roof, setting fire to the volume of gas inside, producing an explosion which was the second one heard. These two explosions coming in quick succession were distinctly heard by several persons. The explosion of gas in the top of the tank lifted the roof two feet above its base and then it fell back to its place. If the surface of the oil in the tank had been ten feet from the top the volume of gas above the oil would have been very large and the explosion terrific. It would have torn the' walls of the tank to pieces, and the great conflagration which followed might have been averted. The explosions of stills at refineries had jarred the buildings in the city as by an earthquake. But the noise of the second explosion, which blew off the roof of the tank, was not loud,* simply because the volume of gas in the top of the tank was small. When the people first saw the fire at the top of the tank, there were not many persons living on the north side of Oil Creek apparently frightened. They had no experience in burning of a "large iron tank filled with oil. Those, however, who had witnessed such fires at ether places, expressed a fear that this one would result in a frightful conflagra- tion. The fear was realized. "Look out," was the warning of those who had seen such oil fires elsewhere, "when the tank boils over." When that tank, and others that took fire, did boil over, the effect was simply indescribable in its terrible grandeur. Persons standing oh Monroe and Perry streets, half a mile away, as volumes of flame rolled like fiery clouds into the air, felt almost in an instant a wave of heat strike them, and many from nervous feai* would retreat to positions farther from danger. Several families who were liv- ing on South Perry Street, on Breed, and on the west side of South Franklin, were exposed to streams of burning oil descending the hillside. After the first overflow of the burning oil, these people were in great consternation, and they brought their goods out of their houses and prepared to move to a place of safety. It was a time of awful trial to the homeless ones. But they found shelter for themselves and their goods in this hospitable community. They kept their families together, and citizens in other parts of the town gave them food, until they obtained new homes. A relief fund of nearly a thousand dollars was raised by contributions of private citizens, so that most of the families that were forced to flee from their homes, leaving tenement houses, did not otherwise suffer very serious losses. 29 4SO OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The- tank which first took fire contained 20,000 barrels of crude oil. When it boiled over, the flames rose many hundred feet, and a neighboring large tank took fii"e from it. These tanks, with several others, belonged to the Tidioute and Titusville Pipe Company. Below them were the Acme No. I and the Keystone refineries. At these two works there was a large amount of crude oil, distillate, refined oil and benzine. The pumps were set to work to transfer oil to Acme No. 2, the old Bennett and Warner refinery. The pipe line also pumped a small amount of crude oil from the hill to tanks elsewhere. But the quantity of oil thus saved was inconsiderable. The burning currents poured down the hill and set fire to the liquid contents of tanks and stills at the two refineries. Explosion after explosion followed. The tanks of other parties containing oil on the hillside were destroyed in the widespread confla- gration. Immediately east of Perry Street, on the north side of Oil Creek, where now are the Pennsylvania Paraffine Works, Acme Refinery No. 3 had its tanks full of oil or benzine. All "this property, together with a great deal else on the north side of the creek, as well as the railroad bridge across Oil Creek, east of Franklin Street, was saved by the heroic efforts of the fire companies. The fire departments of Corry, Union City, Franklin, Oil City and Warren sent men and fire steamers to aid our own firemen in checking the conflagration. It may be said that never has there been more effective service as a whole rendered at a great fire by firemen than at this time. For over fifty hours the Titusville firemen, without respite, were on duty. With the assistance of the firemen from the other towns spoken of, they prevented the fire from crossing Oil Creek, and they saved the railroad bridge by keep- ing it deluged with streams of water. Many of them had their hands and faces blistered by the hot flames. The Holly Water Works responded grandly to the demands made upon them. Connection with Oil Creek was made to them, so as to secure abundant supply of water. And then their powerful pumps sent forward under great pressure to the fire steamers and to the many lines of hose connected directly with the hydrants' sufficient water to keep all the discharges playing constantly with great force. Heavy rains had raised the water in the tributaries of Oil Creek, and virhile the fire was raging, the main stream above was reported to be rising. The news betokened increase of danger. At the existing depth of water in Oil Creek the firemen had been able to prevent the currents of burning oil, as they poured down the hill and spread upon the surface of the stream, from OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 451 setting fire to combustible material on the north bank. But, should the stream swell, and its channel widen, the flames would be brought nearer to the property exposed on the north side. Then John Eason opened his mill race to its fullest capacity and emptied from the tail-race more water into Oil Creek far below the fire than the rains had added to the stream above. While the tanks were burning at the top, with occasional overflows, which sent sheets of flames into the sky, and poured down the hillside rivers of burning oil, sweeping over a large area in the descent, the expedient of open- ing the tanks near the bottom and making discharge at one point was re- sorted to. Battei-y B, of the National Guard, at that time was under the command of Captain David Emery, who had in his armory in Titusville sev- eral field pieces. Captain Emery gave the order to Lieutenant Herron to take one of the guns of the battery and with solid shot perforate one of the burning tanks near the bottom. Accordingly, the lieutenant planted a can- non at the foot of Monroe Street, and fired several shots, producing openings in different tanks near the base, making new streams of oil, increasing the conflagration, but lessening its duration. The writer, who was an eye-witness of all the terrible scene, is unable to produce anything like an adequate descrip- tion of it. But the roar of angry flames, the blazing currents of oil, the intense heat, the noise of bursting tanks and stills, the consternation of many- people, who expected that the city itself would take fire, and the intense anxiety which every one felt, cannot be forgotten. The patient endurance and heroic nerve of the firemen, both those of the city and the men of the departments from the outside towns, who generously came to our help, will be remembered. Augustus Castle, chief of the local department, and his assistants in command deserve mention. The conduct of the firemen was in all respects admirable. On Sunday forenoon, June 13, the danger from con- flagration was over. The bridges across Oil Creek at both Perry and Frank- lin streets, were destroyed. What remained of the Acme and Keystone re- fineries, together with a large area qi the south hillside as far west as the woods, presented an appearance which no pen could properly paint. It was desolation, desolation. The aggregate value of the property destroyed was probably less than a million of dollars. The illumined sky over Titusville on Saturday and Sunday night was seen a hundred miles away. But not a single human life was lost, nor a single instance of severe bodily injury re- 452 OUR COUNIT AND ITS PEOPLE. ported. Another calamity was to visit Titusville twelve years later, when many inhabitants of the ^ity met a tragic death. Between 1880 and 1892 there were two calamities, which ought to be noted. ■ The first was the fire on April 14, 1882, which destroyed the Parshall Block, and burned the Brunswick Hotel. The sudden closing of the two largest hotels of the city was a public misfortune. The State Medical Society met in Titusville in May following, by appointment made the year before. The citizens generously opened their homes to^ the distinguished visitors. The other disaster was caused by a flood in February, 1883, which caused not a little suffering to people living on the flats. Two young men, one the son of Rexford Pierce, and the other the son of Ephraim Robinson, were standing on a pier of the Franklin Street bridge when it was swept away by a heavy wall of ice, which in the swollen current struck it with resistless force. They were thrown into the stream and both drowned. A lad named Barthol- omew was thrown into the stream at the same time, but was rlescued. The body of young Robinson was found soon afterward near Oil City. But the body of young Pierce was not recovered until some time later, and not until all hope of finding it had been abandoned. It had been carried into an open field in the city limits, where it lay for weeks under blocks of ice, when one day Mr. Pierce, the father himself, accidentally came upon it, and immediately identified it as the body of his boy. The last disaster, the one more terrible than all the rest, will now be described : The calamity of 1892, which visited Titusville, was the greatest scourge experienced by any community in the United States, since the Johnstown flood in 1890. The account of this disaster ought to embrace some descrip- tion of the topography of Oil Creek valley above Titusville. The watershed of Oil Creek at Titusville has the shape of a triangle, with one of its angles on the stream, where it is crossed by the city boundary on the west side. Oil Creek nominally takes its rise in Canadohta Lake. The northwest angle of this triangle is in Bloomfield Township. The northeast angle is in Sparta Township. Most of the territory of both Sparta and Bloomfield is em- braced in this watershed, as is also the greater part of Athens, Rome and Oil Creek townships. An examination of the map shows a large area of water- shed for a single stream, having a natural channel not larger than that of Oil Creek. Until the forests were cut away the tributaries of Oil Creek, be- cause of obstructions of fallen timber, were comparatively slow in draining OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 453 f the country and supplying the main stream. The result was that Oil Creek in the early days was much slower in its rising floods, and longer in keeping its volume of water, than at the present time, when the forests have largely dis- appeared, swamps have been cleared and drained and the smaller streams re- lieved of obstructing debris. Both Canadohta Lake and the large pond of Spartansburg hold a great deal of water. An artificial dam across the outlet prevents the emptying of Canadohta Lake in dry weather. An artificial dam, also at Spartansburg, holds a large body of water in a mass. High hills in several places of this watershed cause, when the rain falls, a rapid rise of the streams in their vicinity. The destructive flood which occurred here on the 17th of March, 1865, was the result of the sudden melting of a large quantity of snow which had fallen during the previous winter. But that flood ex- tended over a large section of country in several States. Again, in March, 1873, there was a hig'h flood from the same cause. Late in the fall of the same year, rains caused an unusually large flood at Titusville. The water over- flowed the banks of Oil Creek in the upper part of the city, and sent a river down by the Gibbs & Sterrett Manufacturing Company's works on South Monroe Street. The flood of February, 1883, was caused by the sudden melt- ing of snow. The Great Disaster. — The flood in June, 1892, was the greatest by far that has ever .happened in Oil Creek. In 1859, on the night of the 4th of June Saturday night, occurred in all this section of country the most destructive frost ever known by the oldest inhabitants. Thirty-three years later to a day — on the same day of the month, on Saturday night, June 4, 1892, the greatest of floods, together with a frightful conflagration, not only destroyed at Titusville a great amount of property, but a large number of human lives. For several days preceding the disaster, there had been in Oil Creek valley, a heavy downpour of rain, almost constantly. By Saturday, morning, June 4, Oil Creek had risen to the top of its banks. All its tributary streams, all the swamps and all the soil of the watershed were full of water. Oil Creek rose constantly on Saturday. At about noon it began to rain in steady torrents, which continued the rest of the day and greater part of the following night. At nightfall, streams of water were running in many of the streets in places where the ground was low. This had been experienced before, when no ser- ious results followed. The inhabitants in those districts were by no means easy in their feelings, but they hoped for the best, and made no preparation 454 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. for an escape from a sudden deluge. But the dam at Spartansburg gave way, and the mighty waters, as if angry because of their past imprisonment, rushed forward in fury, to take revenge. They bore down and swept away all op- posing forces, and hurried on to reinforce the over-swollen current of Oil Creek. The united waters then rapidly rushed onward to ingulf Titusville, and they did overwhelm all the lower parts of the city. At three o'clock on Sunday morning Oil Creek had taken possession of all the flats in the west end of town. All the space on Monroe Street, as far north as the third door of the Hobart Building, all Perry Street, as far north as the Carter tene- ment houses, all Washington Street as far north as Spring Street, all Frank- lin, to the north side of Eason's Mills, and up Martin to the north side of Edwards' coal yards. On the south side, the water ran to the same level, so that one standing at the corner of Washington and Spring at four o'clock in the morning, could look across a river, the other side of which was the lower parts of the old Acme Refinery Yard. But before this the water had gone into buried tanks of Rice & Robin- son's Refinery, lifted out the contents of oil and benzine, and sent them upon the surface of the water down stream. They rode in safety until they reached Schwartz Refinery, below town. There they ignited and an explosion fol- lowed. Tanks and stills at that refinery were blown intO' fragments. This was only the beginning of the fire's destructive work. The streanjs of oil and benzine, borne downward on the surface of the water, carried the flames back to the International, the Rice & Robinson, and the Oil Creek refineries. Then followed terrific explosions of stills and tanks. More oil was let loose, and in a short time from the Oil Creek Refinery down the surface of this river of rushing water, was a sheet of flames. Large and small buildings were burned to the water's edge. The long freight station of the W. N. Y. & P. Railroad, with its contents, was consumed. All the buildings of the Rice & Robinson and the International Works were destroyed. A large number of wooden residences were burned. The passenger station of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R., built of brick, and its wooden platforms under water were left, but the row of wooden buildings opposite, including two hotels and the works of the Union Furniture Company, and all the wooden buildings in the vicinity, were destroyed. Piles of lumber near the water's edge were burned. The machinery of the Holly Water Works was submerged by the flood and ren- dered helpless. The city had two steamers, but neither of them had been OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 455 brought into use for extinguishing fires for several years. There were so many hydrants in direct connection with the water works to which hose could be attached that it had not been necessary tO' bring them into service. ■ One of them was out of repair, and wholly unfit for service, and the other in not much better condition. It could not have thrown a stream of water an inch in diameter, thirty feet vertically into the air. The city had long before sold all its early hand engines, and one of the three original steamers. In such a helpless condition did the community find itself on Sunday morn- ing on the 5th of June. A large company of citizens had gone Saturday morning to Canadohta Lake to spend the day there. They spent not only Saturday, but all Saturday night, and most of them all day Sunday and Sunday night, water-bound by the floods that had carried away paits of the railroad track. All the western part of the city, as perhaps nearly all the eastern part, was saved from conflagration by the very agent that had occasioned the disaster. When the oil fire of 1880 occurred on the south side, the natural current of the wind was from the northwest. A large fire always creates a current of the atmosphere, which takes the direction of the natural current, that is, the direction of the wind at the time. In 1880 the city was saved by the direction in which the wind was then blowing. But on the morning of the 5th of June, 1892, the wind blew from the southeast. Intense heat in- creased the current from that direction. The roofs of the buildings in the western part of the town were deluged with bits of smoking shingles from the burning buildings in the flood. But all the wooden roofs in the town were drenched and saturated with the downpour on Saturday and Saturday night. The house-yards and the sidewalks were also covered by the pieces of charred wood, some of it still burning, which came in showers. But the deep moisture everywhere present quickly extinguished every spark of fire contained in the flying missiles. The saddest part of the narrative remains to be related. Early in the morning after daylight word was passed that lives had been lost in the night, but at first nothing definite could be learned. People were pressed by a dread of fire on the north side, and in their anxiety they devoted their attention to the progress of the fire on the roaring flood. The people on the north side soon came to know that they were powerless to resist a fire of much dimensions. The single steamer, even if capable of effective 4S6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.- service, could have availed little, if several points in the upper part of the town had been attacked simultaneously by the flames. At the Rice & Robinson Refinery were two iron tanks, thought to contain gasoline. Should these tanks explode, they were so near to piles of hemlock bark belonging to the tannery, that they would inevitably set fire to the bark, and then nothing could prevent a conflagration which would consume all the vast piles of bark, the tannery itself and all the western part of the city. The anxiety of the crowds watching those tanks became intense. Finally it was believed that the tanks would escape. Then people began to investigate reports concerning the loss of lives, and it soon became known that several had perished. Heroic work had been done during the night and the next morning in rescuing peo^ pie, confined in buildings which were exposed to the flames. One expert boatman had saved the lives of several persons. After a time dead bodies were discovered, and two undertakers' establishments were converted into morgues. A meeting of citizens was held at the City Hall at 12 o'clock on Sunday, and a Relief Committee started. Roger Sherman was made the chairman of the committee. Joseph Seep and John L. McKinney each subscribed $500; other subscriptions were rapidly added. Special committees were appointed to provide for the immediate wants of those in distress. Some persons had escaped from houses to save -their lives, and they were without shelter and food; many had lost everything and they were absolutely homeless. Rouse's Armory was opened as one of the asylums for the destitute and hungry, citizens brought out their stores and their treasures. The City Hall became a bee-hive of industry in receiving, assorting and delivering, by systematic arrangement, supplies with promptness and without unnecessary delay, so that physical suffering was temporarily at an end. The number of dead bodies brought, to the temporary morgue rapidly increased. Some of the dead persons had been drowned, others burned. It is possible that some persons died from drowning and their bodies had afterward been burned. In one house nine bodies were found burned beyond the possibility of recog- nition. The nine human beings who thus perished in that building were identified by the fact that the family and the house were well known. It was also known that most of the family were in their house at a late hour the night before. The father and one of the daughters were absent from the town. The mother and seven of her children, together with a ninth per- son, perished. The father and the daughter, who escaped, were the only OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 457 members of the family ever afterward seen alive. More than sixty bodies of persons, who lost their lives in that catastrophe in the fire or by drown- ing, were recovered and biaried at Titusville. The deaths of all were satis- factorily traced, so that identity was practically established. The citizens of Titusville had in several instances contributed liber- ally to othej communities in distress. And now, when their town was in deep affliction, they thought it would be proper to give notice through the Associated Press that contributions from outside to the relief committee for the benefit of the sufferers would be thankfully received. But before this announcement many generous people telegraphed the relief committee to draw upon them for amounts respectively stated. Governor Pattison, ac- companied by Mr. Rudolph Blankenburg, representing a relief society of Philadelphia, and another citizen of Philadelphia, representing the Red Cross Society, reached Titusville on Tuesday afternoon, June 7th. Mr. Blanken- burg raised the question as to whether the relief fund should be given di- rectly and exclusively to the siJifferers, or whether a part of the fund should be set apart for aiding the proprietors of industries, whose works had been destroyed by fire or flood, and their hands thus thrown out of employment, , to rebuild and renew their lost business. For the sake of correct history, the writer, who was present at the interview with Mr. Blankenburg referred to, certifies to the conversation herewith reported. To the inquiries made by Mr. Blankenburg, representatives of the Titusville Relief Committee re- plied that contributions to this fund would be understood to have .been made in all cases solely for the ultimate benefit of the sufferers, that a part of the fund would be applied at first for the direct relief of sufferers, without par- tiality, and according to apparent needs ; but it might appear that not a few of the sufferers could receive substantial help by restoring the industries of their former employers, so as to renew to them the situations which they had lost by the calamity, and with that view of the subject the committee would distribute the relief fund in such a manner as, according to the con- sensus of judgment of the members, the greatest good to the sufferers could be accomplished. Upon this answer to his questions, Mr. Blankenburg exe- cuted a draft upon his society for $5,000, and presented it to the committee. The committee received a large amount of money, and distributed a large amount. It is believed that they aimed to discharge their trust im- partially and with conscientious fidelity. They received no pecuniary com- 4S8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. pensation foi" their services, which were of a highly responsible character, and which involved duties that were tedious, wearisome and often exceed- ingly disagreeable. In closing the narrative of the great calamity of 1892, the writer thinks it is due to history to give an account of the kind of return which a powerful community made for a kindness rendered to it when in distress years ago. On Sunday, October 8, 1871, the city of Chicago was visited by a most destructive fire, which lasted until the next day. By this disaster many thousands of people were suddenly turned out of comfortable homes into blackened streets, stripped of their possessions and destitute of the necessities of life. The Mayor of Chicago on Monday telegraphed to the country a cry of distress, and Titusville was among the first to hear the cry. On the night following the appeal from Chicago for help, a meeting was held at the Titusville Oil Exchange to take action upon the subject, when William H. Abbott wrote his name at the head of the subscription for $1,000, for the relief of the Chicago sufferers. He was immediately followed by A. H. Bronson, who' subscribed the same amount. Jonathan Watson sub- scribed the same amount. Four banks, the Citizens', the Savings, the Sec- ond National and the Producers' and Manufacturers', each subscribed $1,000. F. W. Ames and C. H. Ames together subscribed $1,000. Others subscribed each $500 and less. The total cash contributions amounted to $12,400. We had at that time several wholesale groceries in Titusville. The next morn- ing two box cars were loaded with smoked and dried meats, with flour, butter and other kinds of wholesome food; with clothing, bedding, boots and shoes, etc. With $12,400 in money, Mr. Abbott, on Tuesday, having secured an order from the managers of the A. & G. W. Railroad, as well as an order from the superintendent of the Oil Creek Road, to attach the two supply cars to the first passenger train, took the noon train for Corry, accompanied by the two box cars. At Corry the two cars were hitched to train No. 3 on the A. & G. W., and on Wednesday, the day following Octo- ber nth, within fifty hours after the Mayor's appeal, Mr. Abbott was in Chicago with the two cars of supplies and $12,400 in money. He at once paid $1,000, as by order of its contributors, to a particular sufferer designated by them. The supplies he turned over to the authorities, and the $11,400 in money he gave to George M. Pullman, Treasurer of the Aid and Relief Society. This occurred nearly twenty-one years before the great calamity OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 459 in Titusville. When Titusville made this gift, her population was about 10,060. Estimating the value of the contents of the two box cars at $2,600, the gift amounted 'to $15,000, or $1.50 for each soul in Titusville. And now, when she was battered and bleeding, when her buildings lay in ashes, when her streets were gashed and gullied by an angry flood, when the town was filled with mourners, when many of her industries were nearly — some of them utterly — ruined, when the town was a picture of desolation, it was thought that Chicago needed only to be reminded that a community, which in her memorable distress in 1871 had been among the first to come to her help, was now a bruised reed, when she would hasten to open her stores of wealth and in a fitting manner requite the people who had been her prompt benefactors. Chicago was reminded of Titusville's misfortune, of the dona- tion made to her by Titusville in her great affliction, and what was her response? Let the history of Chicago's gratitude be published. In company with Mr. John L. McKinney and Mr. John.Fertig, two prominent citizens of Titusville, the writer arrived in Chicago* early Sunday morning, June 19, 1892, two weeks after the disaster in Titusville. Mr. McKinney and Mr. Fertig were delegates from Pennsylvania to the Demo- cratic National Convention, which was to assemble at Chicago on the 21st following. After arriving in Chicago, the writer was informed that Mr. Lyman J. Gage, cashier of the Chicago First National Bank, now the dis- tinguished Seci-etary of the United States Treasury, had published a notice in some of the Chicago papers that he would receive and transmit any donations in money for the relief of recent sufferers at Titusville, Pennsyl- vania. Accordingly the writer early on Monday forenoon calle.d upon Mr. Gage at the bank and stated the object of his visit, which was to learn what had been done, and what probably could be done, in procuring contributions for the distressed people of Titusville. Mr. Gage said that his attention had been called to the subject by Mr. Eben Brewer, who lately died in Cuba, at the he^d of the postal service established in that island by President Mc- Kinley. Mr. Brewer was a former Titusville boy, and, learning of the calamity here, he had interested himself in behalf of his old home. Mr. Gage said he had already received contributions amounting to a little over $300. He inquired as to whom he should remit the money entrusted to him for the purpose named, and was informed that Mr. Roger Sherman was chairman of the local relief committee. Mr. Gage did remit afterward — 46o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. tardily, it must be confessed — this sum, a little over $300, to Mr. Sherman. Mr. Gage was informed by the writer of what Titusville in October, 1871, had done for Chicago, and acquainted with the facts as to the late terrible calamity at Titusville. Mr. Gage did not seem much interested in the story. He was informed that two representatives of Titusville, McKinney and Fertig, were then in the city, who, should he desire it, would call upon him and verify the statements already made. But he did not invite further inter- view, and the conference ended. But on Thursday following, during a recess of the convention, the writer accompanied Fertig and McKinney in a call upon Mayor Washburne, in his office at the City Hall. The object of the visit was stated to the Mayor, to whom the story of what Titusville had done for Chicago, as nar- rated above, was related, together with the statement that Titusville had generally contributed liberally to other communities in distress, notably to the Johnstown sufferers. Mayor Washburne received his visitors very kindly, and excused the seeming tardiness of Chicago in this case, by saying that the convention then in session there, together with some other important matters, had absorbed the attention of the community, but that as soon as the convention should be over, a public meeting of the leading citizens would be called for the special purpose of raising funds for Titusville' s relief, and when this should be done he thought the people of Titusville would have no cause for complaint. So far as is known, no such meeting was ever held. The memory of Mayor Washburne was jogged more than once upon the subject, but no word ever came from him. Mr. Abbott, who had delivered in October, 1871, to Treasurer Pullman $11,400 for the Chicago sufferers, wrote later in June, 1892, to the distinguished capitalist, acquainting him of the distress here and referring to the matter of Titusville's gift over twenty years before. Pullman remembered the circumstance, and he replied that he was about to leave the city for a short time, but he would see that a meet- ing of influential citizens be held in his absence, when action would be taken to send Titusville a liberal contribution. Subsequently Mr. Pullman wrote to Mr. Abbott, expressing regret that nothing had been done; but he in- closed his individual check for $500. This sum, together with Gage's re- mittance, a little over $800 in all, was the total of Chicago's return for the donation of $15,000 made to her by Titusville in 1871. Titusville then gave for each of her inhabitants a dollar and a half to Chicago. In re- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 461 turn, in 1892, Chicago gave for each of her inhabitants two-thirds of one cent to Titusville. Mr. Abbott, in November, 1871, sent $1,500 and a carload of suppHes to sufferers from a fire in Wisconsin. Hovir many communities have a better record for generosity than Titusville? How many communities have among their leading members a William H. Abbott? DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. A chapter of this order was organized in, Titusville in November, 1898, of which Mrs. Roger Sherman had been- appointed Regent by the National Society at Washington, District of Columbia. This branch will be known as the Seneca Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, located at Titusville, Pennsylvania. The officers are Mrs. Alma Seymour Sherman, Regent; Mrs. Mary A. Chase Fletcher, Vice-Regent; Miss Helen Patterson, Secretary; Mrs. Jeanette Chase Martin, Treasurer-; Mrs. Annette Farwell Grumbine, Registrar ; Mrs. Caroline Knowland Hyde, Historian. The mem- bers of the Local Board are Mrs. Mary Celia Thompson, Mrs. Lillian Ellis Emerson and Miss Anna Farwell. ELEEMOSYNARY WORK. On January 29, 1885, sixteen women met at the house of Mrs. Roger Sherman, in Titusville, to take into consideration the subject of local charity work. Propositions as to plans and methods for systematic labor in caring for destitute or needy people in the city were discussed at length. Previous to this movement efiforts to relieve persons in want had been made by those charitably inclined, and appeals for contributions had been generously re- sponded to by citizens of means. But the work had been irregular and with- out method. To secure greater good in charitable endeavor, it was decided to adopt a more -definite and a practical system of distributing alms, so that none of the destitute be overlooked. Accordingly a society was organized, whose object was expressed in the preamble of the constitution adopted: "To lend, a helping hand to those who may be suffering from temporary desti- tution, sickness or lack of employment." From that declaration of purpose the organization took the name of "The Helping Hand Society," and by this name the association was thenceforth known, until September 6, 1892, when it was formally united with the Ladies' Auxiliary Relief, organized imme- 462 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. diately after the flood and fire in June, 1892. The two were merged into one organization, which has since been known as the "Helping Hand Relief So- ciety." In April, 1892, before the change in name had been made, a new branch of work was undertaken by the society. This was to furnish means to defray the expenses of inebriates in freeing themselves from the appetite for alcohol, by taking the so-called gold cure remedy. A special fund, dis- tinctly raised for that purpose, was contributed by citizens. From this fund the expenses of seventeen persons, unable to pay the expense of the treat- ment, were met at the different institutions to which they were sent, and their families cared for in their absence.' It ought to be said that the results as a whole from this undertaking were largely beneficial. Without assuming advocacy of the gold cure system, or in any manner discussing its merits, it is due to the truth to say that several of the seventeen sent by the Titusville society to the several so-called gold cures for treatment, have since lived strictly sober lives. ■ While many Titusville women are deserving of honorable mention for their unselfish work under the auspices of the Helping Hand Relief Society, the name of the late Mrs. Kate P. Bryan is especially entitled to recognition for her devotion to her duties during the eight years when she was President of the organization. The present officers of the society are : Mrs. Samuel Grumbine, Pres- ident; Vice-President, Mrs. H. M. Hall; Secretary, Mrs. Bruce R. Tem- ple; Treasurer, Mrs. Daniel Colestock; Finance Committee, Mrs. J. G. Ben- ton and Mrs. Roger Sherman. The High School' Helping Hand is a chartered society. The object of the organization is to relieve the wants of the worthy poor, and at the same time give young people a training in charitable work. The President of the society is Miss L. M. Wilson, principal emeritus of the high school. Teachers and students work together. The ward schools contribute money and provisions at Thanksgivings, and at other times when circumstances jus- tify a call upon them for help. The society has purchased a house, 154 West Elm Street, for which payment is made in installments. When paid for the property will belong to the High School Helping Hand, and the income from rent will be devoted to charity. On last Thanksgiving one hundred dinners were distributed among poor people in the city. When Miss Henrietta G. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 463 Metcalf was a. teacher in the high school she rendered invaluable service to the work of the society. The Children's Aid Society of Pennsylvania had its origin in Philadel- phia in 1882. In 1889 the work had grown to so large proportions that it became expedient to divide the society into two parts, the eastern division to have its headquarters at Philadelphia, and the western its headquarters at Pittsburg. The western division embraces at present twenty-seven coun- ties, in each of which is a branch organization. Each branch sends a dele- gate to the meetings of the executive board, which assembles in Pittsburg once every month. The women of Titusville took an early interest in the society, so that the State society established the Crawford County branch at Titusville. An auxiliary of the Titusville branch has been located at Mead- ville. This auxiliary is making an excellent record for itself in charitable work. The Crawford County society was organized at Titusville twelve years ago, and during the twelve years it has cared for one hundred and ten children, placing many of them in good Christian homes, where they are re- ceiving careful training and a good education. At the annual meeting of the western' division in Uniontown the Crawford County society was honored by the choice of one of its members, Mrs. J. A. Neill, of Titusville, for Pres- ident of the Western Pennsylvania Children's Aid Society. The present officers of the Children's Aid Society of Crawford County are: President, Mrs. Roger Sherman; Vice-Presidents, Mrs. J. G. Benton and Mrs. J. A. Neill; Recording Secretary, Mrs. F. P. Brown; Correspond- ing Secretary, Mrs. G. W. Barr; Treasurer, Mrs. B. F. Kraffert. EARLY AND LATER BUSINESS MEN. Among the early business firms established at Titusville was that of Brewer, Gilchrist, Allen & Co., founded in 1840. This was a lumbering company, that bought timber lands, built and operated sawmills, manufac- tured lumber and. shipped down Oil Creek, down the Allegheny River and thence down the Ohio to market. The company kept a merchandise store for the supply of their employees and families, and for the accommodation of the community. Their store of goods was first on Watson's Flats, near one of their sawmills. The late Rexford Pierce was a member of the company, and he continued' a member for many years. After a time Gilchrist sold his interest to the other partnei-s and retired from the firm, when the com- 464 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. pany took the name of Brewer, Allen & Co. In the winter of 1845-6 Jon- athan Watson came to Titusville and purchased Allen's interest in the last mentioned lumber firm, which then took the name of Brewer, Watson & Co., Rexford Pierce continuing a member of the company until its dissolu- tion years afterward. The senior member of the firm was Ebenezer Brewer, the son of Ebenezer Brewer, the father of the late Dr. F. B. Brewer, aiid the grandfather of the late Eben Brewer, already referred to in these pages. D. D. Allen, whose interest in the company Mr. Watson purchased, was the father of the late John M. Allen, this city, and the grandfather of Mr. Eugene Mackey, member of the present law firm of Byles & Mackey. Some time after Mr. Watson joined the company, its store and principal business office were moved to the northwest corner of Spring and Franklin streets. It was subsequently moved to the northwest corner of Pine and Franklin, where now is Clark's grocery house. In time Brewer, Watson & Co. sold their entire business to N. Kingsland & Co. This firm was succeeded by F. "W. Ames & Co. For a time the name of the firm was C. H. Ames & Co., but F. W. Ames & Co. soon resumed possession and direction of the company's affairs. Some time in the early fifties R. D. Fletcher, a nephew of Jonathan Watson, came originally from Vermont to Titusville, and entered as clerk into the employ of Brewer, Watson & Co. But in 1855 he opened a store of his own of general merchandise, on the i:iortheast corner of Spring and Franklin streets. After about two years he purchased the ground where his brick block now stands, and erected upon it a two-story wooden building, into which he moved his store. He next rented the wooden building, and moved his store to the lower floor of Crittenden Hall. The wooden building was burned in the winter of 1863-4. In the summer and fall of 1864 he erected the four-story brick edifice, known as the Fletcher Block, on the east side of Franklin, between Central Avenue and Spring Street. The building was finished and ready for use in the spring of 1865, when Mr. Fletcher opened the dry goods house which, has continued under his proprietorship and management for over thirty-three years. R. D. Fletcher has been a merchant in Titusville continuously for more than forty-three years. It will not do to stop here. Mr. Fletcher has during all these years been one of Titusville' s most useful and most public spirited citizens. He was the first City Auditor, holding the office two successive OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 465 terms of three years each, from 1871 to 1877, ^^'^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ several other important municipal offices, in all cases giving to his official duties the most thorough and practical business talent. We are not permitted to stop here. The world owes a great debt to E.. D. Fletcher and Peter Wilson for their timely assistance to Edwin L. Drake, when the poor man had been deserted by his backers in the East. Mr. .Fletcher not only, with Wilson, endorsed Drake's paper, but he gave him a large credit at his store. A near friend of Mr. Fletcher who had just returned from a trip to Meadville, came into the store one day, and calling Mr. Fletcher aside, said : "Why, Dan, I was sur- prised yesterday to see at Meadville your name on Drake's paper for several hundred dollars. Why, Drake is crazy, and you will have every dollar of the note to pay. Drake hasn't a cent in the world." All the same, Mr. Fletcher rie-endorsed Drake's note, and he continued to give Drake credit at the store. It was the only store in the place at which Drake could have got credit for a pound of coffee. After Drake's triumph in finding oil in August, 1859, he still was weighed down by debts. He gradually canceled all, but the last debt which he paid was the final installment to Mr. Fletcher in 1863, four years after his discovery. J. B. Olmsted has been a merchant in Titusville for a generatioh. Another citizen who has been in mercantile trade at Titusville for a generation is Jacob Ullman. E. K. Thompson has been a druggist in Titusville about thirty years. John Lammers is another old Titusville merchant. S. Stettheimer, Julius Weill and Davis, the clothier, have long been in trade here. The present four drug stores are all a credit to the city. Junius Harris has been engaged in the construction and leasing of tenement houses, and other build- ings in the town, for more than thirty years. The Westheimer Brothers have for many years been in trade here. E. T. Hall has been in trade at Titus- ville for thirty years. R. L. Kernochan has been in the hardware trade here nearly thirty years. S. S. Bryan has been in the same business for per- haps fifteen years. Grossman has been in the grocery business about thirty years. The Barnsdall grocery has been established about twenty years. Fortney has been engaged in the furniture trade nearly twenty years. Will- iam Moran has carried on an extensive plumbing business for about thirty years. D. D. Hughes, now D. D. Hughes & Son, has been established in the general business of tin roofing and sheet metal ceilings, etc., for more than a quarter of a century. William Hunt, the upholsterer, has been established 30 466 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. in his trade at Titusville for about a qua.rter of a century. The foregoing references are not made for the purpose of advertisement, but to put on record the names of those citizens who have successfully been engaged in trade at Titusville, nearly all following continuously a distinctive branch of business for many years, thus earning foi; themselves substantial credit. No reflection is intended for those engaged in business for a shorter period. Time is an important condition in the test of merit. Of the later dealers, those engaged for a less period of time in Titusville, it may be said that they enjoy generally the confidence of the community. In conchiding this sketch the writer thinks it proper to refer to certain notable characteristics of the Titusville community. Some of these dis- tinctive qualities showed, themselves a hundred years ago, when Samuel Kerr and Jonathan Titus, the pioneer settlers, founded the community. These men were brave, chivalrous, generous, kind and hospitable. They infused the spirit of these virtues into the association of those who settled around them. They transmitted these attributes to their descendants. They were broad minded men. Jonathan Titus gave the land for the first Presby- terian church, at the head of Franklin Street, gave the land for the first cemetery and land for school buildings. He kept an open house all his life. The same spirit of kindness, generosity and hospitality has distinguished the inhabitants of Titusville ever since. Warm blood has always flowed through their veins. An instance of their hospitality may be here related. Twenty-six years ago the Pennsylvania Editorial Association held its annual meeting at Erie. The editors were generally accompanied by their wives, and the gathering was largely for the purpose of social recreation. The citizens of Erie gave them what was termed a reception, and this was perhaps all the company had a right to expect in the way of entertainment there. Most of these people had never visited the oil regions. So they decided to make a trip from Corry to Oil City, via Titusville, and return. They had been invited by members of the Titusville press to visit this city, and they planned to go first to Oil City, and then call at Titusville on their return. Accordingly they went to Oil City, and while there the citizens of the place with characteristic hospitality gave them an elegant dinner. On their return, they arrived at Titusville about the middle of the afternoon. They were met at the railroad station by the foremost citizens of Titusville, Dr. Roberts, then Mayor of the city, conspicuous among the rest. It was in OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 467 midsummer, the streets were in good condition, and the general appearance of the town at the time was lovely. The citizens came tO' the station with their carriages for the purpose of giving the visitors a ride through the streets, and 'upon the heights overlooking the town. But when the proces- sion was moving up Franklin Street, an approaching thunder shower made it necessary for the party to hasten rapidly to places of shelter. The visitors were taken to the Parshall House and the Abbott House. After the shower the citizens regathered with their carriages and executed the drive which had been previousl}^ planned for the entertainment of the visiting party. In the evening a grand reception and ball, with refreshments, were ^iven at the Parshall House in honor of the visitors. Coleman's orchestral band fur- nished the music. The leading citizens of Titusville were present. Mayor Roberts, with one of the ladies of the party, led the dance. These visitors were made the guests of Titusville from their arrival at the station until they took their departure after breakfast the next morning. Word went round from certain prominent citizens to the local dealers, requesting that they re* fuse payment from any of the visiting party for any ordinary, purchase by the latter, and to send, after the party had left town, bills for such purchases to persons named, who would see that the bills were paid. The visitors were expressly notified that they would not be permitted to leave any money in Titusville. Before noon, following the departure of the visitors, all the ex- penses incurred by this hospitality were paid by the Titusville Oil Exchange, and this was done at the request of the Exchange, as a privilege and an honor to the association.' The request was unexpected. The leading citizens had intended to raise by contributions among themselves the necessary funds. The total expenses, the hotel bills, the music, the carriages, etc., amounted to a little over $400. The visitors were undoubtedly sincere in their ex-^ pressions of gratitude for the hospitality shown them ; but it may be believed that the citizens of Titusville derived the greater enjoyment out of the oc- currence. The prevailing interest of the community in the public schools of the city has already been remarked upon. The feeling is certainly justifiable. One has only to note -some of the evidences everywhere apparent of the good which the schools are accomplishing, to understand why the citizens do not murmur at high school taxes. Not alone the amount of knowledge, as con- tained in the text books, is concerned. It is the training, the culture, the re- 468 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. fining of thought, feeling and action, deportment and breeding, that the com- munity regards. It is interesting to witness some of the indications as to the character of the training in the Titusville schools. The young men and the young women at the high school, in their manners and their conduct, are young gentlemen and young ladies. Note the decent breeding of a hun- dred small children, dismissed from any of the large school buildings in the city. They do not rush out with boisterous shout and unseemly confusion. But they pass quietly out of the hall, down the steps and upon the walks and move away, with delicate grace of motion, which betokens a high order of refinement on the part of their teachers. There is not a lovelier sight in the world than a procession of these small pupils, as they move away in easy order from the school buildings toward their respective homes. THE FUTURE. The proper work for the historian is to record, rather than to predict, events. One person may judge of an outlook as well as another. Attention, however, may be called to a few important facts. Samuel Kerr and Jona- than Titus selected for a settlement the place which bears the name of the junior associate. They believed that nature had made this spot a site for a town. They accordingly located here, and each, under the law of the State, took up a large tract of land, the reservations being adjacent to each other. Their expectations were subsequently realized. It does not matter that neither of these pioneers lived to see Titusville larger than a hamlet. Kerr died August 29, 1839, aged 72 years. Titus died February 2, 1857, at about the age of 90. Drake was soon to tap the fountain of oil by drilling an artesian well into the subterranean rock. The rock was tapped, and Titusville soon grew into a small, but very respectable city. The production of petroleum in the vicinity of Titusville was never large. The inhabitants of Titusville have always, since Drake's discovery, been generally interested in oil production. Many of the wealthier citizens of the town have erected beautiful homes here, because of the ample comforts and advantages which the town affords. The" city is exceptionally healthy. Excellent schools at- tract many people of means to become permanent residents of the town. A fine farming country of large area surrounds Titusville, furnishing to the in- habitants of the city abundance of food supplies at moderate prices. The town site, as Samuel Kerr remarked of the location when he first came to the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 469 spot, over a hundred years ago, is beautiful. The surrounding hills are beautiful. The landscapes seen in perspective are beautiful. Woodlawn, the "silent city," is beautiful. What Divine Providence may have in store for the Queen City should be reverently waited for by the living, as in their order events shall be developed. part iTirir, ■•'M'*^ Ibtstot^ ot ^own6btp6» CHAPTER ATHENS TOWNSHIP. WE LIVE in a time when people wish to know everything, to follow to its source every stream of knowledge. In America, above all, where civilization has advanced with such gigantic strides, and where a few years have seen brought forth what in our European neighbors has been the product of ages, we study with an increasing interest the chronicles of our early days, as if, arriving at manhood while progressing towards the greatest achievements, we stop for a moment to take into account our youth and the story of its struggles. As we of the American nation stop to examine the history of its origin and development, we realize that it is a subject too great and too vast to be studied under one head. Each State, each county and each subdivision of the county, has a distinctly separate "history. The history of a State or nation deals only with general or national events, it concerns itself with peoples and parties rather than with individuals. But, in a country such as ours, where we are able to trace each settlement to its earliest origin, the history of a county, even, does not particularize to a sufficient degree in dealing with the settlement of its various parts. And so, in order to rescue from oblivion the memory of the earliest settlements and to preserve for posterity the story of the struggles and adventures which their ancestors encountered while founding homes in the wilderness of the West, it has been deemed advisable to set forth in separate chapters the history of the formation and settlement of each township, beginning with Athens, first in alphabetical order. Near the close of the last century, John Smith, a native of Ireland, fleeing from his native land on account of political troubles, came tO' America, and from Pittsburg made his way up the Allegheny River and Oil Creek to its source. Then, leaving the stream and proceeding inland, he reached a ravine in what is now Athens Township, where he erected a cabin. He lived by hunting, trapping and fishing, and made no effort to secure a title to the land, effecting but a slight clearing. At long intervals he made his way on foot to distant posts and exchanged his peltry for the few commodities of life he desired. He became the intimate friend of the Indians who encamped in this vicinity and joined them in their hunting and other excursions. Thus he lived for many years, shunning the society of white men, and when the permanent settlers of the township came, they found here, in his cabin buried in the heart of the forest, this hermit living in lonely seclusion, with only the wandering Indians 473 474 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. for companions. \A^hy he lived this soUtary Ufa was never known, although it was whispered that it was in expiation of a crime committed in his youth. But when the cabins of the foremost pioneers and the ringing sound of the woodman's ax began to disturb the peace of the extensive hunting grounds, the lonely pioneer, with his dusky neighbors, departed, probably to live over again his life of solitude and obscurity in the deeper recesses of the wilderness. Athens Township was organized in 1829, and originally included much of what is now Steuben. The first election was held at the house of Ebenezer Felton, at which it is said but twelve votes were cast. It is an interior town- ship, lying northeast of the center of the county, and has an area of 12,156 acres. The surface is pleasantly diversified by upland and valley. The soil is of good quality, being well adapted to the growth of grass, barley, rye, buck- wheat, corn and oats, and is well watered in every part. The eastern part is drained by Oil Creek, which crosses the northeastern corner of the township, and in the western part by Muddy Creek, its tributaries and the numerous springs from which they take their rise. It is inhabited by a thrifty and in- telligent people, who are engaged principally in agriculture, lumbering and various manufacturing industries. The forests were composed of pine, hem- lock, black and white oak, cherry, beech, chestnut, maple, elm and ash. Some swampy land was found along Muddy Creek, but this has been reclaimed by drainage. The township is bounded on the north by Bloomfield, on the east by Rome, on the south by Steuben and on the west by Rockdale and Richmond. On account of the carelessness and inaccuracy of some of the earliest sur- veys, there was a tract of land, extending east and west through the township and having an average width of an eighth of a mile, which was not included within any of the Donation Districts. While in some localities the surveys had overlapped one another and had thus caused much uncertainty and trouble, this narrow strip remained unsurveyed and was without claimants. It was sub- sequently settled as State land. But to the military tracts included within the township there were many conflicting claims. An historical article states that two surveys had been made in this section, the Doe and the Herrington, which did not conform to one another, and created much litigation and anxiety. A large part of the lan'd was claimed by the Nickleson heirs, who alleged that a mortgage had been granted to them for it by the Commonwealth. They advertised the tracts for sale, to the great consternation of the occupants, but fortunately the State intervened and protected them. Many of them were Revolutionary soldiers or their representatives, who had been given land in various parts of the Union. Some of the land was sold at tax sale, although the validity of this proceeding was afterwards successfully disputed. But on the whole the inducements were not inviting for an early settlement of this land. Throughout what was then the great West, land was abundant and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 475 cheap, and the prospective settler hesitated before assuming the labor of level- ing the gigantic forests, without some assurance that he could hold the land thus wrested, after severe and long-continued exertions, from its condition of primitive wildness. The township was settled slowly and at a comparatively late date, for the early habitation of the refugee Smith cannot be classed as a permanent settle- ment. The settlement was retarded by the conflicting titles arising from the discrepancies in the surveys. Many who came intending to take up and im- prove the land were deterred from doing so, and sought homes in other local- ities, where their possessions were less likely to be affected by legal conten- tions. These clashing interests, however, have happily been harmonized by wise legislation, and the bitter controversies which threatened the peace of the whole community have long since ceased. Abraham Wheeler, a native of New Hampshire, came with his family from Genesee County, New York, and in 1819 settled in the northern part of Athens Township. He was a man of great determination and force, and cleared and improved a large farm. Later in life he removed to Sparta Township, where his descendants still reside. Samuel Willis, who settled in the northern part, was somewhat eccentric in his manners, and was on that account very much dreaded by some of his superstitious neighbors. After a few years residence he left the township, and Bartlett Fuller, from Whitehall, New York, succeeded him in the possession of his land and remained its oc- cupant until death. Joseph King settled at an early date on the unsurveyed strip, about half a mile east of Little Cooley. He died there a few years later and was buried on his farm, which his widow occupied for many years after- wards. Elder Hutchinson, one of the earliest pioneers, settled north of Little Cooley on a tract of waste land. It was comprised within one of the Donation Districts, but had been left unnumbered and consequently undrawn on ac- count of its low and marshy condition. He improved it by tilling and drainage and remained upon it until his death in 1837. John Shaubarger was a rough and rugged Gernian who emigrated from Westmoreland County and obtained possession of a tract of land in the south central portion of the township. He was well fitted physically to cope with pioneer obstacles and endure privations, and industriously cleared a large farm, which he left to his descendants. He lived to see the wonderful trans- formations by which a wilderness, forbidding in aspect and habited by wild beasts, has given way to the fruitful farms of the prosperous husbandmen and the busy hum of the mechanic arts, and in advanced age enjoyed the fruit of his early labors. Jonah Edson settled in the northeastern part of Athens before 1820, and remained there until his death at a ripe old age. Henry Hatch, who settled in the southern part Of the township, was another lifelong resident. 476 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Dr. Silas Taylor, a prominent pioneer, settled about 1820 on the tract which John Smith, the Irish refugee, had inhabited. He was born in Massa- chusetts, of Puritan ancestry, and left Genesee County, New York, where he had been engaged in the practice of medicine, to settle in the northern part of Athens. While still following his profession in his new home he also took up the labor of clearing the land. His practice called him over a field which in- cluded Athens, Bloomfield, Rockdale, Sparta, Richmond, Rome, Stueben and Troy, as he was the pioneer physician of this portion of the county. He made his way on horseback over indistinct and rugged bridle paths, and his journeys were often protracted until late into the night or continued during several days, yet the proceeds of his practice yielded scarcely more than a bare subsist- ence. ^ Dr. Taylor was a useful citizen, taking an interest in local public affairs, and did much to improve the roads and schools of his township. The absence of roads of any kind was one of the first difficulties which demanded the atten- tion of these brave and sturdy yeomen. By an act of the Legislature a State Road had been authorized and had been cut out, but the underwood had ob- tained a vigorous growth and obstructed the passage. Steep hills needed leveling, deep morasses making passable, and streams bridging, while the dense forests which covered all the lands seemed to deny them subsistence. Nothing daunted, they set themselves to the task of removing these obstacles. Dr. Taylor and John Brown (the same John Brown who terminated his re- markable career at Harper's Ferry in his effort to arm the slaves, and who had settled in the adjoining township of Richmond) were active in opening the State Road through their respective townships, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing a serviceable highway which was well adapted to its purpose and laid the foundations for more permanent improvements. Dr. Taylor resided most of his life in Athens, rearing a large family. Mrs. Sarah A. Taylor, his second wife, was a notable pioneer woman. In 1800 she came with her father, Theodore Scowden, from the Susquehanna to what is now Union Township, being at that time but a little girl. At an early age she married Captain Jolin Minnis, a soldier of the War of 18 12, and settled with him in Mercer County. His business, for he was a carpenter by occupation, often kept him from home until late at night and sometimes for entire days, and she was often left alone in their large unfinished cabin, which stood near the border of a dense and dismal forest. She had for a long time one evening awaited her husband's return, but he not coming, had at last retired and composed herself- to sleep. She was awakened in the course of the night by the noise of a large animal climbing the side of the house. It soon afterwards sprang into the loft above, which was only partly furnished with a -floor. Realizing her danger, she sprang from her bed and attempted to re- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 477 kindle the fire and thus scare away the hungry mtruder. Frightened by the angry growls of the ferocious animal, which now showed its head and looked ' down from the loft above, she retreated to the farther end of the cabin and took refuge in a large tea chest which closed with a spring lock. Fearing . that it might close on her and bring her to a death even more terrible than that of being devoured by the panther, she kept her fingers between the box and the cover. The next moment the savage creature bounded upon the box, crush- ing her fingers with his weight. Tortured by the pain and frightened almost to death, she fainted and remained unconscious until morning. Then with difficulty withdrawing herself from her cramped position, and finding that the animal had departed, she hastened to the nearest neighbor with her frightful tale. The panther had done no further damage than to devour a quantity of fish and meat hung from a beam near the fireplace. Left a widow by the death of her first husband, she married Dr. Taylor in 1836. They lived to- gether until his death at Batavia, New York, in 1875, and she remained a resi- dent of Athens Township tintil the end of her life. Michael Dobbs, who was born in Canada, near the northern end of Lake Champlain, crossed the frontier into the United States to avoid conscription in the English army. He was an expert trapper and hunter, and passed much of his time in the early days, dressed in the garb of a huntsman, in the pursuit of game. He remained a lifelong citizen of the township. Elihu Root ob- tained from the State the grant of a farm in the northwestern part of the township, upon which he remained until his death. William McCray, a native of Ireland, was another lifelong settler, who occupied land in the northeastern part of the township. Charles Loop was an early justice of the peace. He came from New York and settled on the tract of unsurveyed land about a half mile east of Little Cooley, but afterwards removed to Erie County. James Drake, from Seneca County, New York, who had served as a private during the War of 18 12, purchased one hundred acres of land in Athens Township in 1831. He did not occupy it at once, but contracted with Ebenezer Felton, of Boston, who possessed several hundred acres in the southern part of the township, to build a saw and grist mill for him on Muddy Creek. To this establishment a carding machine and blacksmith shop were afterwards added. Drake remained there twelve years in charge of the mills, after which he settled on his farm. Felton's Mills, as they were called, was for a time a place of some importance. A large business was carried on, giv- ing employment to about fifteen hands. Ebenezer Felton, the proprietor, al- though a resident of Boston, spent much of his time in Athens Township, looking after his interests. Soon after Mr. Drake's departure the work at the mills was suspended. During the early days shingles were made in large quantities and formed 478 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. almost the only staple article of trade. They were taken by water to Pitts- burg and other points along the Allegheny. As in some of the other sections, large quantities of black salts were produced from the wood ashes, and often furnished the early farmer with the means of paying his taxes. If a pioneer settled by himself in a secluded part of the forest his lot was certainly a hard ' one, for without the aid of neighbors he could construct but a poor habitation. In such cases it was usual to build only a temporary hut of light logs, roughly put together, in which to live until the arrival of other settlers in the vicinity would enable him to construct a more pretentious residence. But it was gen- erally the custom for a number of men to come into the wilderness together, and, locating near one another, they were able to render neighborly assistance when required. It was always readily given by all the settlers within a radius of several miles, and a log house was thus built by a union of their labors. The location of the cabin was usually selected with reference to a good water supply, if possible by some never-failing spring of pure water, or if that could not he found it was not uncommon to dig a well before locating the cabin, in order to be sure of an ample supply. Frequently the pioneers left their families in the East and came on alone to locate their lands, build a hut and perhaps start some corn and potatoes, afterwards returning to their old homes for their wives and children. Taylor's Stand, established about 1830, was the first postofhce within the township. Dr. Silas Taylor, for whom the place was named, was post- master during twenty years, and James D. Minnis afterwards held the office for a long period. The townships of Athens, Bloomfield, Troy, with parts of Sparta, Richmond and Rockdale, were originally supplied from this office. The mail was brought from Meadville on horseback once a week. At first scarcely a dozen newspapers were taken throughout this whole region. The postage on letters at this time was in proportion to the distance to which they were transported, varying from six to twenty-five cents. Little Cooley, which is located in the western part, near Muddy Creek, is the only village in the township. Charles Loop and Rev. Steele settled at this point at an early date and engaged in the manufacture of shingles and tubs, but their residence was only temporary. Isaac A. Cummings com- menced the demolition of the forest here in 1851, and was the first permanent settler. ,The first tavern was soon afterwards opened by Nathan Southwick, and George Fleck and L. J. Drake engaged in the same business with con- siderable success. The first store was opened about 1852 by Mr. Drake, and about the same period Hosea Southwick erected a saw mill, which he after- wards altered to a grist mill. The settlement prospered, increasing with a steady growth until it has attained its present proportions. Several stores. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 479 shops, mills and factories are located there, a hotel, church, schoolhouse and twenty-five or thirty residences. The first school in the township was taught by Chelous Edson, who in 1826 held a term in a log cabin standing in a ravine in the northeastern part of the township. This school was afterwards taught by his wife, and later by Elvira Sizer, Joseph Langworthy, Darwin Taylor and Lydia Taylor. Some years later Columbus Edson, Aaron Ellis and Charlotte Crouch were in- structors. The text-books used included the English reader, Webster's spell- ing book and Daboll's arithmetic, which branches, with writing, were the ones then taught. A second school was held in a log ashery, in 1831, on the Felton farm. Miss Wooster was the first teacher here, followed by Miss A. Curtis, and in 1834 Delos Crouch gave instruction. The-latter seems to have had a high reputation as an educator. Schools were soon afterwards held in the Langworthy settlement, on Post Ridge, and at Hutchinson's, on Muddy Creek. In 1840 a good school building was erected in the Taylor sub-district by private contributions. It was made of clapboards and planks, ceiled within and well lighted and seated. Professor Bunham, of Rochester, N. Y. ; Chauncey B. Sellers, of Meadville, and James D. Minnis of Athens, were among the teachers of this school. When the public school system was adopted, in 1836, Athens Township possessed four schools, which were kept open three months of the year. Four teachers were employed, their average monthly salary being $10, and eighty- two pupils were in attendance. The entire amount of money expended for school purposes during the year did not exced $135. In the report made to Dr. Burrowes, Superintendent of Public Instruction, the character and quali- fications of the teachers were reported as good, the branches taught being reading, writing and arithmetic, while the progress of the scholars was con- sidered satisfactory. In the official report for 1896 a most remarkable progress is shown to have taken place in Athens Township. No less than eleven, schools, with a school year of seven months, were successfully conducted, the six male and five female teachers receiving monthly salaries of $25 and $24 respectively. Three hundred and three scholars were in attendance, at an average cost to the township per month for each scholar of $1.52. Substantial school buildings had been erected, and during the year the amotint of $3,242.91 was expended for school purposes, a marked increase over the $135 of sixty years ago. A congregation of the United Brethren Church was formed at Little Cooley about i860, the Barlows, Wrights and Bennetts being among the prominent members. The early meetings of the society were held in the schoolhouse, until, in 1867, a fine, substantial church edifice was erected under the supervision of the society, although many of the residents of the vicinity, 48o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. regardless of denominational beliefs, contributed towards its construction and support. An Adventist congregation was organized about 1855 by Charles Craw- ford, with three members. John Root, Alva S. Gehr and Mr. Bush were early members. Its meetings were for a long time held in a schoolhouse in the northwestern part of the township, and sometimes in the open air. CHAPTER II. BEAVER TOWNSHIP. WHEN Crawford County was organized in 1800, among the townships erected, that occupying the northwestern corner of the county re- ceived the name of Beaver. Its limits were at that time much larger than now, embracing, in addition to its present territory, portions of Spring, Summerhill and Conneaut Townships. Its original boundaries are thus pre- served in the docket of the Court of Quarter Sessions of July 9, 1800: "Be- ginning at the northeast corner of Conneaut Township ; thence north until it intersects the northern boundary of Crawford County; thence west to the western boundary of the State; thence south to the northwest corner of Con- neaut Township; thence east to the place of beginning." In 1829 the boun- daries were changed by the erection of new townships, and Beaver was reduced to its present limits. It is a mathematical square, six miles each way, and forms the corner block at the intersection of the Erie and Crawford boundary with the Ohio line. Five small streams take their rise in the southern part of the township and flow north in almost parallel lines to the northern boundary, where they unite with Conneaut Creek. The slope of the land is slow and easy and the streams present an almost sluggish appearance as compared with the rapid flow of some of the brooks of the more hilly parts of the county. The surface of the township is low and level. When first settled it was wet and heavy, and it was then supposed that the larger portion could never be used for agricultural purposes. Since the timber has been taken off, however, the land has become dryer and is found to be arable and productive. The soil is clayey and well adapted to grazing. Dairying and stock raising are the leading industries, and lumbering is also a common occupation, although not carried on so extensively as in former years. The forests consisted largely of beech, ash, maple and poplar. An- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 481 other industry, during the early days, was the establishment of salt works at one of the old deer licks, and for some time it was a valuable source of revenue to its proprietors. In 181 5 Samuel Magaw and William Clark, of Meadville, em- ployed men to bore down to a considerable distance into the bowels of the earth. In the course of the following year they had proceeded to such a depth that they procured a fine flow of brine, which rushed up through the aperture and, upon evaporation, yielded daily upwards of ten bushels of excellent salt. Finding that the brine became stronger as they went deeper into the earth, they continued boring, hoping to thus increase the yield. Accordingly they sunk the shaft an additional depth of 200 or 300 feet, but, much to their dis- gust, instead of finding a stronger brine they obtained oil, which mixed with the salt water and entirely spoiled its commercial value. Thus in their efforts to obtain a better brine they spoiled what they already had, and the oil which came was not in sufficient quantities to render its production profitable. An effort was made to restore the salt spring to its original purity by filling the well to its former depth, but, that proving futile, the works were abandoned. Another early industry was the manufacture of black salts from the lye of leached ashes, which had a ready sale and was found to be a good source of profit to the farmer. As he cleared his farm and burned his heaps of logs he found himself possessed of large quantities of wood ashes which had a commercial value. The settler could convey them to the asheries and sell them, or himself manufacture the salts and send them to market. The money thus obtained saved the home of many an early pioneer from sale by the county sheriff. Large portions of Beaver Township were owned by the American Land Company and the Pennsylvania Population Company, the latter having ac- quired the title to large tracts in the eastern and southern parts. Pioneers contracting for land with the Pennsylvania Population Company were to re- ceive one hundred acres of land on condition of settling and making the necessary improvements, and were usually expected to purchase an additional fifty or hundred acres. Several settlements were thus made in Beaver as early as 1797. In some way or another the opinion became general that a settlement entitled the actual resident to the entire tract, and for this reason many of the early settlers either abandoned their clearings and sought better land, or else, remaining where they were, attempted to hold the entire tract against the company. It was a long time before they would relinquish their claims, but several test cases having been brought up in court they were obliged to do so. The western part of Beaver Township was owned by the American Land Company, while the northern and central portions were patented by individuals. By the land act of 1792 a tract of four hundred acres might be taken up upon condition of paying twenty cents an acre, clearing eight acres and com- 31 482 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. pleting a five years' residence. This was complied with in many instances by a non-resident entering the land and completing the terms of settlement by means of a temporary tenant, to whom a part of the land was given. Other enterprising settlers with several sons took possession of a number of tracts, built rude cabins and placed a son in each. Many disputes and conflicts arose and the early history of this section is a succession of quarrels, suits and evictions. Before the year 1800 numerous settlers had come in and a large part of the land had been taken up in claims. Many families came from Cumberland, Susquehanna and Huntington Counties. But in the first years of the century the settlement began to decrease, some of the earliest settlers removing to Spring Township and others scattering to various parts. The land troubles and the wet quality of the soil hastened the movement and in 1806 only three families, the Fosters, the Durhams and the McGuires, are known to have been living in the present limits of the township. In 18 12 Philip McGuire re- moved with his family to Summit Township, the Durhams removed about the same time to the French Creek Valley, and the Fosters were left for several years the only inhabitants of Beaver Township. Their residence was at Beaver Center and there were no neighbors within a radius of six miles. But in 1816 a steady stream of enterprising, industrious people began to flow in from New York and the Eastern States, and the land was soon well filled with Browns, Griswolds, Larkins, Gates, Plymates, Hollenbeaks and many other families, who became permanent settlers. The work of civilization was rap- idly carried on, land was cleared, houses built, roads constructed, and all kinds of improvements carried forward. Not being situated upon any important highway, the Beaver settlements did not receive the impetus which came to those of the French Creek Valley. They were isolated from the other settlements and no pilgrims ever passed that way. When William Foster, the first settler, left his base of supplies be- hind him, he brought with him upon a hand sled a barrel of flour, and this, with the meat furnished by the then abundant game, constituted his food sup- ply throughout the winter. He did his own cooking, which, it is fair to pre- sume, was of the most primitive character. As late as 1834 there were no roads in the locality in which he settled, and the blazed trees of the period were the only guide to the traveler in traversing the dense forests. The large lumber business led to the erection of many sawmills, of which the first was operated by William Plymate. Robert Foster built a grist mill and Lester Griswold conducted the first store. These were all located in the center of the township, at the crossing of two roads, and the geographical po- sition of the hamlet gave it the name of Beaver Center, by which it is still known. It is the only postoffice within the township, and there are located the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 483 churches, schools, stores and various industries, together with twenty or twen- ty-five dwellings. The advantages of schools were not possessed by the earliest pioneers, and after the removal of most of them to other parts the remaining ones sent their children to Conneautville to be educated. In 1826 a school was established a't Beaver Center by subscription and was managed by a board of three trustees. In the school report for 1837 we find Beaver Township credited with three schools, employing three teachers, the number of pupils in attend- ance being 152. School was taught during six months of the year. The amount of money raised for school purposes was less than two hundred dol- lars, almost half being from State appropriation and the remainder from the county. The average paj"- of teachers per month, both male and female, was $4.66. The character and qualifications of the teachers were described as good, and the progress of the pupils in the branches taught, reading, writing and arithmetic, was favorably commented upon. In 1896 the number of schools had increased to ten, taught by ten teachers, whose average monthly salary was $20.50. The number of pupils was 176 and the amount of money expended for school purposes was $2,350.59. The Beaver Center Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in -1839, the Gates, De Wolfs and Hasketts being early members. The meetings of the society were held in the schoolhouse until 1870, when a handsome frame church was completed, at an expense of $1,500. The class was at first at- tached to the Conneautville circuit, but afterwards belonged to Spring. There is a small but flourishing membership. A Christian congregation was organized at Beaver Center about 1840, with Elder J. E. Church as pastor, but was only continued for about ten years, when it went out of existence. A second one was organized in 1870 by Rev. I. R. Spencer, with twenty members. The meetings were held in the schoolhouse until 1871, when the present handsome building was erected at a cost of $2,400. Some of the substantial farmers of the neigh- borhood are members, and the congregation is prosperous. A United Brethren meeting house was erected at Reed's Corners, in the southwestern part of the township, in 1861, at a cost of $800. The society was organized in 1850 by the Rev. Willis Lamson, a resident of the township, with an original membership of ten persons, the Reeds and Halsteads being early members. The church is small and has been active at irregular periods only. CHAPTER III. BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP. BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP lies on the northern border of the county, east of the center, and has an area of 21,383 acres. When the county was divided into townships, in 1800, Oil Creek Township em- braced the whole of the eastern end. In 181 1 this was divided, Bloomfield being erected in the northeastern corner and including within its bounds what is now Sparta, the northern part of Rome, the northeastern part of Athens and the eastern part of Bloomfield. The western part of what is now Bloom- field was included in Rockdale until 1829, when the boundaries were read- justed and constituted as they now exist. The township is bounded on the north by Erie County, on the east by Sparta Township, on the south by Athens and on the west by Rockdale. The population within its original boundaries was in 1820 but 214, while every other township boasted of 400 or more, thus showing that the northeastern portion of the county was the slowest in settle- ment. The valley of Oil Creek extends diagonally through the center of the township in a southeasterly direction, and with its numerous tributaries, the principal of which are West Gate Creek and Streve and Mosey Runs, break the surface considerably. The east and west branches of Federal Run water the surface of the western part of the township and contribute their waters to Muddy Creek, a branch of French Creek. On the low lands and in the east- ern part, beech, elm, maple, hemlock and basswood are found, while in the western end white oak and chestnut cover the long ridges. The soil of the township is of excellent quality. Oil Creek Lake, which, while it has several inlets, may very properly be called the source of Oil Creek, lies near the center of the township. This beautiful sheet of water, which in the early days was called Washington Lake, is several hundred acres in extent, with a probable depth of thirty feet, and is well stocked with fish. It is the highest lake in Crawford County, having an altitude of 816 feet above Lake Erie. The northern part of the township was State land, and a portion of this was claimed by John Fields, a wealthy citizen of Philadelphia. He sent his agent, James Hamilton, into the section in 1798, who, for the purpose of opening up the territory and attracting settlers, built a saw and grist mill at the foot of Oil Creek Lake. This was the first mill in the northeastern part of the county, and in 1821 was rebuilt. He succeeded in attracting to Bloom- field quite a number of hardy pioneers, but almost all of them went away again 484 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 485 in a few years on account of land difficulties and other discouragements. In 1808 Hamilton also left and removed to Meadville. The Holland Land Company owned a few tracts in the northwestern part of the township, and they succeeded in contracting for their settlement in the years 1798-99. But the contractors, if they occupied the land at all, for they are not remem- bered, did not remain long, betaking themselves to other parts, and the forests preserved for many years their state of primeval solitude. There is a tradition that a man named Cunningham came here in 1795 and lived a hermit's life in the recesses of the forest, before the arrival of permanent settlers, and that upon their approach he left for other parts. Thomas Bloomfield, from whom the township received its name, was one of the earliest permanent settlers. He was a native of New Jersey, and at the age of twenty- three married Elizabeth Morris, a niece of Robert Morris, the celebrated financier of the Revolution. He was a man of considerable means and had engaged extensively in trading along the coast, but in 1797 came from Fayette County to the French Creek Valley. In the following year he removed to Bloomfield, bringing with him his family of nine children, one of whom was married. He took up two tracts, one for himself and one for his son Lewis, then under age, while his son Isaac and his son-in-law, James Bryan, each settled a tract. Thomas Bloomfield remained a resident of the township until his death. His eldest daughter, Catherine, who married James Bryan, was the first white woman in the township, and after a residence there of thirty-five years removed West with her husband. They had come to Bloomfield shortly before the arrival of her parents. Isaac Bloomfield re- mained in the township several years, after which he removed to the vicinity of Toledo, Ohio. Thomas Bloomfield, Jr., was a justice of the peace, and remained a resident of the county until his death in 1866. Richard Shreve was a son of Gen. M'^illiam Shreve, of Bordentown, N. J., who served under Washington throughout the war of the Revolution. He was born in 1760, and in 1798 came to Bloomfield from Red Stone, where for eight years he had been in charge of the Washington mills, built by George Wash- ington. He remaine4 a citizen of Bloomfield until his death, clearing a farm and serving as justice of the peace and as captain in the militia. He had a family of thirteen children, nine sons and four daughters, five of whom were born in their western home. Eight farms were cleared by the Shreves, and many descendants of the family still reside in the township. William, the eldest son, settled on land adjoining his father's and raised a family of eleven children. William and Barzilla brought a carding machine with them from the- East and operated it during two seasons. It was the third one brought into Allegheny County, of which Crawford County was then a part, the other two' being owned by Lot Lewis, of Meadville, and E. Hewes, of Erie. Between 1798 and 1800 several other settlers moved in, and during the 486 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. first years of the present century many more arrived, although all did not re- main. When, in 1839, Jo'^'i Chapin came to the western part of the town- ship from Smyrna, N. Y., the country about here was still thinly settled. The roads were few and in bad condition. John Willy, who was one of the earliest settlers in the western part, afterwards removed to Erie County. Linas Cummings, a son of Nathan Cummings, of Cambridge Township, took possession of a claim near the central part in 1829. James Blakeslee, who came in 1819 from Genesee County, New York, settled upon the farm which Cunningham, the first inhabitant, is said to have lived upon before the arrival of the foremost pioneers. His sons, Hosea and Elkanah Blakeslee, were well known early settlers. William Hubbel is known to have been a resident of Bloomfield before 1820. The Donation Lands, to which the southern part of Bloomfield as well as large portions of the other townships belonged, were lands located and laid off by an act of thfc Legislature of March 12, 1783. They were appropriated expressly to fulfill a previous promise of the Commonwealth "to the officers and privates belonging to this State in the Federal army, of certain donations and quantities of land according to their several ranks, to be surveyed and divided off to them severally at the end of the war." The lands were surveyed in lots of from two hundred to five hundred acres each, enough of each kind to supply the different ranks. A major general was entitled to draw four tickets, by lottery, of five hundred aci-es each; a brigadier general three of the same size, and so on down to the corporals, drummers, fifers and private sol- diers, who drew one ticket of two hundred acres each. The Donation Dis- tricts were distinguished by numbers. The eastern part of the Second Dona- tion District, having been reported to Gen. William Irvine, the agent, as being generally unfit for cultivation, the numbers of lots therein were taken out of the wheel and provision was made elsewhere for such of the officers and soldiers as were thus cut oft". The district thus rejected was called the Struck District. Various regulations and restrictions were made by law re- garding the mode of survey, entry, transfer of title and limit of time for per- fecting the soldiers' titles to their lands, and the limit of ijme was subsequently extended b)'' successive laws. In a log cabin which stood near Tillotson's Corners, Isaac Bloomfield is said to have taught the first school, about 1820. The first building erected for educational purposes was the block schoolhouse near Bloomfield's Corners. Before the year 1834 there were but three schools in the township. In that year the first school board was elected under the new law, with Stephen Bloom- field as president and Joshua Negus secretary. They adopted a plan calling for the establishment of ten schools, and it is said that five of them were or- ganized at that time, although but two are reported in the reports for 1837. These schools were in session three months of the year and were attended by OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 487 forty-five pupils. The teacliers, who received a salary of $12 a month, were reported as "professing to teach reading, writing, arithmetic and geography, and one of them grammar," and these were accordingly the branches in which instruction was given. Nothing better illustrates the progress made in this township during the past sixty years than a comparison of the school reports of then and now. The number of schools has increased from two to twelve, and the average length of the school year from three to seven months. In 1896 fourteen teachers were employed at liberal salaries, and 257 pupils were in attendance at an average cost per month to the township of $2.45, and from the insig- nificant sum expended in 1837 the amount of money raised for the use of schools had in 1896 increased to more than $3,600. Lincolnville is a small village situated south of the center of the town- ship. It was first settled by Seth C. Lincoln who came from Massachusetts in 1.837 ^-"d located in the midst of what was then a trackless forest. Soon after his arrival he constructed a water, saw and grist mill on Oil Creek, which he operated until his death in 1847, after which his son and several others suc- cessively became its proprietors. Solomon S. Sturdevant emigrated from New York State in 1837 and for some time assisted Mr. Lincoln in operating the mill, after which he opened a blacksmith shop. Erastus Carter, a carpenter by trade, built a tannery several years later. In 1861 the settlement contained about eight families and the village plat was laid out by E. F. Lincoln. It has been much favored by its location on Oil Creek, in the center of a lumber- ing district. The village contains several stores, shops, mills, a schoolhouse and church. In 1881 P. B. Edson commenced the publication in Lincolnville of a little monthly newspaper called the Breeze. In 1883, J. L. Rohr, of Town- ville, began issuing the Star, which was printed in Townville and published in Lincolnville. Its name was afterwards developed intO' the Shooting Star, and under that name attained a circulation of two or three hundred, but after a year of adverse fortune its publication was suspended. Sturgis Postoffice is situated in the northern part, on the western line of the township. Bloomfield Postofifice is located on the railroad, a short distance north of the lake. Tillotson's Postofifice is located in the northern part, a mile and a half east of Bloomfield, and contains a store," shop and several dwellings. The Lincolnville Baptist Church was organized in 1870 by Rev. Cyrus Shreve, who became the first pastor. There were nine original members — Edward F. Lincoln, Charlotte F. Wellmon, Cornelia Nurse, Olive Lilly, Elizabeth Orcutt, William Lewis, Charles H. Sturdevant, Amanda Sturdevant and Catherine C. Thomas. Meetings were held in a schoolhouse a short dis- tance east of the village until 1876, when the edifice in which the congrega- tion now worships was erected at a cost of about $3,000. The Bloomfield Baptist Church was organized in 1850 by Rev. R. D. Hays, 488 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. who was the first pastor. There were eighteen original members. The church forms a part of the Oil Creek x\ssociation. A surprisingly large number of churches have been established in Bloomfield Township at various times, many of which have gone out of ex- istence and others have scarcely maintained services. The Chapinville Baptist Church was established in the western part of the township, Elder V. Thomas being the first pastor. A Free Will Baptist Church was organized in the eastern part, going out of existence in 1880. A Christian Church was es- tablished in the eastern part of the township and held services for some time. A Methodist Society was organized in 1840 near the western boundary^ John Chapin, Hiram Drake, Lewis Larkin, Abraham Bennett and Asahel Hamilton being among the first members. The early meetings were held in a log schoolhouse on the Rockdale side of the line, then in John Chapin's house in this township until 1858, when meetings were commenced in a schoolhouse and continued there ten years. In 1868 a frame church was built in the northwestern part of the township at a cost of $1,500. The society ceased holding services in .1876. Another Methodist Society was organized in 1856 at the Mickle Hollow schoolhouse, in the southwestern corner of the town- ship. It had a large original membership, but ceased to exist after four years. Wilkin's United Brethren Society held its first meeting in a schoolhouse near Chapinville. C. C. Marsh, J. S'. Wilson, O. A. Chapin and Henry Wilkins were prominent among the early members. The services were after- wards held in the Methodist Church in that vicinity. \ The Maple Grove United Brethren Society was organized in 1858, Seth Pound, George Loomis, Henry King and William Mays being among the members at this period. For many years the services were conducted in a schoolhouse in the southern part of the township, but in 1872 a substantial and well-furnished meeting house was erected at a cost of about $1,500. BOROUGH OF RICEVILLE. The borough of Riceville is situated near the southeastern corner of Bloomfield Township, on Oil Creek. As late as 1831 this vicinity was still an unbroken forest, Samuel Rice, who came in that year and erected a cabin upon the present site of Riceville, being the first settler. He built a saw mill on Oil Creek soon after his arrival, of which he continued the proprietor for many years. In 1834 he started the first store, but soon afterwards sold it to Adonijah Fuller. Simon Smith, a carpenter and joiner, settled there in the early days, but years afterwards removed to Indiana. Russell Bidwell came in 1832 and settled on a farm on which the northern part of Riceville is now situated. After a residence of more than twenty years he removed to Athens Township. The first blacksmith shop was started by Newton Graves. In 1847 Benjamin Westgate was operating a sash factory, Barnett B. Cummings OUR COUNTY AND- ITS PEOPLE. 489 was running a hotel, and Moses Adams had a shoemaking shop, while ten or twelve families completed the settlement. At the Augtist term of the Court of Quarter Sessions, 1859, Riceville was incorporated as a borough, and a special election for the first officers was held in the same year. Joseph Knight was chosen burgess, Stephen Bloomfield and R. B. Westgate, justices of the peace ; John Himebaugh, constable ; George Metier, judge of election, and Clark Rice and F. G. King, inspectors. The village increased with a steady growth and at present numbers be- tween three and four hundred inhabitants. It boasts of several stores, mills, markets, shops and churches, with a hotel, physicians and manufacturing in- dustries. A postoffice was estabhshed here in 1847, when Bamett B. Cum- mings held the position of postmaster, the mail coming from Meadville once a week. Dorcas Taylor, a daughter of Dr. Silas Taylor, of Athens Township, taught the first school within the borough about 1835. A deserted cabin which stood about a fourth of a mile west of the station, and which had been built and occupied by Mr. Gunsley, was used as the first school building. ' Har- riet Humphry and Austin Mosier were early teachers in a plank house which had been erected for the accommodation of the laborers at the mill. Sidney Tracy taught in an abandoned cabin east of the creek, and the first school- house, a frame building, was in 1847 built near the same location. It was known as the red schoolhouse, and continued in use until about 1872. In 1896 two schools were in operation in the borough, with a school year of seven months. Sixty-three scholars were in attendance, the average cost of instruction for each child per month amounting to $1.45. . About $640 was expended during the year for the support of the schools. Elder Fish, of the Christian denomination, preached in the village as early as 1838, these being the earliest religious services conducted in the vil- lage. Early services were also conducted by the Presbyterians, but neither denomination succeeded in organizing a church. The Riceville Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1849, by Rev. Forest ; J. W. Grey and wife, Myron S. Staring and Mrs. Lorina Austin beipg the four original members. Meetings were held for about five years in the old red schoolhouse, afterwards in a public hall, and then in the Con- gregational Church. In 1874 a handsome church edifice was erected at a cost of about $4,500. The First Congregational Church of Riceville was organized in 1858 by Rev. U. T. Chamberlain, who became the first pastor. A church building was erected in 1859 and extensively remodeled and repaired in 1875. R. B. West- gate, Lorin Marsh, H. C. Conner, Thomas Ferry, V. F. Hale, William Mal- lory, D. D. Walker, C. N. Smith and G. M. Anderson were the original mem- bers. CHAPTER IV. CAMBRIDGE TOWNSHIP. WHEN Crawford County was divided into townships, in 1800, French Creek was assigned as the boundary between Venango and Rockdale, the former lying to the west, the latter to the east. As the settle- ments becaihe more numerous the number of townships was increased, and in 1829 Rockdale was reduced to its present limits, having assigned to it the land to the west of French Creek which had before formed part of Venango. To Venango, on the other hand, was given the portion of the western part of Rockdale which now forms the southern part of Cambridge Township, the line of division being changed from the windings of the creek to a straight line running north and south. In 1852 the township was divided, the territory west- of Conneautee and French Creeks keeping the name of Venango, while the eastern portion was organized as Cambridge Township. It lies near the center of the northern boundary of the county and con- tains 12,580 acres of excellent land. The surface generally is undulating, of good quality; better adapted, however, to the raising of stock than of grain, although there is an ample portion suitable for the latter. In the northern part there is some low and marshy land. French Creek enters the township about the center of the eastern border, and, meandering centrally across it, turns to the south and forms a part of its western boundary. The remainder is formed by Conneautee Creek, which flows south from Erie County, and unites with French Creek. The excellent land of the French Creek flats has no superior for grain-raising, while the gently rolling surface beyond covers a rich clay loam. Dairying is the chief pursuit of the inhabitants. The name of the township was taken from the village of Cambridge, which had been settled long before the formation of the township. It was founded by Mr. Christie, from Massachusetts, who doubtless christened it in honor of the New England university town of that name. But the earliest settlers were families of Irish and German birth who .came from the valley of the Susque- hanna. From 181 2 to 1820 there was a tide of immigration from New Eng- land, while much later many came from New York State. About the same time quite a settlement of Germans took possession of much of the low land in the northern part. Most of the land in Cambridge Township belonged to the Holland Land Company, and their records show that a number of tracts were settled before 490 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 491 the close of the eighteenth century. Henry Baugher was probably the first, who contracted for one hundred and fifty acres in 1 797, and took possession of his farm the same year. He came from Harrisburgh, and settled in the south- western corner of the township, where he patented two tracts, on both of which he managed to hold a settlement by building his double log cabin exactly on the line. He was a carpenter by trade, and is remembered as a very eccentric character. He afterwards removed to Mercer County. Robert Humes settled in Cambridge Township in 1797, and is often given as the first inhabitant. He was a native of Ireland, and came to this country in 1796, spending a year in Meadville, where he is said to have helped to raise the first frame cabin built in the village. His brother, Archibald, came about the same time and settled on a farm in Tract 137, where he died in 1806. Isaac Braden settled near the mouth of Conneautee Creek and remained until his death at an ad- vanced age. Calvin Snell occupied what was known as the "sand bank farm," from the fact that a large bank of sand was found on the place, from which immense quantities have been taken for building purposes. Edward Hicks came from the Susquehanna and selected a tract on the northern bank of French Creek within the present limits of Cambridge Springs. Job Van Court was a native of Holland who settled on the present site of the borough of Cambridge Springs. He was an eccentric character, and was ousted as an intruder by the Holland Company. He remained in the vicinity until his death, following his trade of shoe-making. Many curious tales are told of him and his super- stitious beliefs, and for many years the children feared to pass at night by the spot near the State road, where he was buried. His son, Benjamin Van Court, contracted to settle a neighboring farm, but only remained during one year. Leonard Doctor, a German from Lycoming County, and David Adams, an Irishman from the Susquehanna Valley, both became life-long residents. James Blair was an Irishman by birth, and made one of the first selections of land in the township. He had the impression that the largest trees indicated the best land, so he chose a farm on the clay summit where the chestnut timber grew heaviest. He did not remain long but removed to Erie County. Thomas Fullerton came from Muncie in 1802, and, with his three sons, Baily, William and James, settled a mile northwest of Cambridge Springs. His first cabin was erected so near the banks of French Creek that it was almost invariably partially submerged during the freshets. He kept a tavern, and he was a rather credulous old gentleman. His guests found him a good source of amusement. Among anecdotes of him it is related, that a Yankee onte sold him his own axe for a new one, after having scraped the handle to change its appearance. His son Baily was a farmer and distiller and lived south of the creek. 492 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. James Birchand, from Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and Amos Ames, froin the same State, came in 1813; and Dr. Perkins and Charles T. Cummings, who came the same year, purchased a large tract of land, which was settled by emigrants from Massachusetts, and was for a long time known as Yankee Hill. Daniel and Sylvester Root, brothers, from Hampshire County, Massachusetts, settled in the township in 18 19. These early settlers were accustomed to go to Erie for salt and other necessities, which were con- veyed on forked poles drawn by a yoke of oxen. This was a rude convey- ance, one which the descendants of those worthy pioneers could scarcely be induced to adopt at the present day, but one which was well adapted to the times and the condition of the rough forest paths through which they passed. Samuel Jones was another early resident, who came during the first years of the century, and made a settlement in Cambridge Township. Frederick Doctor, a brother of Leonard, resided here several years, but afterward re- moved to Clarion County. Mr. Zarn, was a pioneer of German birth, who occupied a claim on the banks of French Creek, opposite Venango, and others who came about the same time were John Hays, Jacob Saeger, John Weatherby and William Bailey. In 181 5 the first bridge built over the creek at Cambridge was constructed by John St. Clair, the means being furnished by private sub- scriptions. It was several years before any systematic attempt to establish schools was made. They were rare during the early days. Occasionally a subscription paper would be circulated among the settlers, and if enough money could be secured a term would be held in some deserted log cabin. The first one is said to have been held on the banks of French Creek in 1808, and was taught by Cornelius Campbell. Owen David taught the second, and he was succeeded by David Terrell. In 1896 there were seven schools in Cambridge Township, employing seven teachers. The school year was six months in duration, and there were one hundred and forty-nine scholars in attendance. Almost nine- teen hundred dollars was expended during the year for their support. Drake's Mills is a hamlet in the northwestern part of the township. The first improvement in that vicinity was made by Simeon and Reuben Bishop. They built the first saw-mill, and also operated a carding mill, constructing a dam on Conneautee Creek to give the necessary water power. John Marvin built a grist mill here and opened the first store, which he afterwards sold to Mr. Drake, for whom the settlement was named. A postoffice was established, and the hamlet now contains several dwelling houses, a store, the mills and a blacksmith shop. A congregation of tlie German Lutheran Church was formed at Drake's Mills before 1850, and in 185 1 a church edifice was erected. Henry Racob, Frederick Arnaman, Ernst Hornaman and Henry Steinhoff were among the earliest members, and Rev. Nonamacher was the pastor while the building OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 493 was being erected. A large number of the farmers of German descent who reside in this vicinity are members of the congregation, which numbers about one hundred. Rev. Mr. Mizner is the present pastor. The first rehgious meetings in the township, when it was still a part of Venango, were held on the bank of French Creek, near the cemetery. The worshipers assembled under heaven's blue canopy, sheltered by the forest trees. A stump, cut down the center, with one side left a few feet higher than the other, served as a pulpit, while the congregation sat upon logs and such other conveniences as the location afforded. BOROUGH OF CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS. Cambridge Springs is located near the center of Cambridge' Township, on the banks of French Creek. In 1866 a petition, signed by forty-five citi- zens, to incorporate Cambridge as a borough, was presented to the grand jury, which reported favorably. The decision was confirmed by the Court of Quarter Sessions, and the village was incorporated under the name of the Borough of Cambridgeboro. An election was ordered to be held, which re- sulted in the selection of A. B. Ross for burgess ; N. L. Snow, justice of the peace; and D. D. Birchard, Abel Drake, S. B. Hadley, R. W. Perrin and P. K. Carroll for members of the council. A postoffice was also established here under the name of Cambridgeboro. On April i, 1897, the name of the bor- ough was changed by the courts to Cambridge Springs, and at the same time the Postoffice Department made a similar change in the name of the office. Jesse C. AUee is the present burgess, and Wm. H. Klie is the postmaster. Although the village is an old one, its growth was for many years very slow. Much of the land now occupied by the borough was tract No. 127, which was first settled by the Van Courts, as related in Cambridge Township. The cabin of Job Van Court occupied the present site of M. B. Ross' resi- dence, on Venango Avenue. Bailey Fullerton, in 1809, occupied what is now the southern part of the village, and remained a resident untif his death in 1845. He operated a distillery in addition to following the occupation of a farmer. In 181 5 the two-hundred acre tract from which the Van Courts had been ejected was sold by the Holland Land Company to Nathan Cummings, who took possession and erected a log cabin at the head of Venango Avenue, near the present site of the American House. He afterwards sold one hun- dred acres of the tract to his brother, Joseph T. Cummings, a former resident of Evansburgh, who, about 1822, soon after the turnpike was constructed, laid out the village plat. Nathan Cummings was a physician, and beside him there were Drs. Lorin West, William Killison, J. A. M. Alexander, Peter Faulkner and Joseph Gray, who all followed the same profession in this vicin- ity. The first stores were established by Dr. West and John Marvin, and soon afterwards Ralph Snow and John W. McFadden became local merchants. 494 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. A tavern was opened by Edward Hicks, before 1812, within the present limits of the borough, on the north side of French Creek, and another was kept in the same locaht)' by Thomas Fullerton. Nathan Cummings and Horatio G. Davis were contemporary tavern-keepers south of the creek. Until about i860 it developed very little, being nothing more than a small trading point for that portion of the county, but the construction of the At- lantic and Great Western, now the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Rail- road, infused new life into the village, and a steady growth commenced which has continued up to the present day. George Thomas erected a cheese factory, the first of the present system in the county, and afterwards built 3 saw-mill on Church Street in connection with it. This was successful for some time, but was afterwards burned. Kitchen Hoag had built the first saw-mill in the village in 1847, and after several years of active business it was con- sumed by fire. B. M. Sherwood then erected a large saw and planing mill on the same site, which has since been one of the most important industries of the village, employing at some times as many as forty men. It is now operated by Sherwood and Son, and includes a grist mill and shovel-handle factory, besides the saw and planing mill. Similar industries are carried on by Tryon and Mattison and the Phoenix Novelty Works, and their production each year forms an important item in the business of Cambridge Springs. The village is well supplied with dry goods, grocery, boot and shoe, jew- elry, clothing, hardware, drug, furniture and other kinds of stores, besides bakeries, livery stables and a photograph, gallery. Several physicians and dentists are also located there. Carriage shops, bkcksmith shops, shoe shops, harness shops and other similar establishments are in sufficient number to supply the wants of the village and surrounding country. A tannery is op- erated by Jacob Bolard ; S. Hartman is the proprietor of a hay press and trans- acts a large business in pressing and shipping hay; and a marble works is owned by L. L. Jones. There are also in the village a warehouse, numerous excellent hotels, and bottling works which prepare enormous quantities of min- eral water and ginger ale for the market. Two well established banks carry on business at Cambridge Springs, The Farmei^s' Savings Bank and J. L. & A. Kelley. C. Blystone is the president of the Farmers' Savings Bank, and L. A. Marcy is the cashier. The first newspaper established at Cambridge was the "Index," a small sixteen-page monthly, commenced by A. W. Howe in 1869. It succeeded in winning the favor of the public, and was gradually enlarged and became a well established weekly. Upon the death of Mr. Howe, in 1872, the paper was purchased by D. P. Robbins, who continued it under the same name, and largely increased its circulation. In 1877 it was sold to F. H. and George O. Morgan, who removed it to Meadville. Realizing that a town like Cambridge required a newspaper of its own, W. L. Perry, immediately following the re- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 495 moval of the "Index," issued the first number of the "Cambridge News." It was well received, and he continued as its publisher and editor until 1883, when he transferred it to Moses & Wade. It is now owned and edited by the Eokles Bros., and is a bright, newsy, eight-page weekly, issued every Thurs- day. The "Cambridge Springs News" is Republican in politics, and has a highly creditable circulation. The Cambridge Springs "Enterprise" is a younger newspaper venture, which has secured a good circulation in Cam- bridge Springs and vicinity. It is Republican in politics, and is edited by Moses & Lamb. A Conservatory of Music was established in 1883 by Professor E. P. Russell. Its course included vocal and instrumental music, elocution, draw- ing and painting. It had a faculty of six instructors, and during the first term sixty-eight pupils were in attendance. The institution attained marked suc- cess, but was discontinued after a brief existence. About ten years ago it was discovered that a spring of water on the prop- erty of Dr. Gray was possessed of remarkable medicinal qualities, and as its properties were made known and the fame of its cures spread abroad, Cam- bridge became the resort of many who wished to benefit by its curative powers. To accommodate them a fine large hotel, constructed and furnished especially for use as a health resort, was erected near the banks of the creek, and within a few minutes' walk of the Gray Mineral Springs. Visitors from every direc- tion who came here found Cambridge an ideal place for rest and recreation, and their numbers so increased in a few years that it was found necessary to build other hotels for their accommodation. Among these the Cambridge House, the Hotel de Vita^ the Highland Hotel, Shady Lawn Hotel and the American House are the more prominent, and these, with numerous boarding houses, are taxed to their utmost each summer to accommodate the hundreds of guests who come from all quarters in search of health and' pleasure. The popularity of Cambridge Springs as a health resort increases from year to year, and among its visitors are many who, from their -^^ealth and po- sition, are well known throughout the nation. In order to provide a fit place of entertainment for guests of this class, W. D. Rider conceived the idea of erecting, on a hill overlooking the village and surrounding valley, an hotel of such size and appointments as would equal in magnificence and comfort any similar establishment on this side of the Atlantic. It was commenced in the summer of 1895, and large forces of workmen were kept constantly employed during the next two years. It was finished and opened to the public in August, 1897, and its tasteful appointments, convenient arrangement and thor- ough service entitle it to the rank claimed for it by its builders. The Plotel Rider, as it is called, is five stories in height, and from its windows are seen some of the finest views in the picturesque French Creek Valley. It is of pressed brick, with cut-stone trimmings, and, standing as it does on an emi- 496 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. nence above the town, presents an imposing appearance. There are five acres of floor room in the hotel, and in addition to the numerous parlors, offices and sleeping apartments, two large dining-rooms, a well equipped ball-room, a theater with a seating capacity of four hundred, swimming pools, a billiard room and bowling alley provide inexhaustible indoor amusement for the guests of the hotel. In April, 1897, a fire broke out in a building near the center of the town and soon spread through the business portion. The village was possessed of no protection against fire, and both sides of Main Street as far as the railroad were soon in flames, and the entire business section, together with several houses, was completely consumed. One life was lost, A. W. Hays being caught under a falling wall and burned to death before he could be extricated. Fire companies arrived from Meadville, Union City and Corry, and with the aid of portable engines succeeded in saving most of the residence portion of the village. Many .fine business blocks were burned, among them the Cam- bridge House, a commodious and well furnished hotel erected but a few years before. But, Phoenix-like, Cambridge rose from her ashes, larger and more beau- tiful than before. On the site of the former buildings, many of which were of wood, large brick business blocks have been erected, of a uniformity of size and construction, which gives Main Street an urban appearance not often seen in a village of similar size. Among these are the New Cambridge House, Ma- sonic Building, and the Kelly, Graves, Root, Fellows, Palmer and McDaniela blocks. These buildings are occupied by progressive and enterprising busi- ness men, and their stores are well stocked and furnished with a greater va- riety of goods than is usually found in places of its size. The village occu- pies both banks of French Creek, which are connected by two bridges, one a suspension bridge and the other of iron. The development of the mineral springs and the building of the large hotels have been sources of prosperity to Cambridge Springs, and have increased not only the population but the value of property. New streets have been opened and many fine residences built within the past five years. The population during the summer months is es- timated at two thousand. The first schoolhouse in the borough was on Main Street, on the A. B. Ross plot, opposite the present location of the New Cambridge House. It was a small frame building, but one story in height. It was lighted by six small windows placed in the roof, this novel arrangement being adopted in order to withdraw from the pupil the temptation to gaze upon external nature, thus promoting application to .study. Among the early teachers in this unique structure were S. R. Jackson, Mr. Lowry, Ezra Jones and Polly Reader. In 1838 it was replaced by a frame building on a lot adjoining the property of the Methodist Church. It was in turn succeeded, in 1855, by a two-story OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 497 frame building erected on Venango Avenue. This continued in use until 1875, when the present schoolhouse was erected upon the same lot. It is a hand- some, commodious building, and its various departments are now filled to their utmost capacity. In 1896 there were six schools in Cambridge Springs, and the school year was eight months long. There were three hundred and thirty-four pupils in attendance, of whom one hundred and forty-eight were boys. The average cost for each scholar per month was $1.41. During the year more than eighteen hundred dollars was raised by taxation in the borough for the sup- port of the schools, and the total expenditure for educational purposes, includ- ing the amount received from the State appropriation, exceeded three thou- sand dollars. fr The Methodist Episcopal Church of Cambridge Springs was organized about 1828, and the first meetings were held in the schoolhouse and in John W. McFadden's old distillery, which occupied the present site of the Congre- gational Church. Christian Blystone, Eleazer Rockwell, Stephen Mory, Ber- nard and Rebecca Rockwell, and John M. McFadden were prominent among the early members of the society. In 1832 a church building was erected on East Church Street, on the site of the present church, and was the first religious edifice built in Cambridge. In 1865 it was replaced by the building which is still in use. Cambridge Circuit was organized in 1831, and continued until 1844. It then became part of the Rockville Circuit, but in 1855 the Cam- bridge Circuit was temporarily restored. It was permanently established in 1878, and included besides the Cambridge society those of Venango and Skelton, in Venango Township. The church building has been remodeled recently, and a large congregatidn now worships there. Rev. J. C. Skelton is the present pastor. The Baptist Church of Cambridge Springs was originally the Lebanon Baptist Church, which was organized in Rockdale Township on October 31, 1812, by Revs. William West and Thomas Rigdon. There were twelve origi- nal members, and a church building was erected in Rockdale Township, where services were held for some time. But as a majority of the members lived in and about Cambridge, the society was removed there, and in 1835 a place of worship was built on Venango Avenue. This was used until 1865, when a third church edifice was erected on Main Street, during the pastorate' of Rev. M. Thomas. Its cost was $6,000, and it was capable of seating three hundred and eighty persons. A new lecture-room and parlors have since been added to the property, and a large and flourishing membership now maintains worship here. The first pastor was Rev. George Miller, and Rev. L. B. Underwood is now in charge. From the minutes of the "Forty-ninth Annual Session of the French Creek Baptist Association" we learn that the members of the Cambridge 32 . • 498 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Church at its organization were George Miller, Alex. Anderson, Isaac Kelley, John Langley, James Anderson, Sally Clark, Barbar Miller, Hannah Kelley, Elizabeth Daniel, Christiana Miller and Lydia Anderson; and the following extract indicates the discipline of the early church : "In the early history of the church every member was required to attend every meeting; if any one but once failed to do so he was required to give an excuse; if he failed twice he was visited by brethren appointed by the church, who reported at the next meeting. Brethren appointed on any committee were required faithfully to perform their duty ; if any one committed a misdemeanor which came to the knowledge of the church, some judicious brother was appointed to admonish him. A yearly meeting was held which all were expected and were glad to attend, and which was even attended by members of sister churches, com- mencing Saturday P. M. and continuing over the Sabbath. Their greetings on these occasions were hearty. Their evening meetings often extended far into the night. When they voted to hold a special or protracted meeting, they gave themselves to prayer and fasting, arranged their business so that all could attend from the first, and gave word to their friends near and far. Neighboring pastors would attend. These meetings were short, but frequently from the first sinners would ask for the prayers of Christians." A Congregational society was organized in Cambridge about 1850, and a church building erected. In 1852 there was a division among the members, and two organizations were formed, a Presbyterian and a Congregational Church. By mutual agreement the Presbyterians retained the building already erected, and the Congregational society at once built a church on the south- west corner of Church and Prospect Streets, which they still occupy. The church was organized April 21, 1852, the six original members being A. B. Ross, D. O. Wing, Mrs. Maria T. Fullerton, Mrs. Harriet R. Ross, Mrs. Rebecca Rockwell and Mrs. Jane Wing. Rev. L. L. Radcliffe was the first minister, and remained several years. The membership is small, and there is no pastor at present. The First Presbyterian Church of Cambridge Springs was organized in 1852 by Revs. E. W. Beebe, Craighead and Kerr. As stated above, they retained possession of the church on the north side of Church Street, which had been erected by the old Congregational society, from which both the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches originated. The first pas- tor was Rev. G. W. Hampson, who was succeeded by Rev. William A. McCar- rel. In 1875 Rev. William Grassie became the pastor, which position he still retains. In 1895 a handsome new church building was erected on Main Street at a cost of $13,000. It is of pressed brick, trimmed with cut stone, and con- tains, in addition to the main room, a chapel, parlors and dining-room. The church membership numbers about one hundred, and is in a very flourishing condition. A German Lutheran Church was formed in Cambridge about 1869. It OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 499 was a division from the congregation at Drake's Mills, and maintained services many years, although there vi^as no regular place of meeting.' In 1882 the difficulties were adjusted and it again united with the Drake's Mills Church. A Universalist Church was organized many years ago north of French Creek and a frame church built. It flourished for some time, then became too weak to maintain services, and went out of existence. In 1875 it was re- organized and services were once more established, but in 1881 they were again discontinued, and have never been resumed. In 1897 a Catholic congregation was organized at Cambridge Springs under the ministrations of Rev. Father James J. Dunn, of Meadville. The meetings are held in a house on McLallen Street, no regular place of worship liaving yet been erected. CHAPTER V. CONNEAUT TOWNSHIP. AT THE first session of the court in Meadville, in 1800, the county was laid out in townships, and one of these, Conneaut, was given the follow- ing boundaries : "Beginning at the northeast corner of Shenango Town- ship, thence northwardly the breadth of eleven full tracts ; thence westwardly the length of eight tracts, together with the breadth of one tract, to the western boundary of the State; thence by the same southwardly to the northwest cor- ner of Shenango Township; thence by the same to the place of beginning." It thus formed the central one of the three townships "on the western border, and contained what is now the southern half of Conneaut, all of Pine, and parts of Sadsbury, Summit, Summerhill and North Shenango. In 1829 Con- neaut was reduced to its present limits by the re-establishment of the township lines. On the north it is bounded by Beaver and Spring, on the east by Sum- mit and Summerhill, on the south by Pine and North Shenango, and on the west by the line of division between Ohio and Pennsylvania. The surface of Conneaut Township is level or gently rolling, and is watered in the western part by Paden Creek and other small streams, and in the eastern part by Mill Creek. These streams both flow south and enter She- nango Creek in Pine Township. The soil is a gravelly loam and produces good grass and grain in abundance, hence grazing and stock-raising form the princi- pal occupations. The land was covered by a dense growth of oak, hemlock, beech and other varieties in the early days, but the larger part is now cleared and in a state of cultivation. The name of the township was doubtlessly derived Soo OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. from the lake in Sadsbury Township, or possibly from Conneaut Creek, although neither were within the original boundaries of Conneaut Township. The name is an Indian word, meaning "The Snow Place," and it is supposed that they gaye this name to the locality from the fact that the snow remained frozen upon the ice of the lake long after it had melted and disappeared from the surrounding land. The township has an area of 24,492 acres. Settlements were made in Conneaut Township during the latter part of the last century, but it is difficult to ascertain the precise year, or who was the first to arrive. Wm. Shotwell, one of the first settlers, if not the first, located near the center, but did not remain long. Several settlements were made about the year 1798, among those who came at this epoch being William and Thomas Rankin, Obed Garwood, Isaac Paden, Samuel Patterson, Robert Martin, James Martin and Wm. Latta. The Rankin brothers hailed from Ireland. ^^^illiam located at Penn Line and cleared a large farm there, on which he resided during the remainder of his life. Thomas took up land about a mile and a half to the south of that place, where he cleared a farm and erected a saw mill, but eventually removed to Indiana. Garwood came from Redstone, Pa., and cleared a large farm in the southern part, on which he resided until his death, and which is still in the hands of his descendants. Isaac Paden was also from Redstone and located in the southwestern part of the township, where he became a lifelong resident. The grist and saw mill which he erected was probably the first one built in the township. Patterson, who came from New Jersey, settled on the present site of Steamburg, cleared a large farm and spent the remainder of his life there. Latta and the Martins were Irishmen. Robert Martin located at Steamburg, while James Martin and Latta settled at Penn Line. The first frame building in the township was a barn erected by Latta. With the exception of a narrow strip along the western line, which be- longed to the American Land Company, the township was the property of the Pennsylvania Population Company. In the summer of 1797 Jabez Colt, the agent of the latter company, in order to start a stream of immigration towards these lands, engaged the services of a half a dozen sturdy young emigrants and settled with them in the eastern part of the township, at a place afterwards known as Colt's Station. Here they remained for several years, but other set- tlers failed to come, or at least not in the numbers that had been hoped for, so the settlement was abandoned, the land agent making the same experiment later on in Pine Township. But the records of the company show that a large quantity of land was taken up before 1800, though a number of abandonments and assignments are noticeable in this township. The pioneer privations were severe and continuous. The country was heavily timbered, and with the rude implements then at their command for tilling the soil — such as are suggested by the wooden plow — the early settlers experienced much difficulty and arduous OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 501 labor in clearing their land and putting in their crops. Frequently before this could be accomplished much suffering was undergone, and the problem of ob- taining the necessities of life became so difficult of solution that they were often reduced to the very verge of starvation. On this account many, of those who had settled here in the early days sold their claims for what they could get or abandoned them entirely a,nd left the country. The discontent was also in- creased by disputes with the land company. Many were in such straitened circumstances. that they did not move until obliged to do so by fear of starva- tion. It is related that potatoes which had been planted were dug up again and used for food by the despairing colonists. Samuel Potter was from Elizabethtown, N. J., and settled in the nortliern part as early as 1799. He came the entire distance with an ox team, part of his journey lying through the virgin forest, where his only guide was the line of blazed trees. He took up a claim, planted some crops and erected a log- house and spent the summer on his new property. In the fall he returned to New Jersey, but the next year came back to Conneaut Township, where he spent the remainder of his life. During the War of 1812 he was drafted and served three months at Erie. About 1800 Samuel Brooks came from Red- stone and settled in the eastern part. He brought his worldly possessions up French Creek to Meadville on a flatboat, and thence by land to Conneaut Township. After a year's residence he removed to a tract a mile further on, and here he finally settled, taking up and clearing 266 acres. At that time deer, bears and wild turkeys were abundant in the neighborhood. Meadville was the nearest trading place, and Mrs. Brooks took her butter to that place to sell. She would start early in the morning, with two tubs of butter upon her horse, and would return the same day, selling the product of her labor at about six cents a pound. Henry Frey was a lifelong resident of the southern part of the township,' having removed there from York County in 1800. He was of German extrac- tion and followed the trade of shoemaking. He was an ardent Methodist, and had sixteen children, fifteen of whom lived to maturity, and his descendants still reside in the same vicinity. Previous to 1830 the settlement of the township proceeded slowly. But as the lands were cleared, and the surface became drier and more tillable, crowds of settlers came flocking in and the township was soon covered with well-stocked and highly improved farms., Isaac Paden built a saw and grist mill on Paden's Run, but it was a small affair and could only be operated when a sufficient head of water had accumulated to run the mill. Another early grist mill was operated by Obed Garwood. , In consequence of the extremely sparse settlements the educational ad- vantages of the inhabitants were very poor. A school, probably the first in the township, was taught in 1810 by Samuel McGuire, an Irishman, near the de- 502 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. serted Colt's Station. In 1812 Samuel Garwood taught a school in the south- ern part. In 1818 a schoolhouse was built two miles south of the center. It was a rude log building, constructed entirely without nails, with mud chimney, puncheon floor, and windows cut through the logs, with greased paper in place of glass. Messrs. Smith, Spaulding and Marshall were the early teachers. Wages were about $8 per month and were paid in pork, butter, potatoes and other farm produce. A similar house was built at Penn Line in 1820, and an- other in the eastern part during the following year. In 1837 the number of schools had increased to ten, and twenty teachers were employed. Four hundred and ten scholars were in attendance, and the average length of the school year was five and one-fourth months. Yet the money expended did not amount to $500, which can be understood when it is known that a female teacher was paid $4 a month. The teachers were re- ported as being of good character; teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, geography and the use of maps. The progress of the scholars, according to the report, exceeded the expectations of the directors, and the chief defect of the system was pointed out as being want of pay to the directors and the "lack of power of the directors to levy taxes on sub-districts to build schoolhouses therein." In 1896 the number of schools had been increased to fourteen and the length of the session to seven months. The number of teachers, however, had fallen to fifteen and the number of pupils to 303. But the average of the sal- aries paid to female teachers had increased to $24 instead of $4, while the total amount expended for educational purposes during the year was almost $4,000. Summit, or Center Road Station, as the postoffice is called, is on the line of the Erie and Pittsburg Railway, which passes north and south through the eastern part of the township. Summit is the only station in Conneaut Town- ship, and is about half way between the northern -and southern boundaries. A store, the postoffice and several dwellings constitute the settlement. Conneaut Center is a small place about two miles west of Summit, near, the center of the township. The Congregational Church and a postoffice are located here. Steamburg is a hamlet of fifteen or twenty dwellings in the northern part of the township. It contains the Methodist Church, a schoolhouse, store, one or two shops, and a postoffice. Penn Line is a hamlet of about similar size in the western part of Con- neaut, consisting of a dozen or fifteen dwellings scattered along the road east- ward from the state line for half a mile. A store, hotel, two or three shops, and a schoolhouse are located here, besides a postoffice. Among the early settlers in this region were many of the Quaker per- suasion, and a Society of Friends was organized at an early day. There were about thirty members, among them being Stephen and Joseph Fish, Cor- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 503 nelius Lawson, Amos Line, William Hill, David Ladner, Peter Thorne, Isaac Paden, John Rushmore and others. For some time the meetings were held in the house of Mr. Lawson, but in 1840 a log church was erected. The society- did not flourish, and a few years later it was disbanded. The old church burial ground is still preserved. Prey's chapel was organized as a branch of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 18 18, having an initial strength of eight members. The early iheetings were held in the cabin of Henry Prey and later on in the schoolhouse. In 185 1 a spacious church edifice was erected in the southern part of the township at a cost of $1,500. The congregation, which is small but prosper- ous, was formerly attached to the Espyville circuit, but is now a part of the Liriesville. The Pirst Congregational Church of Conneaut was organized in 1833 by Rev. Peter Hassinger, with a membership of seven. A meeting house was erected at Conneaut Center in 1841, which was in use until 1873, when the present church was erected at a cost of $2,500; Rev. Hart was the first pastor. The membership is not large. The Steamburg Methodist Episcopal Church was organized by Rev. R. C. Smith, its first pastor, in 1867, with a membership of twenty. In 1870 the frame church edifice was erected at a cost of about $1,500. The society was at one time part of the Linesville circuit, but is now attached to Spring. The membership is very small, not much exceeding the original number. CHAPTER VI. CUSSAWAGO TOWNSHIP. CUSSAWAGO was one of the townships created by the Court of Quarter Sessions at Meadville in 1800. Its original boundaries were described as follows : "Beginning at the northeast corner of Sadsbury Township ; thence north to the northern line of Crawford County; thence west until it strikes the northeast corner of Beaver Township ; thence south along the same to the northwest corner of Sadsbury Township ; thence east to the place of be- ginning." As thus laid out it included the western part of what is now Cussa- wago, the eastern part of Spring, the northeastern part of Summerhill and the northwestern part of Hayfield. Upon the revision of the township lines in 1829 its boundaries were established as they exist at present, the eastern por- tion being taken from Venango Township. 504 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Cussawago lies upon the northern border of the county, a little west of the center. It is one of the largest townships in the county, containing 23,776 acres. The surface is a rolling upland, the highest point being about two hundred feet above the surrounding country. Cussawago Creek flows south- ward through the western part of the township, and, with its tributaries, drains this and the central portions. The eastern part is watered by several small streams flowing eastwardly into Venango. The name Cussawago is derived from the' name of the creek, and according to the pronunciation of the cele- brated Indian chief Cornplanter it should be spelled Kos-se-wau-ga. Tradi- tion states that the Indians, upon coming to the creek for the first time, dis- covered among the limbs of a high tree a large blacksnake, with a white ring around his neck. The snake exhibited a wonderful protuberance, as if he had swallowed a rabbit. Hence the name Kossewauga, which means literally "big belly," was applied to the creek. The valley of Cussawago Creek, south of the center of the township, is somewhat swampy, and, in consequence, is heavily timbered and less im- proved. In the eastern part of the township, north of the center, is a fine plateau, and a more extensive one lies in the southwestern part. The soil in the valley of the Cussawago is a highly productive, gravelly loam, interspersed occasionally with a mixture of clay and sand, the first range of farms upon each side being free from stones. The land upon the uplands consists generally of a good quality of clay loam and sand, and occasionally of gravelly loam. Ag- riculture is the chief occupation of the inhabitants, attention being directed principally to dairying and stock raising, though grain is raised in sufficient quantity for home consumption. Several saw mills, planing mills, cheese fac- tories and other industrial establishments, exist in various parts of the town- ship, so that manufacturing may be counted as one of the branches of industry. Cussawago was one of the earliest settled portions of the county. The tracts in the northern part were located by individuals, while much of the southern part was owned by the Holland Land Company. John Collins is said to have had the honor of being the first settler, as he came as early as 1-792, but was forced to leave soon afterwards on account of the Indian hostilities. About 1797 he came back and settled a short distance west of Mosiertown, but afterwards removed to the southern part of the county. ' Robert Erwin came to the township in 1795 and settled on the John^ Mead tract, about two miles south of Crossingville. He was an Irishman, of the Baptist persuasion, and had a great reputation as a hunter. He built a log house and remained a resi- dent of the township throughout life. He married in 1802, and for some time the young couple had hard work to get along. In 1797 Alexander and John Swaney, John Chamberlain and John Clawson came into the township. The Swaney brothers were natives of Ireland, and after three years' residence in Northumberland County they came here in the spring of 1797. Alexander OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 505 bought 1,600 acres of land and built a log cabin on each 400 acres, in which he settled his relatives. They bent their united efforts towards the work of making improvements, and in a few years they were able to support a school composed of their own children. It is related that during one winter the school was attended by thirty-six children, all of whom were first cousins. Many of their descendants still reside in the township. John Chamberlain was a native of New Jersey, and resided for some time in Sussex County. He came to Crawford County later on and settled about a mile southwest of Cross- ingville. Here he built a cabin of such logs as he and another man could roll up. The chimney was constructed of sticks and mud, and the door, floor and roof of split poles. The windows were holes cut through the logs, covered with greased paper as a substitute for glass. With the aid of his gun he pro- vided meat for his family from the game which abounded in the vicinity, and for flour he was obliged to take his grist to Meadville, taking a bushel of grain on his back, having it ground and returning all in the same day. Wild beasts were numerous and troublesome and were continually attacking the stock. After a few years' residence he built a house of hewn logs, and when it was raised the settlers were so few and scattered that men came from Meadville, among them the county judge. Mr. Chamberlain was a deacon in the Baptist Church, and was a lifelong resident of Cussawago. John Clawson was a Quaker, and came from New Jersey and settled in the central part of the town- ship. He was a farmer and remained permanently upon the farm he first settled. The life of the pioneers in Cussawago Township differed little from that of the other sections. They came long distances, on foot or in wagons, and built small cabins in the wilderness, where they for many years endured all the hardships incident to a frontier life. For some years very little grain or vege- tables were raised, the settlers depending almost entirely for sustenance upon the venison and other game with which the forests were filled. During the first year the grain had to be carried to Meadville to mill, and later on to Alden's Mills, now Saegertown. At some ' times food became very scarce, and in- stances are recorded where, as in other sections, the settlers were obliged to dig up the potatoes they had planted in order to keep starvation away. Wild ani- mals filled the woods, and packs of wolves prowled through the wilderness and made inroads on the sheep -and cattle unless they were well protected. Panthers' were not unusual, and they would often follow a belated settler, with their catlike tread, on his way to his cabin, or frighten the children at play in the woods. It is related that Mrs. Thickstun, while on her way through the woods to visit her neighbors, the Collums, when almost arrived at her destina- tion, heard a shrill cry like that of a child in distress. She hurried on, while the (Jog that accompanied her skulked at her heels. She told Mr. Collum of the scream she had heard, thinking that his child might have been playing in the 5o6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. woods and fallen into danger. The child was asleep in the house, but Mr. Collum, curious to know the origin of the cry, took his rifle and went into the woods. The report of the gun followed almost immediately, and he soon re- turned with a large panther, the author of the doleful cries. Jacob Hites came from Philadelphia County in 1798 and settled ii:i Cussa- wago. He built a cabin of rough logs, exhibiting the devices employed in the construction of houses at that period. Michael Greely, from Virginia, occu- pied the farm north of him. Several families located in the vicinity of Cross- ingville, mostly natives of Ireland, and Roman Catholics, among them being Patrick and Bartholomew McBride, Miles Tinny and John Donohue. Tinny had settled in Northumberland County upon first coming to this country, and had there married a daughter of Bartholomew McBride, and came to Cussa- wago with him. Many of their descendants still reside in the township. Grove Lewis, a native of Bucks County, removed with his family to Meadville in 1798 and a year later came to Cussawago. The land cleared was not suffi- cient to support the settlers, and great privations were suffered. At one time they were obliged to resort to bread made from sifted bran. Many of the necessities of life could be obtained no nearer than Pittsburg, a barrel of salt costing $20. Mr. Lewis was a soldier in the War of 1812 and afterwards re- ceived a pension of $2 a month. John McTier came on foot from Cumberland County with his wife and three children, carrying one of them in his arms. He settled in Cussawago in 1799 and immediately commenced the erection of a log cabin, which he roofed with poles, brush and moss. As he was not skilled in carpentry he did not attempt to make a door, but went in and out in Robin- son Crusoe style, ladders beiiTg placed within and without the wall, which was thus scaled. It also lacked a chimney, so the fire was built in one corner of the cabin and the smoke passed out overhead. They spent a year in this rude cabin, after which a more comfortable log house was built. Lewis Thickstun brought his family from New Jersey and settled in Cus- sawago in 1862. He also brought with him a cow and two wagons, one drawn by hotses and the other by oxen. He purchased a farm a short distance north of Mosiertown and remained upon it during the remainder of his life. He was an early member of the Baptist Church and left a family which is still represented in the township. Francis Ross was an Irishman and was known as an inveterate swearer. He had acquired the habit in early life and it had become so fixed upon him that he could not enunciate a sentence without ac- companying it with a string of profanity. In his later years he united with the Baptist Church and endeavored to conquer his besetting sin, although with the greatest difficulty. It is related that often while plowing in the fields he was heard to utter a series of most shocking oaths ; but, struck by his weakness, would the next minute fall upon his knees in the furrow and in fervent pr.ayer OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 507 implore forgiveness. It is not stated whether he ever completely conquered this fault. Thomas Potter and his two sons, Aaron and Job, came from Connecticut in 1 8 16 and took up 800 acres of land near Potter's Corners. In 1818 he built a saw mill and in 182 1 a grist mill, both being the first of their kind in the township. They were located in the southwestern part, on Cussawago Creek. Robert Erwin operated an early saw mill near Crossingville, and had a distillery and a little corn cracker at the same place. Martin Clawson was also the pro- prietor of a saw mill. The industrial works of the township have not in- creased very largely, and now consist of a few scattered saw mills, shingle mills and cheese factories. David Owen taught the first school in 1804 in a log cabin a mile south- east from Mosiertown, and it was attended by fifteen pupils. A Mr. David was an early teacher in the settlement. Joshua Pennell taught a term in 18 10, and a laughable incident is related of him. He laid down as the first rule of his school that the scholars should acquire the habit of thinking twice before speaking, and he enforced it particularly with Zeph Clawson, who often spoke rashly and unthinkingly. As the master was standing one day with his back to the fire Zeph suddenly accosted him with, "Well, master, I think—" "That's right, Zeph; now think again before you speak," interrupted Mr. Pennell. Zeph kept silence until the teacher said, "Well, Zeph, now speak." "Your coat is on fire," was the meek response, and, turning about, he found his clothes in a blaze. The lad was allowed to follow his natural way of speaking' there- after. Schools were taught regularly in several parts every winter from 1820 to 1835, when the public school system was adopted. Cobb's spelling book, Daboll's arithmetic, the Western calculator, the English reader and the New Testament were the text-books used, until in 1836 Kirkham's grammar was cautiously introduced. When the school system- was adopted three schools were established, but the length of the term averaged only three months. A little over $400 was ex- pended for school purposes in 1836, and the progress of the sixty scholars in attendance was reported as tolerably good. In 1896 there were twelve regular schools with a school year of seven months. Two hundred and ninety-seven scholars were in attendance, and the total amount expended for the schools was in excess of $3,500. The village of Mosiertown is located in the southern part of the town- ship. The first tavern was erected there by a Mr. Phelps in 1830, but he soon afterwards moved away. Ephraim Smith was a blacksmith and moved to Mosiertown soon after Phelps arrived. John McFarland, of Meadville, started the first store, and placed Archibald Stewart in charge. The village was for a long time known as Cussawago, but when a postoffice was established there the name of Mosiertown, which it received, was also applied to the set- 5o8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. tlement. It contains two churches, a school, hotel, stores, various shops, and about twenty dwellings. A tannery, grist mill and saw mill were among its former industries. Crossing\'ille is situated in the northern part of the township near the Erie County line. It was known in the early times as Cussawago Crossing, receiving its name from the fact that an old Indian trail formerly crossed the Cussawago Creek at this point. It is surrounded by excellent farming coun- try, and was first settled by John Hagany. It was an early settlement, but has not increased, containing scarcely more than a dozen or fifteen houses. Two churches are located there, besides a schoolhouse, postofifice, stores, hotel and various shops. The Carmel Baptist Church, at Mosiertown, was the first organization of the Baptist denomination made in Crawford County. It was organized in 1805 by Rev. Thomas G. Jones, the first pastor, with an initial membership of twenty. John Chamberlain, Robert Erwin, John Donohue, Samuel Patterson and Lewis Thickstun were among the most prominent of the early members. In 1810 a hewed log meeting house was built about two miles north of Mosier- town, and in 1839 it was replaced by a frame structure, built on the same site. In 1856 a large frame church was built at Mosiertown at a cost of $1,500, and is still in use. There is a flourishing membership of about one hundred. Rev. Smith being the present pastor. St. Phillip's Catholic Church at Crossingville dates its origin from the early days of the settlement, when the McGuires, McBrides, Tinnys, Swaneys and Carlins came from Northtimberland County and established themselvfes in the northern part of the township. They had emigrated from Donegal County, Ireland, in 1792, and settled in Northumberland County, afterwards removing to Crawford in 1798. Services were for a long time held in private houses. Father Charles B. McGuire of Pittsburg officiating as the first priest. In 1833 the first church was erected, about a mile north of Crossingville, a hewed log house, ceiled within with pine boards and provided with rude seats, at a probable cost of $500. Bishop Kenrick, of Philadelphia, conducted the first services in it in 1833, it being included in his diocese. It was formally dedi- cated by him three years later, upon the occasion of his second visit, and the burying ground was consecrated at the same time. In 1843 the present struc- ture was commenced, and was finished in 1848 at a cost of $3,500. The pas- toral residence was erected in 1868 by the Rev. John Quincy Adams at a cost of $1,400, and in 1882 further improvements to the property, including a tower and bell, necessitated the expenditure of almost $2,000 more. The growth of this church has been sure and steady, and the congregation now includes about 125 families residing in Spring and Cussawago Townships and on the other side of the Erie County line. A large German element settled in the vicinity of Mosiertown, and two OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 509 churches were organized among them, a Lutheran and a German Reformed congregation. In 1832 they erected a frame church edifice which was used in common by the two denominations. In 1855 it was replaced hj a frame church, which stands about a mile southeast of Mosiertown. They worshiped alternately in the same structiu-e for several years, when the Lutherans erected a neat frame building in Mosiertown and the German Reformed Church be- came the sole occupant of the old structure. There are two United Brethren Churches in Cussawago Township, one at Crossingville and the other at Mosiertown. The Crossingville Church was organized in 1870 with seven members. Rev. Cyrus Castiline being its first pastor. During the same year a church was built at a cost of $1,700. The membership is small. The Cussawago Church, located in the southwestern part of the township, was organized in 1852 by Rev. William Cadman, the first pastor. It commenced with twenty members, and J. Kingsley and Henry 'Fleisher were prominent during the first years. In 1857 a building was erected costing $660. It forms a part of the Cussawago circuit. CHAPTER VII. EAST FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP. EAST FAIRFIELD is an interior township, lying south of the center of the county, on the eastern bank of French Creek, by which it is separated from Fairfield. In shape it is an irregular triangle. Mead bounding it on the north, Wayne on the east and Union and Fairfield on the southwest, separated from it by French Creek. The flats along the border of the creek are rich and unusually productive, forming some of the richest farms in the county, and the ridge that rises back from the stream is comparatively level and easily tillable. Little Sugar Creek flows in a southeasterly direction across the northeastern corner of the township, where the ridge descends to a valley of famous beauty. Numerous small streams flow east and west into these two creeks, watering the land in every part. The surface is rolling throughout and the soil, which is very productive, is devoted largely to grain culture, al- though dairying is also a prominent industry. East Fairfield was formerly a part of Fairfield Township, having been separated from it in 1868. The previous year a petition had been presented to the court by citizens of the township, requesting that it might be divided, with P'rench Creek as the line of division. The petitioners set forth that it was Sio OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. with difficulty that they could pass from-one side to the other in times of high water, thus preventing children from attending school and the voters from reaching the place of election. In answer to the petition a board of commis- sioners was appointed, consisting of H. B. Beatty, Charles Drake and W. B. Brown, to consider the advisability of granting it, and upon their favorable report an election was ordered by the court to determine the question of divi- sion. It was held on March 20, 1868, and the proposition having received 134 favorable vote? to 122 against it, East Fairfield became one of the townships of Crawford County. The_ Franklin branch of the Erie Railroad crosses the western end of the township along the valley of French Creek. The Meadville feeder of the Beaver and Erie Canal entered from the north and was carried by an aqueduct over French Creek into Union Township, near the mouth of Conneaut Outlet. It was through the valley of French Creek that the early pioneers reached their future homes, and those who arrived first took possession of land in this beautiful and fertile valley. The rich bottom lands of East Fairfield, stretch- ing along its course for several miles, attracted some of the very earliest, even before the Indian wars had been brought to a close by the victories of General Wayne. As soon as settlements could be made with any assurance of safety from Indian attacks the entire valley was filled with emigrants, who flocked in from the southern and eastern counties of the State. Bands of savages were still roaming through western Pennsylvania, but an actual and continuous set- tlem.ent was the only means of holding the land and keeping off other claim- ants, so that they incurred the risk bf an Indian massacre rather than desert their land. The rich flats of French Creek Valley and some of the land in the interior of the township were patented by the earliest arrivals, usually in tracts of 400 acres each. Henry Marley, the first permanent settler within the limits of East Fair- field, was born in Ireland and emigrated to the United States in 1790. He came to Crawford County in 1793 and established himself near the Creek road, on the tract opposite and below the mouth of Conneaut Outlet. Here he built the first house erected in the township, a rude, diminutive log cabin, and remained, a prosperous farmer, until his death, when the land passed to his children. The honor of the first settlement is divided with him by John Wentworth, who settled the same year on French Creek, in the northwestern corner of the township. In his youth he had served under Washington in the struggle for independence. Several years before peace was established he came to Craw- ford County and lived with the Indians, adopting the Indian hunting costume, and was celebrated as an Indian fighter and skillful hunter. He afterwards followed the more peaceful life of a farmer, and remained a resident of the township. William Dean came from Westmoreland County in 1795 and set- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 511 tied on the tract of land immediately south of Marley. He brought his family and a few household goods with him, carrying them overland on two pack- horses. He was a Presbyterian in religious belief. He remained upon his farm until his death in 1846, leaving a numerous posterity which' is still well represented in the township. Henry Heath, who came from Allegheny County, settled on the farm next below him, but afterwards removed to Wayne Township, where he died. He also was the founder of a numerous family. Thomas Powell, also from Allegheny County, settled on an adjoining tract and remained throughout life. Andrew Gibson, from Westmoreland County, built his cabin on a tract just south of Marley. John McFadden lo- cated a claim still further up the valley. He remained for some time, then removed with his large family to Venango County. Hugh Gibson, who located on the next farm, subsequently removed to Butler County. Peter Shaw, a Scotchman, came from near Pittsburg to the tract next above Hugh Gibson, and was a lifelong citizen of the township. Isaac Powell, an old bachelor, settled on the farm next to William Dean's land. He and an un- married sister lived upon the place until their death at advanced ages. James Thompson emigrated from Mifflin County and settled with his brother-in-law, Mr. Power, about two miles north of Cochranton. Here he remained permanently and reared a large family. Several years before set- tling here he had visited the township in a professional capacity. He had formed one of a party engaged, under Captain William Powers, in surveying land in northwestern Pennsylvania. One day in June, 1795, they had en- camped on the banks of Conneaut Lake, and while the remainder of the party were engaged in making hasty and stealthy surveys, through fear of the In- dians, Thompson remained in camp to prepare supper and watch the baggage. Suddenly a band of Indians appeared and made Thompson a prisoner, and, after destroying the camp and scattering the provisions, they proceeded north- ward, taking their prisoner with them and leaving his companions in ignorance of his fate. At the first evening's halt they exhibited two scalps, which they said they had taken that day at the mouth of Conneaut Outlet, and which were probably those of the ill-fated young men, Findley and McCormick, who were massacred at that point. The Indians proceeded by forced marches to Detroit, taking Thompson with them and compelling him to carry part of their plunder. Here he was held prisoner for some time, but was liberated after Wayne's treaty was declared, and in the course of time found his way back to his former home in MifHin County. The first schoolhouse was built in 1802 on the Andrew Gibson farm, and for many years it was the only one in the township. One of the first teachers was Thomas Havelin, an Irishman, and in those days reputed an excellent scholar. At that time corporal punishment was considered a natural, and in- deed necessary, part of the course of instruction, and the schoolmaster who 512 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. would not give frequent applications of the birch to his pupils was looked upon as an incapable teacher. Charles Caldwell taught several terms about 1809. He was a cripple and resided on the other bank of the creek, in what is now Greenwood Township. Solomon Jennings, an old bachelor from Venango County, also wielded the ferule for several years. During these early days the schoolbooks in use were the Bible, the American Preceptor, Daboll's and Dilworth's arithmetics and Webster's spelling book. In 1834, while still part of Fairfield Township, there were three schools on the eastern side of the creek. In 1896 five schools were in operation, with an average school year of seven months. One hundred and thirty-one pupils were in attendance, at an average cost per month to the township of $1.37. During the year about $1,450 was expended in the cause of education. Shaw's Landing is a small hamlet pleasantly located on the banks of French Creek, in the western part of the township. It is a postofifice > and a station on the Franklin branch of the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Rail- road. When the canal was in operation it was a shipping point of some im- portance, and contained an oil refinery and other industries. These no longer exist. Stitzerville is the name given to a small settlement on Little Sugar Creek. Pettis, in the northern part, is a cross-roads settlement of a few houses. A postoffice is located there. A Methodist Episcopal congregation was organized here soon after 1840 and for thirty years worshiped in schoolhouses in the vicinity. Sarah Went- worth, E. K. Gaston, D. Morris, John Wentworth and Hannah McFarland were early members. About 1872 a church edifice was dedicated under the name of Kingsley Chapel, which cost about $2,000. As the French settlement arotind Frenchtown increased in numbers it spread southward, and many of them became residents of East Fairfield. Others had scattered through various parts, some being located at Cochranton, and in 1844 it was decided to withdraw from the St. Hippolytus congregation at Frenchtown and establish an independent organization. Dennis Verrin, John B. Champigne, John C. Vernier and John LeFavrier were among the earliest and most prominent of those who assisted in the erection of the new church, which received the name of Saints Peter and Paul. Father Mark de la Roque was the first pastor, and was succeeded by Rev. Father Eugene Cogneville, who still officiates. The congregation has since been much re- duced in membership by the formation of St. Stephen's Church at Cochranton. St. Mark's Reformed, formerly German Reformed, congregation, was or- ganized before 1858 by Rev. J. Kretzing. The church is located in the north- ern part of the township, where services had been conducted for several years OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 513 previously by Revs. Leberman and Ernst. The Stitzers, Flaughs, Marleys, Weirs, Doutts and Harts were among the early members. THE BOROUGH OF COCHRANTON. The borough of Cochranton is located in the southern part of East Fair- field Township, at the confluence of Little Sugar Creek with French Creek. It is the most important village of the southern part of the county, and re- ceived its name from the original owners and settlers of the land on which it stands. Thomas Cochran, who had settled in Wayne Township about a mile east of where the village is located, gave to his son, Joseph Cochran, the south- ern part of tract 1,291, upon which the heart of the village lies, and he settled upon it at an early date. Charles Cochran, who was the first settler within the limits of the borough, though not in the village proper, was only distantly, if at all, related' to the others. He came from the valley of the Susquehanna at an early date and settled on French Creek, near the village, as early as 1800. Here he took up a claim and remained upon it throughout life. His son James, better known as Colonel Cochran, was one of the prominent men of the early days and filled the office of justice of the peace. He lived upon the old home farm and kept a tavern and store for many years. During the War of 1812, while the able-bodied men were all at Erie, with the troops, a rough log fort was erected on this farm as a protection against the threatened Indian invasion, and in it the women and children of the neighborhood were assembled whenever there was fear of an attack. During the early years of the century other pioneers settled in the same vicinity. John Adams, from Mifflin County, after a residence of a year or two in Butler County, came to the French Creek Valley and settled in the east- ern part of the borough in 1802, remaining until his death, more than half a century later. His descendants still reside in the vicinity. In 1802 he erected a saw mill and afterwards added a grist mill to the establishment. In 1825 he built a carding mill, of which his son James became proprietor. He disposed of the mills to a Mr. Mourier, and undeir his proprietorship they were destroyed by fire about 1845. They were rebuilt the next year by John Whitman, who afterwards sold them to George Merriman, by whom they were transferred to the Smith Brothers. John Bell came from Allegheny County about 1828 and followed here his occupation as a cabinetmaker. A few years later George Henry opened a store. About 1840 a dozen or more families had gathered there and the popu- lation gradually increased. A postoffice was established and was at first kept on the pike, east of the village, but in 1852 Hugh Smith became postmaster and removed it to Cochranton. In 1855 C. Cochran and twenty-nine other resi- dents presented a petition to the Court of Quarter Sessions asking that Cochran- ton be erected into an independent borough, which was granted as prayed for. 33 514 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. An election was held in the spring of the same year, when James Greer was elected burgess and Charles Cochran, D. M. Devore, Samuel Markel, William T. Dunn and Hugh Smith, council. The growth of the village has been steady and constant. When the Franklin branch of the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad was con- structed Cochranton was made a station, and afforded facilities which have contributed much to the improvement of the place. It now contains numerous stores, shops, mills, markets and factories, in addition to hotels, churches, a bank and a newspaper. In 1877 the French Creek Valley Agricultural Asso- ciation was organized, which has since held annual fairs in Cochranton. Here the farmers meet to exhibit the products of their industry, and the expositions are largely attended and eminently successful. The first number of the Cochranton Times was issued in November, 1878. R. H. Odell was the editor and publisher, and he continued in possession until 1880, when he sold it to C. A. Bell. It is an independent newspaper and is issued weekly. Some time before the Times was established a venture in the fields of journalism had been made in the publication of the Trigon, but it came to an untimely end after a brief and disastrous career. Five schools are maintained in Cochranton during a school year of eight months. Six teachers are employed, three male and three female, the average monthly salary of the former being $57.50 and of the latter $30. The re- ports for 1896 show 222 pupils on the rolls, involving an average individual expense per month of $1.06. The amount raised for school purposes in the borough during the year was more than $2,200, of which $937.73 was received from State appropriation. An Associate Reformed Church was organized in 1827, and was for many years connected with the old Conneaut Church in the northeastern part of Fairfield Township. It was the first church organization in the village and is known as the United Presbyterian Church. Joseph and James Cochran, William McKnight, David Blair, John Adams and John Fulton were among the first members. For many years meetings were held in the barn of Joseph Cochran, until a frame meeting house was erected in 1834 on the corner of Pine and Smith Streets. Rev. Samuel F. Smith was the first pastor arnd officiated from 1828 until his death in 1846. The Cochranton Presbyterian Church had its origin in a division which took place in the Associate Reformed, or United Presbyterian, Church, no- ticed above. About 1848 a part of their membership left and organized them- selves into a Covenanter or Reformed Presbyterian congregation. In 1852 a building was erected on Franklin Street at a cost of $800, and in 1867 it became a branch of the regular Presbyterian Church. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Cochranton was organized in 1839 by Rev. William Patterson, there being twelve members at that time. In 1843 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 515 a church building was erected at a cost of $900. It is included in the Cochran- ton circuit. Several families of Catholic belief reside in Cochranton, and for many years they formed part of the Frenchtown congregation. Afterwards, when SS. Peter and Paul Church was organized in Fairfield, they worshiped there. During some time services were held at the schoolhouse and in various resi- dences, and in 1874 St. Stephen's Catholic Church was erected on the south side of East Pine Street, at a cost of $1,600. Rev. Eugene Cogneville has officiated since its organization, and among the early members were Gilbert Doubet, George Galmiche, John Harding and John O'Neil. CHAPTER VIII. EAST FALLOWFIELD TOWNSHIP. EAST FALLOWFIELD TOWNSHIP lies upon the southern border of the county, west of the center, and contains 16,616 acres of land. Crooked Creek, which forms the western boundary, and, with its tributaries, drains the western portion, passes through a beautiful valley about a mile in width, skirted on either side by ranges of low hills. Its tributaries pass through the' township in narrow ravines, which were in early times covered with forests of pine and hemlock. Union Run is the principal stream in the northern part, while the southern portion is drained by Henry's Run, both flowing in a westerly direc- tion into Crooked Creek. The soil is gravelly, with clay in some parts, and is well adapted either for grazing or grain. Lumbering was formerly an im- portant occupation, the principal timber being white oak, chestnut, ash, maple, beech and hickory. The line of the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Rail- road passes through the township from north to south. Crawford County was in 1800 divided into townships, and to Fallow- field was assigned the following boundaries : "Beginning at the northeast corner of Shenango Township ; thence eastwardly seven tracts, intersecting the line of a tract of land surveyed in the name of Israel Israel ; thence northeast so as to include said tract ; thence by the land of Leonard Jacoby and Henry Kamerer to the southeast corner of the same ; thence southwardly to the south boundary of Crawford County ; thence by the same westwardly to the southeast corner of Shenango township; thence to place of beginning." These boundaries included large portions of what is now Vernon, Sadsbury and 5i6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Greenwood, besides what is now West Fallowfield. In 1829 the boundaries were changed and Fallowfield was reduced to almost the same boundaries which now form the two townships of that name. In 1841 the division of the territory into the two Fallowfields took place, Crooked Creek forming the boundary. East Fallowfield is the larger, having more than twice the area of the land included in the territory of West Fallowfield. Thomas Frame, a native of County Derry, Ireland, made an exploring ex- pedition into Fallowfield Township as early as 1792. He left Meadville with his rifle, a camp kettle and a two weeks' supply of provisions upon his back, but before he had been out many days his entire outfit was destroyed by fire. He located some land in the northwestern part of the township, and in 1797 made a permanent settlement here, spending the ifit'erval at Dunnstown, on the Susquehanna, where he had located upon his arrival in this country. He was a lifelong resident of East Fallowfield, and, in addition to farming, operated a distillery. Two of his sons, Edward and James, served at Erie during the War of 18 12. Daniel Miller is said to have settled at the same time, and they are reputed to have been- the only settlers in Crawford County at that date living west of Meadville. Thomas Smith, Thomas McMichael and Abraham Jackson came in 1798, the two former settling in the northern part of the township. The latter came from Susquehanna County. He had served in the Indian wars, having helped to repel an Indian attack in the Susquehanna Valley, and was after- wards a soldier in the War of 1812. Daniel Dipple came from Cumberland County in 1800 and located in the northern part near Smitii and McMichael. He was one of the first settlers in that vicinity, and neighbors were rarely seen. His death, in 181 1, is said to have been the first death which took place in the township. A large number of the pioneers of this township were Irishmen. Jere- miah Gelvin was one of these, and settled in the central part in 1797. His brother, James Gelvin, was also one of the first to arrive, locating in the north- eastern part. 'James Calhoun settled in the western part of the township. He had a rich vein of Irish humor, as is proved by the following anecdote. Upon his return from a trip to Meadville, during the early days of the settlement, he produced two measures, which he had procured from a tinner there, and an- nounced that he had decided to keep a tavern in his little cabin. For a stock in trade he had his three-gallon keg filled at Frame's distillery. His capital after these purchases amounted to a sixpence, and, having decided to run the tavern on a cash basis, he installed his better half as bartender and with his sixpence purchased a drink. His good wife, equally desirous of patronizing the new industry, then became a purchaser, transferring the coin to her husband for its equivalent in whisky. This procedure was continued until the keg was OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 517 drained, when tavern keeping was abandoned and the happy couple went out of business. Daniel Dipple, a native of Ireland, came from the Susquehanna Valley in 1802 and settled in Fallowfield. It is said that he raised the first apples produced in the township. James McEntire, another Irishman, was ship- wrecked on his way across the ocean, being one of three who escaped from a family of twelve children. He settled originally in Sadsbury Township, but having located a desirable tract of land in East Fallowfield, and fearful lest the tract should be occupied by some one else unless he took immediate possession, he built a little cabin on the place about 1802, and each week sent two of his children, a daughter and a younger boy, to occupy it while he carried on his work in Sadsbury. Every . Monday morning he brought them to the cabin, with a week's provisions, and returned for them on Saturday night. Thus the two children passed the summer, alone in the wilderness, maintaining pos- session of the land. Indians were still numerous, and often stopped at the cabin to ask for food, which the children did not dare refuse. Sometimes the stock of provisions would in this way become exhausted before the end of the week, and the children, not daring to return home for fear of punishment, were put to all masiner of expedients to live through the week. On one occasion they discovered a bed of wild onions in a ravine near by, and appeased the pangs of hunger with the unsavory food thus obtained. Another time they dug up some potatoes Avhich had been planted in a field the spring before, and, taking out a few of the smallest, hardest seed potatoes which had not yet decayed, they hastily boiled them, and so keen had their appetites become that they devoured them before they were half cooked. In December of the same year James McEntire removed to the tract and remained its life-long occupant. He died in 1843, aged eighty-three years. Several years were spent as a school teacher, and he gained his living by cultivating the soil, although he was by occupation a weaver. So many of the early settlers were of Irish birth or descent that Fallowfield was for a long time' known as "Irishtown." Most of the first residents are still represented in the township by numerous families. There was also a scattering of Germans, and in later years a large number arrived from New York State. John McQueen came before 1800, froih the Susquehanna Valley, and settled in the northern part of the township. Micheal Mushrush also settled in the northern part. He established a brickyard on his farm and built for himself the first brick house in the township. He was of German birth and had lived for some time near Pittsburgh, and was considered one of the most active and liberal citizens of the township. Samuel Smith came in 1 798. John Findley, a tanner by trade, settled in the northern part, where he also operated a distillery. James McEntire taught a term of school irr .1809. A log was removed 5i8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. from the wall of his weaving shop, greased paper was substituted to admit light, and by means of several other slight alterations the shop was trans- formed into a schoolroom. John McEntire, his son, plied the loom in one end of the room, while his father taught school in the other. One of those who applied for admission to the school was a strapping young giant, Jerry Gelvin by name, who wished to supply the defects of his early education by a course in reading and writing under Mr. McEntire. But the master refused to receive him, giving as a reason that he was not able to whip him, and that for the good discipline of his school he did not wish to have a pupil to whom he could not administer physical chastisement if necessary. At that time fre- quent discipline of that kind was considered almost a necessity by the teachers, but Jerry, being anxious to learn, plead his cause so eloquently and was so earnest in his promises to "be good" that he was finally received, and proved^ a docile pupil. The children of the Dipple, Unger, Stewart and Jackson fami- lies were among the pupils in this primitive school. Many of the pioneers of Fallowfield were educated men, qualified to teach not only the common but many of the higher branches. Elizabeth Burns was the first female teacher, receiving seventy-five cents per term for each scholar. The pay of male teachers was usually from $1.25 to $1.50 for each pupil per term of three months, but much of the pay was received in the shape of produce. Matthew McMichael erected a frame schoolhouse at his own expense and donated it tc3 the township for public use. East Fallowfield has always been noted for its interest in educational mat- ters and for the number and excellence of its schools. In 1896 they were nine in number, with a school year of six months. Two hundred and fifty scholars were in attendance, one hundred and thirty-nine boys and one hundred and eleven girls. The nine teachers received an average salary of $29 per month, and the average cost to the township for instruction for each child per month was $1.09. During the year $2,632.36 was raised and expended for purposes of education. Evansburgh is a station on the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Rail- road, and is located on the northern line of the township. The postoffice estab- lished here is known as Stony Point. Atlantic, situated in the southwestern part of the township, is a thriving little village of thirty or forty families. It owes much of its prosperity to the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, which passes through it. The settlement, which was at first known as Adamsville Station, did not prosper for some years, but has since increased steadily. The first store was estab- lished by James Nelson in 1863, and a second was soon afterwards opened by C. M. Johnson. The village now contains several stores, a hotel, schoolhouse, shops, church, and other industries, and has a slow but steady growth. Han- na's Corner's Methodist Epi"scopal Church is the oldest religious organization OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 519 in the township, its beginning dating before 1815. The Keens, Mattochs, Sislys and McEntires were among the early members, when meetings were held on week days and only once in four weeks. For some time the class wor- shiped in Keen's Hall, a room fitted up for the purpose by John Keen, over his woodhouse. In 1830 a church was built, and in 1872 this was replaced by a more commodious one at a cost of $1,700. The first Presbyterian Church of Atlantic was organized in 1874, com- mencing with about forty members. A handsome church building was dedi- cated in 1877, free of debt, by Rev. B. M. Kerr. It cost about $3,300. Rev. Isaac W. McVitty was the first pastor, and James Hamilton, George K. Miller, John N. Kerr and S. M. Kerr were the first ruling elders. The congrega- tion is large and flourishing. CHAPTER IX. FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP. FAIRFIELD is one of the original townships into which Crawford County was divided in 1800. As at that time laid out it comprised the territory lying between French Creek on one side and Fallowfi'eld Township on the other, having no land on the eastern side of the creek. But in 1829 the boundaries were entirely changed, the whole township being pushed farther east, thus including the territory now contained in East Fairfield, while the western part was taken from it and assigned to the new township of Green- wood. As thus constituted it included its present territory. East Fairfield, and part of Union, but when the two latter were laid out it was reduced to its present boundaries. Fairfield Township lies on the southern line of the county, near the cen- ter. It is bounded on the north by Union and East Fairfield, on the east by East Fairfield and Wayne, on the south by Mercer County, and on the west b)'^ Greenwood. Conneaut Outlet and French Creek form its northern bound- ary. It is irregular in outline and contains 10,797 acres. The surface in the north is rolling and hilly, while in the south it is generally level, the highest land extending in a bluff along PYench Creek on the northeastern border. The land, which is watered by small streams flowing north into Conneaut Outlet and French Creek, is a loam in the bottoms, becoming gravelly in the uplands. White oak is the principal timber, interspersed with some chestnut, hickory and other varieties. The settlement of Fairfield was begun at a very early period, even before S20 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the close of the Indian troubles. Several pioneers had taken up land here pre- vious to 1795, when settlements were made at great personal risk. Among the first was Joseph Dickson, who came from Cumberland County and settled on a tract of land in the eastern part of the township. He remained upon it throughout his life, and when he died left a family which is still represented in the county. Aaron Wright came at about the same time and settled upon land a little west of what is now Calvin's Corners. He came out alone and built a cabin upon his land, and then returned to bring his family to the habi- tation he had prepared. He was a soldier of the Revolution and remained a resident of the township until his death, in 1816. The great land companies which played such important parts in the set- tlement of some of the other townships had no interests in Fairfield. In fact, much of the best land of this township had already been claimed before the companies began operations in this section. Several tracts in the southwestern portion were, however, included within the boundaries of what was known as Field's claim. The laws- of the State governing the settlement of public land required, in addition to actual occupation and improvement, that the claimant should pay twenty cents an acre and the survey fees for each 400-acre tract. Many of the pioneers who were willing to make the necessary settle- ment and improvements did not possess the means to pay the required amounts. To remedy this Mr. Field, a wealthy citizen of Philadelphia, surveyed a large number of tracts in the southern part of the county and made agreements with pioneers without means by which they were to make the actual settlement and improvements, while he was to pay the State and survey fees. The tracts thus taken up were to be divided between them, and in this manner many were enabled to obtain homes in the wilderness who, unaided, would have found it impossible. James Kendall settled upon one of these tracts as early as 1797, but later on removed to another locality. James Herrington located in the northern part, just below the mouth of Conneaut Outlet. He was a surveyor, and while acting as county surveyor resided for some time in Meadville, but later returned to his farm. David Nelson, who settled in the southern part of the township, had served under General Harrison in the War of 1812, holding the rank of major. He was afterwards a colonel in the militia, and became a prominent citizen of the township, of which he remained a life-long resi- dent. Allen Scroggs, who settled in the eastern part, operated a still, besides following the occupation of tilling the soil. Alexander Caldwell, who was a native of Ireland, settled here in the early part of the present century. He was a weaver, and followed his occupation here before carding mills came into use. He remained in the township throughout life, and when he died was buried on his farm, part of which was afterwards converted into a burial ground. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 521 William Thompson settled in the southeastern part of the township and remained there some years, later on going farther west. John Porter, a blacksmith, was a prominent citizen during the early days. He married a daughter of John May, a well-known settler in the northern part. May was a native of Ireland, but coming to America at the outbreak of the Revolution, he became an American soldier and served throughout the struggle. He after- wards came to Fairfield Township, where he remained until his death, in 1836. Archibald Hill was another Irishman who settled near the center of the township before the opening of the present century. He erected a stone house on his farm, the first in that part of the county. ' These are the more prominent of that band of hardy pioneer? who came from the East and settled in the dense forests of Fairfield Township. In the midst of dangers and difficulties, subject to innumerable privations and hardships, they, cleared out patches here and there through the wilderness, and by dint of courage and perseverance established the homes which their descendants and successors now enjoy. They were men of stern determina- tion, of strong character and unflinching energy. It is by such men that great States are founded. And their successors are not degenerate. During the War of 1812, when. Crawford County was called upon to furnish troops for service, Robert Young, then an old man, was the only resident who was not enlisted. And again, during our last fratricidal struggle, the hardy sons of Fairfield poured forth in answer to each call, to do battle for the preservation of that nation which their fathers had helped to found. An interesting description of some of the primitive usages has been given us by Mr. Brown. In speaking of the habitations of the early settlers he says : "The floor of the cabin was made of puncheons, pieces of timber split from trees, about eighteen inches in diameter, and hewed smooth with the broad axe. These were half the length of the floor. Many of the cabins first erected in tjiis part of the country had nothing but the earth floor. Sometimes the cabins had cellars, which were simply small excavations in the ground for the storage of a few articles of food, or perhaps cooking utensils. Access to the cellar was readily gained by lifting a loose puncheon. There was often a loft used for various purposes, among others as the guest chamber of the house. It was reached by a ladder, the sides of which were split pieces of a sapling, put together like everything else in the house, without nails. "The furniture of the log cabin was as simple and primitive as the struc- ture itself. A forked stick set in the floor, and, supporting two poles, the other ends of which were allowed to rest upon the logs at the end and side of the cabin, formed a bedstead. A common form of a table was a smooth slab sup- ported by four rustic legs set in auger holes. Three-legged stools were made in. a similar simple manner. Pegs driven into auger holes in the logs of the walls supported shelves, and others displayed the limited wardrobe of the 522 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. family while not in use. A few other pegs, or perhaps a pair of deer horns, formed the rack upon which hung the rifle and powder horn which no cabin was without. These, and perhaps a few other simple articles brought from the 'old home,' formed the furniture and furnishings of the pioneer cabin. "The utensils for cooking and the dishes for table use were few. The best were of pewter, which the careful housewife of the olden times kept shin- ing as brightly as the most pretentious plate of our later-day fine houses. It was by no means uncommon that wooden vessels, either coopered or turned, were used upon the table. Knives and forks were few, crockery very scarce and tinware not abundant. Food was simply cooked and served, but it was of the best and most wholesome kind. The hunter kept the larder supplied with venison, bear meat, squirrels, fish, wild turkeys, and the many varieties of smaller game. Plain cornbread, baked in a kettle, in the ashes, or upon a board before the great open fireplace, answered the purposes of all kinds of pastry. The corn was among the earlier pioneers pounded or grated, there being no mills for grinding it for some time, and then only small ones, at a considerable distance away. The wild fruits in their season were made use of, and afforded a pleasant variety. Sometimes an especial effort was made to prepare a delicacy, as, for instance, when a woman experimented in mince pies, by pounding wheat for the flour to make the crust, and used crab apples for fruit. In the loft of the cabin was usually to be found a collection of arti- cles that made up the pioneer's materia inedica, the herb medicines and spices, catnip, sage, tansy, fennel, boneset, pennyroyal and wormwood, each gath- ered in its season; and there were also stores of nuts and strings of dried pumpkins, with bags of berries and fruits. "The habits of the pioneers were of a simplicity and purity in conform- ance with their surroundings and belongings. The men were engaged in the herculean labor, day after day, of enlarging the little patch of sunshine about their homes, cutting away the forest, burning off the brush and debris, prepar- ing the soil, planting, tending, harvesting, caring for the few animals which they brought with them, or soon procured, and in hunting. While they were engaged in the heavy labor of the field or forest, or following the deer, or seeking other game, their helpmeets were busied with their household duties, providing for the day and for the winter coming on, cooking, making clothes, spinning and weaving. They were fitted by iiature and experience to be the consorts of the brave men who first came into the Western wilderness. They were heroic in their endurance of hardship and privation and loneliness. Their industry was well directed and unceasing. Woman's work, then, like man's, was performed under disadvantages, which have been removed in later years. She had not only the common household duties to perform, but many others. She not only made the clothing, but the fabric for it. That old, old occupa- tion of spinning and of weaving, with which woman's name has been asso- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 523 dated in all history, and of which the modern world knows nothing, except through the stories of those who are grandmothers now, — that old occupation of spinning and of weaving, which seems surrounded with a glamour of romance as we look back to it through tradition and poetry, and which alwjfys conjures up thoughts of the graces and virtues of the dames and damsels of a generation that is gone — that old, old occupation of spinning and weaving, was the chief industry of the pioneer woman. Every cabin sounded with the softly whirring wheel and the rhythmic thud of the loom. The woman of pioneer times was like the woman described by Solomon : 'She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands ; she layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.' "Hospitality was simple, unaffected, hearty, unbounded. Whisky was in common use and was furnished on all occasions of sociality. Nearly every settler had his barrel stored away. It was the universal drink at bees, house- warmings, merry-makings, weddings, and was always set before the traveler who chanced to spend the night or take a meal in the log cabin. It was the good old- fashioned whisky, 'clear .as amber, sweet as musk, smooth as oil,' — that the few octogenarians and nonogenarians of to-day recall to memory with an unctious gusto and a suggestive smack of the lips. The whisky came from the Monongahela district, and was boated up the Allegheny and French Creek, or hauled in wagons across the country. A few years later stills began to make their appearance, and an article of peach brandy and rye whisky manufactured ; the latter was not held in such high esteem as the peach brandy, though used in greater quantities. "As the settlement increased the sense of loneliness and isolation was dis- pelled, the asperities of life were softened and its amenities multiplied, social gathefings became more numerous and more enjoyable. The log-rollings, harvestings and husking-bees for the men, and the apple-butter making and the quilting parties for the women, furnished frequent occasions for social intercourse. The early settlers took much pleasure and pride in rifle shooting, and as they were accustomed to the use of the gun as a means, often, of obtain- ing a subsistence, and relied upon it as a weapon of defense, they exhibited considerable skill." During the War of 1812 Conrad Hart kept a tavern in the northern part of the township, at the sign of the Blue Ball. It was located on the Old State Road, which ran north and south through the township, from Pittsburgh to Erie. It was by this route that the munitions of war were forwarded to Erie, and all the soldiers going to or from that place passed over it, so that the Blue Ball received a generous pattonage. Hart continued in business until 1820, when the Mercer and Meadville pike was built, and became the principal thoroughfare. James Herrington built a grist mill at the mouth of Conneaut Outlet as 524 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. early as 1803, supposed to be the first in the township. The stream was slug- gish, and in order to obtain the necessary water-fall he was obliged to build a dam five feet high, which backed the water up for a distance of several miles. A, turbine wheel was used, and, with the two runs of stone in use, an exten- sive milling business was done. John May came into possession of it soon after it was built, and operated it until his death. He also kept a ferry at this point. The first saw-mill was erected by James Mumford on Wright's Run, and an early one was also built on the same stream by David Nelson. Alexan- der Dunn kept the first tavern, that of Conrad Hart, on the State Road, being the second. Stills for the manufacture of whisky were operated by a number of the early settlers. When Joseph Dickson came inta the township in 1791 it was a dense wilderness, filled with deer, bears, wildcats, raccoons and other animals. He came alone and on. foot, and it is related that at night he was accustomed to seek protection from the hostile Indians within the friendly shelter of a hollow tree. At one time he was, with two settlers, named Findley and McCormick. working on the bank of French Creek, when he heard the dinner-horn and started for dinner. His companions did not follow him, and his attention being soon after attracted by two shots, he returned to the place where he had left them. An examination revealed the dead bodies of his two friends, who had been shot and scalped. As late as 1830 there is said to have been two Indians in the township for every white man. The first library association in Crawford Count}- was founded here some time before 1816, a fact highly creditable to the early pioneers of Fairfield Township. Books were contributed by James Herrington, Alexander Dunn, David Mumford, John May, John Porter, Thomas Havlin and several others, and in this manner quite a large library was collected, which was kept in the cabin of one of the members. It was maintained successfully for a number of years. Calvin's Corners is a small hamlet in the northern part. It is the only postoffice in the township. James Douglass in 18 10 taught the first school in a little log cabin, and a year or two later Allison Gray taught in the same place. It was a typical pioneer schoolhouse, a round-log' cabin of perhaps 1 6 by 24 feet, with news- paper windows, the opening made by withdrawing a log from one side of the building and replacing it with paper. A large fireplace, which extended across one end, was a very material aid in supplying light to the room. This was succeeded by a frame schoolhouse at Calvin's Corners, erected by subscrip- tion in 1816, which was also used as a place of worship by the early Meth- odists. Urania Bailey, the daughter of one of the pioneers, John Muzzy, who came from New York State, and Nathan B. Lard were among the earliest OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 525 teachers in this school. During the winter of 1817-18 a school was kept in a deserted cabin by William Little. The great snow of February 2, 1818 was long remembered by his pupils. In the morning, when they went to school there was a little snow on the ground, but a furious storm came up, and during tne day it fell like a cloud. At the close of the session, late in the afternoon, It had fallen to a depth of more than three feet, rendering the homeward jour- ney of the younger children extremely difificult and dangerous. When the public school system was adopted, in 1837, there were five schools ,in operation, with a school year of four months' duration. One hun- dred and sixty-four pupils were in attendance. The amount of money received from all sources for school purposes exceeded five hundred^ dollars. Spelling, reading, writing, grammar, geography, arithmetic and surveying were taught, and the teachers were reported as well qualified to tpach. The progress of the scholars was also reported favorably, the chief complaint as to the M^orkings of the system being the difficulty of securing well qualified instructors. The report for 1837 included, besides what is now Fairfield, East Fair- field and a part of Union. In 1896, with its greatly reduced territory, there were seven schools maintained, with a school year of seven months. One hun- dred and ninety-eight scholars were in attendance, at an average cost to the township of $1.16 per month for each pupil. More than two thousand dollars was spent during the year for school purposes. A Presbyterian congregation was organized in the township about 1810, under the direction of Rev. Robert Johnson. Peter Shaw, Thomas Cochran and James Birchfield were early elders, and John Porter, John May, Robert Power, Andrew Gibson and John Fulton were among the first members. About 181 1 a hewed log church edifice was erected on an acre of land situated a short distance south of the mouth of Conneaut Outlet. It was built of pine logs, was floored and ceiled, and had bejiches made of broad pine boards, and was well equipped for a church in those days. Meetings were held here dur- ing a long series of years, and in 185 1 a large new edifice was erected about a mile south of the old church. The lot on which the original church stood was donated by James Herrington, and is now much enlarged, and used as a cemetery. The means for the construction of the second church were bequeathed by Miss Maria "Power, who also left a considerable sum for the support of a pastor. Early in its history the congregation was received into the Associate Reformed Church, and later on was merged into the United Pres- byterian. It is now knov/n as the Conneaut United Presbyterian Church. About 1834 a Seceder congregation was organized, and the next year a church was built. Rev. Matthew Snodgrass was the only pastor, and about i860 the congregation was disbanded. - Across the road from their place of 526 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. worship Mumford's chapel was erected by the Methodists in 1861 at a cost of $1,200. This denomination had held services in the township since 1830. Trinity German Reformed Church was organized in 1865 by Rev. L. D. Leberman. There were five original members, and a neat frame edifice was soon afterwards built in the western part of the township at a cost of $1,250. Rev. J. Kretszing was the first pastor, the services being conducted in the German language. A United Brethren Church, which stands near the western line of the township, was erected in 1873, costing $1,200. The society which worships there was organized in 1855 by Rev. J. L. Weaver, with fourteen members. J. M. Chapman, Hiram Powell and Z. R. Powell were early members of this congregation. CHAPTER X. GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP. GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP lies on the southern boundary of Craw- ford County, a little west of the center, and contains 19,336 acres. Vernon and Union bound it on the north. Union and West Fairfield on the east, Mercer County on the south, and East Fallowfield on the west. It was organized in 1829 from portions of Fallowfield and Fairfield, and lost a small part of its territory at the northeast corner when Union was formed. The soil is a fertile gravelly loam, well adapted to dairying and fruit culture. It is well timbered in parts with beech, maple, pine and hemlock, and its numerous springs of wholesome water constitute it a healthy township. The greater portion of its northern boundary is formed by Conneaut Out- let. The surface is generally level, but is a little broken in the north- eastern part. Conneaut' Marsh, which extends along the north border, is about half a mile wide and from 100 to 200 feet lower in elevation than the general level of the land. A great deal of this has been made tillable by the public excavation of Conneaut Outlet. It is well supplied with springs of pure water, which give rise to numerous small streams threading the land in every direction. Some flow north into Conneaut Outlet, others swell the waters of Little Sandy Creek and Sandy Run, which flow southeast, and all eventually find their way to the waters of the Allegheny. The New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad traverses the northern part of the town- ship, with a station at Geneva. With its fresh and verdant fields, well watered and highly cultivated, interspersed with tracts of valuable timber land, the township is well entitled OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 527 to its name of Greenwood. Its fertile soil attracted settlers to this vicinity at a very early date, aiid Greenwood was soon thickly peopled. Very few years had elapsed in the present century before nearly every tract in what is now the township had one or more settlers, and that they were well satisfied with their choice of a locality is attested by the fact that there were very few removals, most of the pioneer families being still represented in the township. Many of them were of German parentage, and even more were of Scotch-Irish extraction. Large numbers of them had originally settled in Mifflin, Cumber- land and Lycoming Counties, and removed to Greenwood from the Susque- hanna Valley. A Philadelphia Quaker by the name of Field had purchased a large tract of land in Crawford County, and the southern part of Greenwood was embraced in his possessions. He gave to every settler one-half of a tract, or two hundred acres, the only stipulation being that they should fulfill the requirements of residence and improvements necessary to perfect a title. It was in this way that many of the first settlers obtained their farms. Samuel and Robert Power settled the only two tracts patented by individ- uals. They were brothers, and came from Mifflin County. They first vis- ited Greenwood in 1795, when they selected their future homes, but they did not make a permanent settlement at that time. Robert Power returned in 1800 and built a cabin upon his land, and remained there until his death. Samuel Power remained a bachelor until 1804, when he was married in Mifflin County, and brought his wife to the little cabin already prepared in the wilderness. He followed the occupation of a farmer for a long period. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and a Democrat in politics. He removed to Fairfield Township in later life, and died in Union in 1848 at the advanced age of sev- enty-two. It is generally believed that the settlement of Greenwood commenced soon after the location of the Meads at Meadville, although it seems to be impos- sible to clearly establish the date. Asher and William Williams settled in the southern part of the township, on a tract of 800 acres, and were probably the first to arrive. Abraham Martin came from one of the eastern counties and settled upon a tract of 400 acres in 1794. He remained unmarried, and died in 1820. Samuel Anderson came from Sherman in 1796 and settled upon 400 acres near the center of the township. He accompanied Samuel Power. John Anderson came soon afterwards to the' same vicinity, and remained throughout life. At this time Pittsburgh was the nearest market. Richard Custard came in 1797 from the west branch of the Susquehanna and took up a claim in the eastern part of the township. He was a native of Chester County, and soon after his arrival opened the first house of public entertain- ment in the township. It was known as the Black Horse Tavern, and was opened prior to the War of 1812 and continued more than twenty years. It was a welcome and much frequented shelter for the weary wayfarers, and as 528 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. it was located on the State road, which connected Meadville and Pittsburgh, received a generous patronage from the many travelers of that thoroughfare, at that time the most used of any in Crawford County. Each settler, as he took possession of his land, usually built a small hut as a temporary dwelling, expecting to construct a more elaborate residence after the crops were in and he had cut some logs and peeled some hemlock bark for the roof. The following description has been left us of the contrast between the old cabin and the new log house of one of the early settlers : "The house was a great improvement upon the old camp, where snakes lived in the logs and ran over the floor. The walls of the camp were built of round logs, these were of hewn timber; the chinks between the logs in the camp were big enough tO' run your arm through and were stuffed with moss and clay, but the timber of the house was hewed to- a 'proud' edge, and dove- tailed together at the ends, and was as tight as a chum. The camp had no floor, byt this had a floor of hewn timber ; the walls of the camp were but three logs high and had settled by decay, so that you could only stand erect in the middle (and a good part of the middle was taken up by the fire), while this was ten feet high, with a chamber, the floor of which was also laid with hewn timber. The camp had but one room, no window, a hole in the roof for a chimney, no oven, so that the bread was baked in the ashes, covered with an iron pot, or on a stone by the fire, while the pot hung by a chain from a pole laid on two crotches; the house had three rooms below, with partitions of bark, and blankets hung-up for doors, a fireplace and oven of stone laid in clay mortar, and a chimney made of sticks of split wood laid cob fashion and plastered inside and out with clay to keep them from catching fire, with a crane to hang the pot on. The roof was covered with hemlock bark, lapped and nailed as shingles are, and perfectly tight ; and there were windows with stone shutters, and two with squares of oiled paper instead of glass. As there was a general apprehension of trouble with the Indians, the windows were made small, and the door was of oak timber with iron hinges, and with a wooden latch on the outside; and when the string was pulled in and the bars put up, it would have been no very easy matter to force an entrance. The house being built of such thick stuff, and sheltered by the woods on the north and west, with brush piled up around it, into which the snow drifted in the winter, their great fires rendered it perfectly comfortable in the coldest weather." Next to the task of building a first cabin in which to shelter his family came the equally important one of felling some trees, and as soon as they were dry enough burning them and thus effecting a small clearing. Then, in the spaces between the stumps, he would plant his first crop, of potatoes, peas and corn, and with their covering of ashes and the newness of the soil they usually flourished. Time spent in hunting interfered seriously with the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 529 work of clearing the land and raising the crops, yet sometimes the provisions became so scarce that they could have no breakfast until one of them had shot a partridge or caught a fish in the brook. When the crop was ripe they would take the corn to mill, though often they devised means to avoid the labor of going so far. A large rock-maple log would be dug out for a mortar, a pestle contrived of the same material, and fastened by a rope to the limb of a tree, the spring of which helped to lift the pestle. In this manner they pounded the corn until part of it was fine enough for bread, the rest was boiled and eaten with peas and beans. The first year was al- ways the hardest, but as the clearing progressed the crops became more plentiful and life was made easier. And the hardships of pioneer life pro- duced a rugged, healthy race, able to meet and bear whatever privations they might encounter. Children reared in hardship develop early, and those of the hardy frontiersmen were soon able tO' help in the work of the farm. The original farms were large, so that the head of a family was able to por- tion ofif a part for each of his sons, and the land thus divided has in many cases descended from generation to generation ' of the same family to the present day. The Adams family now living in the northwestern part of the town- ship is descended from Robert Adams, who emigrated from Ireland to Phila- delphia in 1799, and two years later made his way to Greenwood with a yoke of oxen. The greatest good fortune of an early settler was to be possessed of a team of oxen. Without them it was hard to get along, and those who came without them practiced every economy until able to buy a pair. One early settler declares that the acquisition of some oxen was the turning point in his fortune. William Brooks was also a native of Ireland, and in 1798 emigrated to Philadelphia. Later on he moved to South She- nango Township, in company with John Cook and John McDermott, and in 1808 settled in Greenwood. He was a soldier in the War of 18 12, and died at Geneva in 18 13. James Peterson, originally from New Jersey, came from Fayette County and settled in the eastern part of the township. He died in extreme old age, leaving a numerous posterity. Thomas Ross came to the township a single man, and like all bachelors at that time had to pay a tax for the privilege of remaining in a state of single blessedness. He built the first distillery, having a still in operation before 1804. Many other settlers had their private stills, some having two, the capacity of a still per week being from twelve to thirty bushels of rye. Rye was then the only grain used, a bushel yielding three gallons of distilled spirits. Every settler who laid any claim to respectability kept a barrel of whisky in his cabin for the use of his family and the entertainment of visitors. It was then cheap and the copper stills were usually operated throughout the winter months. Enormous quantities were thus produced, and a large part 34 530 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. of it was consumed by the residents of the township; that which remained after the home trade had been supplied being sent to Erie and Pittsburg, where it found a ready sale. The first saw and grist mill in the township was built by John Mc- Michael in 1799, on McMichael's Run. Mellon's mill and several others were afterward built on the same stream. The first grist mill in the eastern part was built by John Peterson some time before 1813. A sawmill was operated in the southern part prior tO' 18 10 by William Williams. James McEntire taught school near the McMichaels mill in 1807. The McMichaels, Mellons and Adamses attended. Another early school was held in a log cabin near the Custard place by George Catlin. Colvin Hatch, and afterward John Limber, instructed the youth of the northeastern part of the township about 182 1. A school was held by Betsy Quigley, from Watson's Run, in a little log school house two miles west of Geneva, in 18 17, John Andreas teaching in the same place the following year. In 1837, when the public school system was introduced, there were seven schools in Greenwood Township, attended by two hundred and three scholars. The teachers were reported of good character, with qualifications sufficient to teach a common English school, and the branches taught were spelling, reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic and geography. In 1896 the number of schools had increased to twelve, the number of scholars to three hundred and eight, and the length of the school year from five to seven months. The average cost to the township per month for each scholar was $1.28, the total amount ex- pended for educational purposes for the year being little less than $3,400. West Greenwood is a postoffice located in the southwestern corner of the township. Custards is a small hamlet and postoffice located in the northeastern part. It contains several houses, a mill, some shops and two stores. The settlement was commenced by Ezra Peterson, who built the first sawmill here. The Free Will Baptist church of Greenwood was organized in 1832, with six members, by Rev. George Collins, the first pastor. The first meet- ings were held in private houses and in the school house, until in 1843 ^ ^^K church was built in the south central part of the township. In 1874 it was replaced by a handsome brick structure, at a cost of $3,500. It has a flour- ishing membership. Jacob H. Bortner, Jacob and Nancy Cook, Caleb and Margaret Newbold, and A. Turner were the original members. * The Greenfield Presbyterian church was organized in 1854, with twenty members. The church building, erected in 1854 in the southwestern part of the township, cost $1,500. Rev. James Coulter supplied the charge for a time, and in i860 Rev. George Scott was installed as its first pastor. The OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 531 membership is small and weak, and it is long since regular services have been held. A United Brethren class meets for worship in Peterson's school house, in the eastern part of the township. It was organized about 1868 and con- nected with the Geneva mission. The membership is very small. BOROUGH OF GENEVA. The borough of Geneva is situated in the northern part of. Greenwood Township, on the line of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad. It was incorporated as a borough in 1872 and the first election was held in March of that year. De Witt Harroun was appointed judge of election, and William Billings and Alfred M. Abbott, inspectors. Jonathan Smock was elected the first Burgess, J. H. Tiffany, Clerk, and James Hood, Constable. Geneva, which has a population of about four hundred, was originally known as Sutton's Corners. In the spring of i860 Peter and Sylvester Sutton started the first store, bringing the goods overland from Meadville. Miller Sutton had a blacksmith shop there, and several farmers and laborers were living on the site of the village. The southern part of the village was included in the farms then owned by John Sutton and John Gelvin, while C. G. Bolster and J. D. Christ owned what is now the northern part. 'In 1863 the railroad was constructed, and from that time the village has had a steady growth. It now contains stores of various kinds, hotels, shops, factories, a graded school and two churches. Jonathan Christ was the first postmaster, and he was succeeded by John Gelvin, who held the office many years. The first school was held in a one-story frame building, situated on the southeast corner of Main and Center streets. In 185 1 a second one-story frame structure was built, and in 1866 it was replaced by a handsome two- story building. In 1896 it was occupied by twO' schools, in session during eight months. Eighty scholars were in attendance and over eight hundred dollars were expended by the borough for educational purposes. A class of the Methodist Episcopal Church used to meet for worship in a school-house about a mile east of Geneva, as early as 1820. A log church was built later on, a little east of the borough, and in 1843 this was replaced by a frame building on the same location. In 1858 the present build- ing was erected in Geneva at a cost of $1,200. Thomas Abbott, Wyram Newton and John Sutton were early members. It was, in the early days, connected with the Salem Circuit of Mercer County, but has since been made part of the Evansburgh Circuit. T. P. Abbott and wife, J. D. Christ and F. D. Gill organized the United Brethren Church in 1870. The first meetings were held in the school-house, but John Gelvin having donated a lot in Geneva, a handsome brick meeting 532 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. house was erected there in 1872 at an expense of $3,000. Bishop J. J. Gloss- brenner officiated at the dedicatory services. Its membership, though not large, includes many of the substantial citizens of Geneva and vicinity. CHAPTER XI. HAYFIELD TOWNSHIP. IN ASSIGNING names to the townships into which Crawford County was divided, no rule was followed, as is sometimes the case in some of the Western States, but each one was named arbitrarily, as it pleased the court or as the citizens prayed for in their petition. In a few instances the Indian names of the localities were retained; as Shenango, Cussawago and Conneaut. Some were named after men of note, such as Mead, Wayne and Steuben, while in the eastern end such classic names as Athens, Rome, Troy and Sparta were selected. But in a large number of cases some quality or peculiarity of the land itself gave rise to the name by which it is now known. The very name of Fallowfield speaks for the fertility of its soil; while the names of A^ernon, Fairfield and Summerhill are equally indicative of the quali- ties of the land. And so, when, in 1829, a new township was organized from the adjacent parts of Mead, Venango, Cussawago and Sadsbury, containing a section famous for its crops of hay, the name of Hayfield was veiy appro- priately bestowed upon it. Hayfield is an interior township, lying a little northwest of the center of the county. Its eastern portion is included in the valley of French Creek and is drained by it and the small streams which empty into it. Cussawago Creek flows southwardly through the central part, and its numerous tributaries spread over the northern and central portions. The area of the township is 22,724 acres. The soil of the valleys is a black loam, being gravelly in the higher portions. When the early settlers arrived the entire surface was covered with a heavy growth of timber, hickory, chestnut and oak prevailing on the high land, with considerable white oak in the valleys. Although the soil is naturally productive its fertility has been much increased by the use of fertilizers, and it yields abundant crops. Located as it is near the site of the first settlement in the county, and including a portion of the French Creek Valley, Hayfield Township attracted to its valleys some of the earliest settlers. Several tracts were surveyed within its boundaries by adventurous individuals even before the end of the Indian war had made their occupation possible. Many settlers OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. . 533 had taken up land before 1800, some by patent, and others by grant from the Holland Land Company, which owned a large part of Hayfield. One hun- dred acres were usually given for fulfilling the conditions of settlement and im- provement, and the settler was expected to purchase an additional fifty or one hundred acres. To James Dickson belongs the honor of making the first settlement within the Hmits of what is now Hayfield Township. Born near Dumfries, Scotland, he emigrated to America in 1785, bringing with him his wife and two chil- dren. He landed at Philadelphia, and proceeded from there to Pittsburg, where he secured work and remained until 1793. He was determined to secure a home under the provisions of the act of the Legislature passed the year previous, and for that purpose traveled on foot from Pittsburg tO' Meadville, and located a tract of 400 acres four miles north of that place, on the west bank of French Creek, in what is now Hayfield Township. He also located 400 acres just south of this for his son Robert, and afterward purchased it. He spent the summer of 1793 in Meadville, where he and William Jones culti- vated a field of corn and potatoes on the island, and in the fall returned to Pittsburg. The next spring he attempted to bring his family and household goods by boat up the Allegheny and French Creek, but the boat capsized, and most of his clothing and household articles were lost. The troubles with the Indians prevented him from going at once to his claim, and for two years he was forced to remain in the block house at Meadville, at one time receiving a severe wound in an engagement with the savages. In 1796, Wayne's victory having put an end to the hostilities, he removed with his family to the farm he had staked out three years before. Here he built a cabin and cleared the land, and made it his permanent home. He resided upon the same farm until his death in 1825, in his seventy-fourth year. Mr. Dickson was an early member of the Meadville Presbyterian Church. James Dickson, or Scotch Jemmy, as he was more generally known,, was the hero of several adventures during the Indian troubles. On one occasion, in 1793 or 1794, he was surprised by a number of Indians in the woods and shot at several times. Turning his face toward them, he leveled his rifle and dared them to come out of the woods like men and give him fair play — crying, in his broad Scotch dialect : "Noo coom on wi' your wee axe." With his rifle thus presented he continued to walk backward until out of reach of their fire, -and in that way made his way to the old blockhouse in Meadville. Again, during the summer of 1795, James Dickson and his son were get- ting the ground ready for a potato patch on the tract which they settled the following year. The Indians were still hostile, and the few venturesome pioneers who cultivated patches of ground away from the fort at Meadville, found it prudent to labor in groups of two or more, one keeping guard while the others worked. As they were busily preparing the ground they heard the 534 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. report of a gun, and seeing a flock of turkeys fly from the limbs of one of the neighboring trees, and fearing that the Indians were at hand, the laborers hid themselves in a nearby thicket. But they were reassured when they saw the form of Hugh Logue emerge from the forest, rifle in hand, and together they went to Meadville, leaving a horse they had been using at the clearing. Upon their return, a few days later, they found that the horse was missing, and beside his tracks, which disappeared in the direction of Conneaut Lake, were the prints of moccasins. The horse had undoubtedly been stolen by the Indians, and it was never recovered. Thefts of this kind were not infrequent in those days. The end of the Indian troubles in 1796 brought several other families within the limits of Hayfield. Hugh Logue, an Irishman, settled near Dick- son. He was well advanced in years and was accompanied by a gfown up family. Two brothers, Adam and Jacob Brookhouser, of German origin, set- tled upon land opposite Sagertown. William Gill had remained in Meadville for some time, and in the spring of 1796 took possession of a tract north of Dickson's. His eldest son, Robert, was in service at Erie. The two Roderick Fraziers settled near the southeast corner of the town- ship. They were of no kin to one another, but by a remarkable coincidence both came to Hayfield and lived upon the same tract. The elder Roderick Frazier was a Scotchman, a bachelor, who had been in the English army at the fall of Quebec. He had located a tract on French Creek as early as 1793, but did not take possession of his land until "1796, passing the period of Indian dis- turbances in Meadville. He resided upon his farm until death, living to the age of more than one hundred years. Roderick Frazier, the younger, was also a Scotchman, from near Inverness. During the Revolution he had been an English soldier, but deserted to the American side before the close of the war. In 1806 he came to Hayfield and settled upon the tract of his elderly namesake, supporting the old man in his advanced life, and purchasing the tract, part of which is still owned by his descendants. William McElvey settled in the eastern part of the township, about a mile northwest from the Dickson farm. He was one of the earliest settlers and remained there through life. James Dunn came from New Jersey in 1797 and settled on a tract near Coon's Corners. His descendants still reside in the township. During the early days, when this county was a portion of Alle- gheny, he was a justice of the peace, and in later years became a Baptist min- ister. At about the same time Isaac and George Mason made a settlement on Brookhouser's Run, about a mile and a half northeast of Saegertown. Isaac commanded a company from Crawford County in service at Erie during the War of 1812. Their brother, David Mason, 'settled on the hills in the eastern part of the township. Martha Ouray lived with her brother, George Ouray, in the southwestern part at a very early date. She purchased 100 acres of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 535 land, and soon afterward married Daniel Kilday, an emigrant from Ireland. Philip Dunn settled on the Cussawago, David Morris in the southern part of the township, and within a few years the settlers had come in sufiicient num- bers to cover the surface of the township. A great number of the pioneers had come from the thickly settled portions of the East, and were not accustomed to use the rifle. But in a short time many of them became expert hunters, particularly the younger men. An amusing incident is related of Daniel Kilday and Robert Kilpatrick, two Irish settlers wholly unaccustomed to forest life and the sight of its wild inhabi- tants. While walking through the woods together Kilday saw an animal of some sort run up a sapling, and making toward it he cried excitedly to his companion, "Robert, Robert, we've threed a fawn." Daniel followed the creature op the tree and in spite of its savage cries and furious demonstrations, knocked it off, while his companion below beat the life out of it with a club. It proved to be a wildcat of the largest size. James Dickson, in 181 5, built the first bridge across French Creek, con- necting Hayfield with the other side. It had stone piers and hewed timbers and was afterward purchased by the county. In 181 5 he commenced the construction of a flouring mill at McGuflin's Falls, in the southeastern part of the township, but it was not set in operation until 1819. After his death it became the property of his son Joseph, who operated it until 1836, when he sold it to William McGaw. In 1814 William Gill and James Dickson both started distilleries, which had a capacity of four "bushels of rye per day. There was a great demand for whiskey, and Roderick Frazier and others also oper- ated stills. A little grist mill was built on Foster's Run in 1800 by George Mason, and although it was of small capacity was looked upon as a great boon to the settlement.. In the southeastern part of Hayfield Township a large vineyard is cul- tivated by John Hartman. It is located upon a high ridge, being the highest land in that portion of the county, and is therefore freer from frost than most of the surrounding territory. Mr. Hartman first began the cultivation of grapes for profit about ten years ago, and since then the number of vines has been increased until he now devotes to that purpose between sixty and seventy acres. The Concord is the staple variety, although the Niagara and Catawba are also favorites, and other species are given considerable attention. His j'^early production of grapes now averages from seventy to eighty thousand baskets, which find a ready sale in the markets of Meadville and other cities. Large quantities of wine are manufactured and sold to wholesale merchants in New York. The size and beauty of this vineyard make it one of the inter- esting features of Crawford County, the vine covered hills differing little in appearance from the picturesque scenes of southern France. Mr. Hartman has found grape raising a profitable occupation, and during the autumn his 536 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. increasing business gives employment to a large staff of assistants. Not far from this vineyard another of smaller area is operated by Mr. Rice. Miss Martha Ouray, who afterward became Mrs. Kilday, taught the first school in the township. It was held in 1798 in an old log cabin which stood on the Kilday farm, and was attended by the Dickson and Gill children. Mordecai Thomas taught school in the same vicinity from 1804 to 1808, and Owen David for ten or twelve years afterward. About 1804 George Andrews, an Irishman of considerable talent and ability, taught a term in the Dickson cabin. The early schools were usually held in abandoned cabins, with no con- veniences, and the teachers were poorly educated and the pupils few. In 1837 there were three schools, employing three teachers, but the number of scholars was not reported. Upward of six hundred dollars was raised for school pur- poses and both teachers and scholars were spoken of in terms of praise. In 1896 the number of schools had increased to seventeen, with a school year of seven months. Three hundred and fifty-nine children were enrolled as pupils, at an average cost per month for each pupil of $1.34. More than $4,700 was expended for school purposes, more than half being raised by the township itself, the remainder coming from the State appropriation. Little's Corners, or Hayfield Postoflfice, is the largest village in the town- ship. There are twenty-five or thirty dwellings, several stores, several mills and factories, a church and a schoolhouse. The village was commenced more than fifty years ago and has increased very slowly. William B. Morris oper- ated a carding mill here as early as 1845, ^^'^ i" 1850 Sylvester Mason opened the first store. Coon's Corners is a small village situated near the center of the town- ship, about a mile east of Hayfield. It contains a half dozen dwellings, a post- office, store- and a church. Norrisville is a settlement of about the same size, located on the west-^ €rn line of the township. The Norrisville United Brethren Church, formerly called the Summer- hill Church, was organized by Rev. Rittenhouse about 1853, with five mem- bers. The church services were held in a schoolhouse in Summerhill Town- ship until about i860, when an edifice was erected near the western boundary of Hayfield. It has a small membership and is connected with the Cussawago Circuit. Little's Corners Methodist Episcopal Societ)'^ was organized at Hayfield in 1852, with nine members, by Rev. J. K. Hallock, the first pastor. The early meetings were held in a schoolhouse, but in 1853 ^ large meeting house was erected at a cost of $1,700. The society, though small, is in a flourishing condition. The Coon's Corners Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1844 by Rev. McClellen, with twelve members. In 1848 a frame building was erected at a cost of $700. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 537 An Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized at Black's Corners in i8S4i by Rev. John A. Nuner. There were fourteen original members, and the first meetings were held in Burn's schoolhouse, north of the present church, which was erected in the same year at an expense of $400. Its membership is also very small. The Pleasant Hill United Brethren Church was organized at Black's Corners in 1869 by Rev. Cyrus Casterline. There were forty original mem- bers, among them Herman Rice and John Braddish. In 1870 a church edifice was erected at a cost of $1,700, but the membership is now greatly reduced. A Wesleyan Methodist Church was erected at Black's Corners in 1849 on the farm of Roderick Frazier. David Jones and Samuel March were among its early members. A Methodist Episcopal class was organized on French Creek, opposite Saegertown, in 1826. Meetings were held for a short time in the cabin of Ebenezer Seavy, then for several years on the second floor of Foster's distil- lery, on the same farm, when a rudely furnished meeting house was erected two miles up the creek, in which services were held for many years. Many members left to unite with the Saegertown and other churches, and in a short time the society was dissolved CHAPTER XII. M MEAD TOWNSHIP. EAD TOWNSHIP as originally constituted included all of what is now Erie and Crawford counties, and existed as a geographical division even before the organization of Crawford County. Until the month of July, 1800, Allegheny Coiinty embraced the whole of northwestern Pennsyl- vania, but at the first session of the courts in Meadville, after the formation of Crawford County, several townships were laid out, of which Mead, greatly reduced in area, occupied the central position. At that time, in addition to its present territory, it included parts of Vernon, Hayfield, Woodcock, Rich- mond and most of Randolph. In 1828 it was reduced to its present size, and it is now the second township of Crawford County in area, containing 25,683 acres, valued in 1897 at $691,914. The land of Mead Township, like most of Crawford County, is rolling and undulating, and the soil is of good quality ; and while a large portion is suitable for the cultivation of cereals, a larger part is more especially adapted to grazing and stock raising. French Creek, forming the western boundary. 538 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. drains the larger part of it, while its tributary, Little Sugar Creek, which rises in the northeastern corner and flows south into East Fairfield Township, traverses the western portion. Hay is a staple product, and dairying and stock raising are largely engaged in. The Rev. Timothy Alden described Mead Township, in 1817, in an article in the "Allegheny Magazine," and while the boundaries have been changed since then, the general characteristics and nature of the land were pointed out as follows : "The township is agreeably varie- gated with hills and dales, but sufficiently level for all the purposes of agri- culture. Like most of the county, it is in general better for grass than for grain. For the former, no part of the United States is believed to be better adapted, and of the latter, nothing but the hand of cultivation is wanted to furnish an abundance for a numerous population. From one-seventh to one- fifth may be considered first-rate land. Of the residue, a hundred acres in one body can, perhaps, nowhere be found so broken or so ordinary in quality as to come under the denomination of third-rate. Springs of the purest water abound in all directions, from which never failing brooks proceed to irrigate and enhance the value of every plantation in the township. Van Horn's Run, Kossewango Creek, on the western side of French Creek; Mill Run, rising in Wayne, taking a circuitous northwesterly course and passing through the village of Meadville, some of the branches of Little Sugar Creek, of Big Sugar Creek, of Oil Creek and of Woodcock Creek, on the east side of French Creek, afford many eligible sites for water works. At present there are four mills for grain, three for sawing logs, and others are begun or contemplated. Two carding machines and one fulling mill are also impelled by water." "Of forest trees the following list, though imperfect, shows something of the variety: White oak, red oak, black oak, chestnut, hickory in all its species, beech, cherry, sycamore or buttonwood, white ash, black ash, sugar tree, dark and light, soft maple, black birch, white pine, hemlock, white elm, red elm, slippery elm, sassafras, poplar or white wood, quaking asp, cucumber, ironwood, dogwood, not the poisonous kind, called boxwood in some parts, bass or linden, sumach, konnekonik, etc. Of wild fruit there are: Crab apple, plums of several kinds, and of a delicious flavor, haws, white, red and black, whortleberries, blue and black in a few places, strawberries, very fine and abundant, blackberi-ies, high and low in great plenty, raspberries, white, red and purple, which are excellent, wild currants, gooseberries, cranberries and nuts of different sorts in vast quantities. Hops, highbalm, ginseng, blood- root, evinroot or chocolateroot, and many other kinds of roots and herbage, of valuable properties, are the spontaneous growth of Mead as well as of other townships in the county of Crawford. Health, the greatest of all merely temporal blessings, is nowhere more prevalent than in this part of the country." Thus favored by nature to such a marked degree, Mead Township pre- sented a most favorable field for colonization, and it was within its limits that OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 539 the first settlers of Crawford County established themselves. It was in the spring of 1788 that David Mead, driven from his home in Wyoming County by struggles "with fortune, with the Indians, and the Wyoming boys," came, accompanied by his brother John and several others, to seek a new home and begiii a new career in the wilderness beyond the Allegheny River. Here he patented a tract of land on the west branch of French Creek, about a mile north of Meadville, but in the fall of 1788 removed to take possession of the claim abandoned by Thomas Grant, who had settled upon the present site of Mead- ville. It is from David Mead, the first settler, and for many years the most influential man of the vicinity, that both the city and the township take their names. Of those who had accompanied him in 1788, John Mead and Cor- nelius Van Horn settled in what is now Vernon Township, while James Fitz Randolph located a tract about two miles south of Meadville. The others returned to the East, finding the struggle for life in the wilderness harder than they had anticipated. But David, on the contrary, not at all discour- aged, brought out his family in 1789, and other settlers came and took up land near him. Samuel Lord, who had been a Revolutionary soldier and was a renowned Indian fighter, located upon the land now forming the north- ern part of Meadville, known as the "Mount Hope" tract. He took consider- . able interest in public affairs, and kept the village store, having, in addition to the trade of the colonists, that of the Indians, whose confidence he had gained and by whom he was greatly beloved. John Wentworth and Frederick Hay- maker joined the colony at the same time and settled in the vicinity of Mead- ville. Frederick Baum, Darius Mead and Robert Fitz Randolph arrived in 1789. The latter, who had been a soldier of the Revolution, located two miles south of the Mead settlement, and lived there with his family until his death, in 1830. He was a strong character, and his zeal in the cause of free- dom was unwavering. The following anecdote, from the Crawford Mes- senger, of July, 1830, is ample proof of this fact : In one of the alarms caused by the approach of the English to the town of Erie, during the War of 18 12, he mustered a strong band of his own household, in true patriarchal style, con- sisting of his four sons, and two or' three grandsons, put himself at their head, and thus armed and equipped, marched to meet the expected foe. His companion, Frederick Baum, took up a claim south of Meadville, upon French Creek, in the southwestern part of the township. His neighbor, John Baum, who had the reputation of being the strongest man in the settlement, was another early resident of that vicinity. These hardy pioneers, the advance guard of the army of civilization, had every difficulty to contend with incident to the settlement of a new coun- try, and besides had always to be on the alert to guard against the Indians. But with that spirit of enterprise which characterized the first settlers of this 540 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. country, and the hope of procuring permanent homes for themselves and their famihes, which had led them to the wilderness and cheered their way through it, they selected their lands and commenced the work of converting them into farms. But their outlook was a gloomy one. They were far from any neighbors of their own race, and were but poorly supplied with the means of making a livelihood. After several years of incessant toil and hardship the prospects began to brighten, but the gloomy cloud of another Indian war soon overcast them, and the isolated infant settlements of the West were menaced with destruction. Many fled, while those who remained were exposed to constant privations and sufferings. Prior to 1795, it is doubtful if any per- manent settlement existed in the township or county, beyond the block house at Meadville, where David Mead established himself, determined -to brave every danger and incur every risk rather than leave his- important interests. Sheltered by the fort, he and his companions carried on the work of clearing the land and raising crops. For several months, in 1791, when the Indians were daily expected to attempt the extermination of the people on French Creek, Mr. Mead and his family resided in Franklin, that he might have it in his power to repair to the garrison in that place as a last resort. During this period his father was taken by two Indians, from a field where he was at work, and carried to the vicinity of Conneaut Lake. Some days afterward he was found, together with one of the Indians, both dead, and bearing such marks of violence as showed they had had a struggle, and it was deemed prob- able that the other Indian had been wounded in the encounter, from the fact that his companion was left unburied. Cornelius Van Horn who, as related in a preceding paragraph, was one of the companions of Mead in 1788, figured prominently in the early history of the township, and the following story of one of his adventures has come down to us, giving a vivid illustration of the dangers by which they were continually surrounded: In the spring of 1791 Van Horn, Gregg and Ray were plowing on the island opposite the town. Gregg and Ray had crossed the river to prepare the dinner, when Van Horn, who continued plowing, saw his horses take fright at something, and suddenly turning, saw a tall Indian about to strike him with a tomahawk, and another just behind. Quick as thought he seized the descending arm and grappled with the In- dian, hugging him after the manner of a bear. While in this close embrace the other Indian attempted tO shoot Van Horn, but he, no novice in frontier tactics, kept turning the Indian around in his arms so as to present him as a shield against the bullet, and thus gained time enough to parley for his life. No fine-spun diplomacy was practiced in the treaty, a few broken words of Indian on one side, and broken English on the other, resulted in a capitula- tion by which he was to be taken prisoner, together with his horses. He was pinioned and taken to a hill above the college, where they met the old OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 541 chief and a fourth Indian. After a consultation, the chief mounted one of the horses and the prisoner the other, and pursued their way toward Conneaut Lake, while the other three returned to the island in search of further ad- ventures. Gregg and Ray had returned, and were wondering over the mean- ing of the tracks in the field, when they descried the three Indians. Gregg started to run, and was pursued, killed and scalped, while Ray, who had stood his ground, was taken prisoner. The old chief had tied Van Horn to a tree, in a sitting posture, with his arms behind him, but the thong working loose the chief pulled it oblicjuely up the tree to tighten it and then, thinking his prisoner securely fastened, laid himself down in the bushes to sleep. Van Horn, by raising himself a little, loosened the thong enough to allow him to get a small knife out of his cuff and cut himself loose from the tree, but he could not break the pinions which confined his arms. He made his way back to the settlement, where he met an officer from Fort Franklin, who ordered the whole colony to repair for safety to that place, lest there might be a larger force of Indians in the vicinity. Van Horn pleaded hard for permission to remain behind and learn the fate of Ray and Gregg, and as the officer's horse had been lost he was given per- mission to stay, provided he could get some one tO' remain with him. A friendly Indian, by the name of Gilloway, agreed to be his companion, and another friendly Indian, McKee, also remained behind in order to catch the lost horse. They found the horse, and taking some furs and skins in the canoe, embarked for Franklin. Gilloway volunteered to ride the horse, while the others went by water, but he rode it a little too> far and in the wrong direction, as he was not heard of again until seen in Sandusky. Van Horn afterward .had reason to think that Gilloway had tarried behind in order to murder him, but that, his plan frustrated by the determination of McKee to remain also, he had stolen the horse and decamped. Van Horn and McKee determined to return from Franklin, and in order to have an early start tO' pass the night in a deserted cabin a mile or two this side of the fort. The com- maiiding officers in vain urged the danger of an attack by the savages, but Van Horn and his comrade thought themselves competent tO' defend their position. In the night, however, the officers and soldiers determined to make good their surmises and have a little fun by raising an Indian whoop and surrounding the cabin where Van Horn lay. The soldiers, listening at the door, heard Van Horn arranging with his comrade to stand by and haul them into the cabin, while he cut them down at the door with his ax. This was a kind of sport for which the party was not prepared, and they withdrew, fully satisfied that Van Horn could take care of himself. The war was happily terminated by General Wayne in 1795, and imme- diately a great influx of colonists took place. Those who' had for a time abandoned their farms returned and again took up the work of cultivation. 542 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Soldiers who had been granted land in payment for services either came them- selves tO' reside on it or transferred it to others who wished to begin life in the West. Thomas Ray, who was captured on the same day that Van Horn was taken prisoner, was taken by the Indians to Detroit, and having gained his liberty at the termination of the war, returned and settled in the north- western part of Mead Township, where he remained permanently. Others took up land in various parts of the county. David Compton, who had originally settled in Vernon Township, removed to a tract about twO' miles south of Meadville, where he resided during the remainder of his life. Nicho- las Lord settled on Mill Run, about a mile and a half east of Meadville, in 1795- William Clark, one of the earliest associate judges, settled on a tract south of David Mead's, on the land now forming the southern part of Mead- ville. He was one of the prominent men of the place for many years, taking a great interest in politics; but he did not remain in Crawford County, re- moving in his old age to a farm near Harrisburg, where he died. Martin Kycenceder, who had been a Hessian soldier in the employ of the English, having been captured by the Americans, remained in this country at the close of the war, and became a citizen of Mead Township. His descendants still live in the county. Two large and wealthy associations, the Holland Land Company and the Pennsylvania Population Company, had acquired extensive tracts of land in northwestern Pennsylvania, and they were the means of settling large por- tions of the new country. The central and eastern parts of Mead Township belonged almost entirely to the Holland Land Company, and thus the earliest settlements are recorded in the books of that company. These records show that the territory now comprised in Mead Township was settled in every part between 1796 and 1800. The settlements, however, were few, not more than one family to a tract of four hundred acres. Many afterward moved away, while others remained permanently, and are still represented in the township by their descendants of the third and fourth generations. Among those who located here before 18 10, Daniel Custard, an Englishman, owned a small farm southeast of the city ; Elizabeth Buchanan, a widow, settled with her family two miles south of Meadville ; Joseph Davis remained till his death in the southeastern part of the township. On the farm of Joseph Finney, north of Meadville, was found an extensive quarry oi sandstone, since consid- erably developed, and the place was known as "Finney's Rocks." The five Stainbrook brothers, a family of German extraction, settled in various parts of the township, and their descendants still remain. In 1816, Jacob Stain- brook, in the southeastern part of the township, built a water grist mill on a little brook which coursed through his farm. It was the first mill in the local- ity and was a crude affair, having only one run of stone, and could not be OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 543 operated when the brook became low. But he ground some corn and a httle wheat, and as it was the only one in the township, it was extensively patron- ized. George Kightlinger, son-in-law of the original proprietor, afterward took charge of the business, and continued it for many years. Later on, in 1830, William Moultrip built a water mill on a branch of Sugar Creek, but it was only operated a few years. Dr. David Bemus, in 1830, built an extensive saw and grist mill about two miles north of Meadville, and obtained the requisite water power by building a dam across French Creek. He did a large business in lumber, sawing pine boards, which were conveyed down the river to Pittsburg in boats built here. He also operated an oil mill, and rebuilt it on an extensive scale, at an expense of almost ten thousand dollars, but it was destroyed by fire before it was occupied. The grist and sawmill, however, continued to be operated until 1856, when it, too, was burned. The Bemus dam was after- ward utilized as a feeder for the Beaver and Erie Canal, thus becoming public property. The settlement known as Bemustown was at one time quite a village, consisting of six or eight houses and a store, besides the mills, but with the destruction of the mills it died away. The social intercourse of the settlers, prior to the enforcement of munic- ipal law, was not always characterized by entire harmony, and sharp and fierce disputes often occurred, which were sometimes settled by their fists and sometimes by the arbitration of disinterested parties. A singular instance of this kind is related of a dispute between David Mead and John Wentworth, in regard to an agreement by which one was to cultivate a field of corn for the other. They could not come to an understanding, and the more they talked about it the angrier each one grew. As they were standing on Water Street trying to settle the dispute, two strangers passed, on their way through the town, and it was agreed to leave it to them. They were accosted, and hav- ing accepted, they unslung their knapsacks and listened to the statements of both parties. At the end they rendered a decision which gave mutual satis- faction, after which they resumed their journey. David Mead was the first commissioned justice of the peace in the township, an office which he held until 1799, when he became one of the associate judges for the county. One of the first cases on his dockefr was an action for debt, in which he was the plaintiff, and Robert Fitz Randolph the defendant. Unfortunately, when the Governor gave the people a justice he forgot to give the justice a constable, but Mead did not suffer this novel dilemma to defeat the ends of justice. He issued and served the summons himself, and when the day of hearing came a trial was had and a judgment rendered the plaintiff for the amount of his claim. He then issued and served an execution, levying upon a horse, the property of the defendant, which he exposed to public sale. ,He put up the notices, and at the sale, over which he presided, he bought in the horse and 544 . OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. paid the surplus proceeds to the defendant. He thus acted as plaintiff, judge, constable, auctioneer and purchaser, in the same case. Mead Township is not without relics of the prehistoric race, known as the Mound Builders, who at one time lived upon this continent. The follow- ing extract from Huidekoper's "Incidents in the Early History of Crawford County," form an interesting item in the history of the township: "There were originally two circular forts about a mile below the present village of Meadville. The one in the valley, on the farm of Mr. Taylor Randolph, and the other a quarter of a mile below, on the bluff point of a high knoll, where a small stream puts into the canal. The plow and the annual tillage of the soil have now destroyed them. There was also a mound to be seen a short dis- tance above the fort, which stood in the plain. It is now nothing but a smooth eminence some two or three feet high, and extending from north to south some fifteen or twenty feet, and about twice as much from east to west. It is described, however, by Mr. Isaac Randolph, one of the oldest settlers, on whose farm it stands, as having been composed originally of two mounds, connected by a narrow neck between them. The material of one of the mounds he represents as having been of gravel, and the other of alluvial earth. The ground around the mound is alluvial, without stone, and it is evident the material was carried some distance to construct the mound, as there was no ditch or excavation near it from which it could have been taken. The mound stands some thirty rods from the stream, where gravel is abundant." About two miles east of Meadville is located the Ponce de Leon Spring, formerly called the Sulphur Spring. From the. time of the earliest settlers its waters had been known to possess great curative powers, and. had been successfully used by the farmers of that vicinity as a cure for stomach and liver troubles. In 1887 an association was formed to place' this water upon the market, and upon analysis by distinguished chemists, it was found that the water is decidedly alkaline, containing quantities- of the carbonates of sodium and calcium. It was thus found to belong to the important class of springs of which Vichy and Vals are the types, and since being placed upon sale its uses have been the same as those to which these famous waters are applied. Large quantities are shipped to the neighboring cities, not only of the plain water, but of the excellent carbonated water and ginger ale as well, and the Ponce de Leon brands have become widely and favorably known. The spring is finely located at the foot of a high hill, far from any possible source of con- tamination, and the water, springing directly from the living rock, in full view, is of remarkable clearness and purity. The temperature of the water varies but little in summer or winter, showing from what a remote depth it bubbles up through the rock, laden with health giving properties. In con- nection with the line of street railway now being laid in Meadville, a branch has been constructed to the Ponce de Leon Springs, the forerunner, without OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 545 doubt, of a summer hotel and other attractions in this spot so fitted by nature to be a health resort. Situated in the midst of most picturesque scenery, with pure water and fresh air in abundance, it will furnish an ideal resort for the seekers after rest and pleasure. Elementary schools were occasionally held in various parts of the town- ship during the early years of the settlement. Mordecai Thomas taught one as early as 1805 on the Ray farm, in the extreme northwestern corner of the township, and this was undoubtedly one of the first. Conflicts between teachers and pupils were of frequent occurrence, and upon one occasion, after a pro- tracted siege, the pupils refused to admit the master to the schoolhouse, so the school was discontinued. William Wright and James Hamilton taught schools in the southeastern part as early as 18 18. In the first published school report, prepared in 1837 by Dr. Burrowes, we find nine schools credited to Mead Township, with a force of fourteen teachers, seven male and seven female. The number of scholars was three hundred and fifty, of whom two hundred were boys. The average number of months during which the schools were kept open was five and one-half. For the support of these schools they received two hundred and thirty-two dollars from the State ap- propriation, which was supplemented by two hundred and seventy-five dollars from the county. The average monthly pay of the male teachers was four- teen and one-half dollars; that of the female, five dollars, while the amo,unt expended during the year for schoolhouses, repairs and rent was ninety-one dollars. The character and qualifications of the teachers were described as "generally good," the branches taught being reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and in some schools, geography and philosophy. The progress of the scholars was noted as being better than before the system was, adopted, while its chief defect was pointed out as a want of funds with which to build schoolhouses. Wayland Postoffice, formerly called Mead's Corners, is situated near the center of the township, at the foot of a high hill. Several dwelling houses, with the Baptist church, constitute the settlement. Frenchtown, in the southeastern part, is a hamlet containing a Catholic church, a store, a school, a blacksmith shop, and several dwelling houses. As may be inferred from the name, it was settled by French colonists, who commenced im.migrating to this vicinity as early as 1827. At first only a few families arrived, but their friends, encouraged by the glowing accounts of the new country sent back by the pioneers, a few at a time left their mother land, until the settlement had become quite strong. It now numbers several hundreds, extending into East Fairfield and other of the adjacent townships. They are excellent farmers, frugal and industrious, and are held in high esteem by their neighbors. Bousson Postoffice, near Frenchtown, also comprised within the French 35 546 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. colony, was established in 1885, near the southeastern corner of the township. St. Hippolytus Catholic church was erected at Frenchtown in 1837. Within recent years the original edifice has been replaced by a commodious brick structure, and a congregation of about one hundred and fifty of the French families of the vicinity avail themselves of this large and handsome place of worship. The land upon which the church stands was donated by Paul Gerard, one of the earliest and most prominent members, others of whom were John C. Dubet, John G. Demaison, John B. Brown, Nicholas Mounin, John Galwish, Germain Devoge and Francis Jaquart. The congregation was formed in 1834, and was attended by non-resident priests until 1845, when Father Mark de la Roque became the priest of the parish, officiating for more than twenty years. His successor was Father Eugene Cogneville, who has filled the position up to the present time. The Pine Grove Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the south- eastern part of the township as early as 1825. At first meetings were held in the cabins of the members, then, as the attendance increased, they were transferred to the schoolhouse, and in 1858 a church building was erected. David Thurston, Job Calvert, John McFadden, Joseph Baird and John Daniels were among the most influential of its founders. The class has formed a part of several different circuits, having been attached at various times to those of Saegertown, Cochranton, Townville and others, but now belongs to the Meadville circuit. Its present membership is about thirty. Brown's chapel, a branch of the Methodist Episcopal Church, is located in the northern part of the township. It was organized by the Rev. J. Graham, of the Erie circuit, in j8i2, with nine members. Edward Douglas, John Mc- Fadden, Mr. Little, Ruth Kimmey and Mrs. Phoebe Brown were among them. It was a large circuit in those days, and the earliest ministers, who received salaries of from $50 to $100 a year, had to ride all day, and eat bear meat and corn cakes at the cabins of the backwoods settlers. The first meetings were held in the cabin of John Grimes, who resided about a mile south of the site of the present edifice. They were afterward held in a schoolhouse until about 1830, when a frame church was built. It was never fully completed, but was tised until the present frame building was erected, in 1848. The society, whose membership is about sixty, for many years formed part of the Saeger- town circuit, but is now attached to the Meadville circuit. The Wayland Baptist Church, situated at Wayland Postoffice, was or- ganized January 27, 1838, in a schoolhouse about two miles northeast of the present church. The original members, all of whom had received letters from the Randolph church, were Philip Hatch, Andrew Braymer, Ira Hatch, Horatio Hatch, John Braymer, Rhoda Chase, Hannah Dewey, Abigail Braymer, Electa Hatch, Fanny Hatch, Sarah ElHs, Mary Hatch and Amanda Sizer. The young church flourished under the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 547 pastorate of Elder Enos Stewart, the first pastor, and the member- ship was soon largely increased. In 1840 the present frame church was erected, at a cost of about fifteen hundred dollars, and in the meantime the meetings were held in the Dewey schoolhouse. The Rev. Reese is the present pastor, and there is a membership of over one hundred. CHAPTER XIII. NORTH SHENANGO TOWNSHIP. SHENANGO TOWNSHIP was one of the original subdivisions of the county, laid out in 1800. It occupied the southwestern corner of the county, and was about eight by nine miles in size, comprising, besides the present limits of North Shenango, South Shenango, West Shenango, Pine and West Fallowfield, portions of Sadsbury and East Fallowfield. In 1830 the boundaries were changed and North and South Shenango were formed, the former including what is now North Shenango and Pine. The Pymatun- ing Swamp seemed to naturally divide the northern from the southern por- tion, rendering it difficult to maintain communication at all times, therefore, in 1845 the northern section was set off under the name of Pine Township, leaving North Shenango as it exists to-day. The township is watered by Shenango Creek and its tributaries, the prin- cipal of which is Bennett's Run, which .flows northwest and drains the central portion. Shenango Creek enters the township from Sadsbury, near the southeastern corner, and flowing in a northwesterly direction through Pyma- tuning Swamp, which impinges on the northern border, forms the larger portion of the northern boundary, when it turns to the southwest, flowing through the western portion of the township. It crosses the line into Ohio for a short distance, then again enters the township and finally leaves it at the southwest corner. The surface of the township is level and the soil is of an excellent quality, a black loam on the low lands and a clay on the higher parts, and produces abundant crops. The northern portion was a part of the Pymatuning Swamp, and is low and marshy, though some of it has been drained and cleared and found suitable for cultivation. The southern por- tion is the best land, and the inhabitants, though chiefly occupied in dairying and stock raising, give some attention to lumbering. The Erie and Pitts- burg Railroad runs north and south through the township, Espyville station occupying a central position. 548 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. When the early settlers came to the banks of Shenango Creek they found there, on the land then occupied by the Indians, and now covered with well tilled farms, evidences of a prehistoric settlement, consisting of mounds of various shapes, from which have been exhumed relics of an early period. Even the Indians, the natives of the soil, could tell nothing of that mysterious race, to which the name of Mound Builders has been assigned, because it is by the mounds and buildings which they' left that their memory has been preserved. Pottery and various industrial implements found in these mounds prove they had attained to a higher civilization than the Indians who succeeded them, but as to their origin, history and final lot, nothing can ever be definitely known. Numerous remains of this race have been discovered along the banks of Shenango Creek. A series of mounds occur at intervals of a quarter of a mile, from thirty to fifty feet in circumference, but of slight elevation. Two circular forts have also been found, each inclosing from half an acre to an acre. The outlines are still well preserved, the glacis being two or three feet high, and both being surrounded by moats, thus indicating their construction for purposes of defense. Upon these embankments large trees have grown, which give evidence of their great antiquity, while within the enclosure are found old gun barrels, human bones, and relics of 'an earlier age. Heaps of stones, piled up in square form like rude altars, have also been discovered along Shenango Creek. Andrew Linn, while opening a spring in the northern part of the township, uncovered a portion of a stone wall. It was a solid piece of masonry, but whether part of a building, a fort, or an altar, could not be ascertained from its appearance. Enough has been found, however, to prove that another race at one time lived in the valley of the Shenango, that they built altars at which to worship, and forts to defend them- selves from attack, but the story of their existence remains the mystery of the American continent. The first settlement in North Shenango was made in 1798, when David McKee and Anthony Bennett came from Susquehanna County and settled — the former in the southwestern part, near Espyville, and the latter in the north- ern part. McKee came first to Meadville, and then went with his ox team through the woods, guided by blazed trees to his place of settlement, arriving in the spring of the year. Bennett settled on the stream which now bears his name, where he built the first saw and grist mill in the township and operated them for many years. The next year Sydney Herriott came from Pittsburg on foot and located in the northern part of the township. He was from New Jersey, though he had lived several years at Williamsport. Henry Bennett came at the same time from Northumberland County and settled a little east of the center. He came up French Creek to Meadville by canoe, and after reaching Shenango cleared a farm upon which he lived the re- mainder of his days. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 549 Samuel Barrackman came from Susquehanna County in 1799 and re- mained during the winter in Greenwood Township. In April, 1800, he set- tled in the northern part of Shenango, being obliged to cut a road through the forest from Hartstown in order to reach his destination with his ox team. During the first years he was obliged to go to Sugar Creek, a distancfe' of about thirty miles, to have his grinding done. To go there and return often occupied two days, and sometimes even longer. A grist mill was built at Colt's Station, in the southern part of Conneaut Township, several years later, but to reach this it was necessary to cross the Pymatuning Swamp. A path was made passable, however, by brush and poles, and with one and a half or two bushels of grain on his back he would follow this route to the mill, and bring back the product on his shoulders. No salt could be obtained nearer than Pittsburg, and there the price was fifteen dollars per barrel. Pork brought two shillings a pound, and potatoes were worth two dollars a bushel. Barrackman built a log cabin on the land he had settled, in which he passed the remainder of his life, one of the most prominent citizens of the vicinity. . In 1818 he built the first frame building in the township. His brother, Jacob Barrackman, who was a cripple, was another early settler. Mrs. Hannah Linn, a widow, came with her four sons, John, Andrew, George and Joseph, in May of 1800, and settled in the western part. They cleared a farm, on which she resided until her death. They came from New Jersey by way of Pittsburg, and from the latter place were forced to cut their way through the forest to make a road for their four horse team. Their cabin was a rude affair, and during the first winter they were obliged to use blankets instead of doors, a rather slight protection against the wild beasts which made the night hideous with their frightful cries. It was about the same time that William Reed settled with his family in the southwestern part of the township. They came from the Susquehanna and proceeded as far as Franklin in a canoe, his wife following along the bank upon horseback and driving two- cows before her. Their supply of pro- visions became exhausted when they jvere within fifteen miles of Franklin, and Reed proceeded on foot to secure a new suooTy. Soon after they arrived Reed and Bennett went to work together in the woods at some distance from the houses, and Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Bennett were accustomed to carry their dinner to them. On one occasion they mistook their way and became lost in the woods. They rambled. along a great distance in their efforts to find their path again, and night overtaking them, they took refuge in some small trees, up which they climbed. During the night an animal, which they sup- posed to be a panther, made its appearance, and Mrs. Reed urged her com- panion to appease the hungry beast and secure themselves from harm by throw- ing to it the babe which she had with her; but not even the thought of per- sonal danger could reconcile her to an act so repugnant to a mother's sensi- 550 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. bilities. The animal remained beneath them all night, but in the morning theii* fears of immediate danger were removed by seeing it take its leave. Descend- ing from the tree and proceeding for some distance they heard the sound of chopping, and turning their steps in that direction they were soon gratified by the sight of two men, engaged in digging out a trough. By them they were piloted to their homes, where they found that the whole neighborhood was aroused and had turned out in a search for them. It was on this occa- sion that Mrs. Reed discovered the fine spring, to the vicinity of which they afterward removed. James Reed, a son of William, is believed to have been the first white child born in the township. Most of the land of the township belonged to the North American and the Pennsylvania companies, and previous to 1812 a large part of it had been opened for settlement. The Espys were among the first settlers. George Espy came from Bedford County about 1802 and settled at Espyville, which took its name from him. Patterson Espy kept an early store- a little south of that place. The Collins brothers came from Mifflin County in 1801 in a four horse team and settled near the center of the township. Isaac Collins was a soldier in the War of 1812, and lived upon the farm he had cleared until his death. Patrick Davis was an Irishman who came from Lancaster County about 1803 and settled in the eastern part of the township. He cleared a farm upon which he lived the remainder of his life. George Espy operated a saw and grist mill and also a distillery. Anthony Bennett and many others also owned stills. Stephen Allen started a carding mill about 1832, which was for many years operated by members of his family. Espyville, in the western part, was laid out about 1833 by John Espy. Jeremy Allen kept the first store, and with Hugh Wilson, a blacksmith, and Isaac Marshall, a carpenter, they were for many years the only residents. The village has not increased very much since, as a saw mill, wagon shop, a church, school, about twenty families and the township postoffice now constitute the settleiTient. Stewartville was a former postofiice in the eastern part of the township, but was abolished some time ago. The first school was taught in 1804 in a deserted cabin which stood at Elliott's Corners, near the central part of the township. Joseph Wright, one of the oldest settlers, was the first teacher. In 1896 there were six schools, taught by six teachers, and attended by one hundred and forty-five pupils. More than eighteen hundred dollars was spent for school purposes during the year, over half of it being raised by taxation in the township, the re- mainder coming from the State appropriation. The Center Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church is located about half a mile east of Espyville station. Rev. Thomas Carr was the first pastor, the class being formed by him in 1825. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse and in private dwellings until about 1846, when a church building was erected. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 551 The congregation, which is not nuinerous, is attached to the Espyville circuit. The Espyville Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 183 1 at the house of Aaron Herriott, with an initial membership of seven. The early services were held in the schoolhouse, but in 1833 a place of worfehip was erected, which was used for a long period. It was in 1870 replaced by the present large and commodious structure, constructed at a cost of $6,000. A revival held in the autumn of 1883 doubled the membership from one hun- dred to two hundred. The congregation forms part of the Espyville circuit, which was organized in 185 1. The North Shenango United Presbyterian Church was organized in 1849 by Rev. H. H. Thompson. The thirty original members were formerly members of the Hartstown church, but for their greater convenience in at- tending worship they withdrew and formed a separate organization. A church building was erected in 1846 about a half mile east of Espyville, a much more commodious building afterward taking its place. The fiisit elders elected were Jacob Martin, WiUiam Wilson and John S. Porter. Rev. William Dalzell was the first pastor, and he was soon succeeded by Rev. H. H. Hervey. There is a good sized membership, containing many of the representative farmers of North Shenango. CHAPTER XIV. OIL CREEK TOWNSHIP. BY M. N. ALLEN. OIL CREEK TOWNSHIP was established by order of the Crawford County Court in October, 1800. Its original boundaries were as fol- lows : Beginning at the southeast corner of the county and running westward upon the north boundary line of Venango County ten miles, thence directly north to the northern boundary of Crawford County, thence directly east ten miles, and thence directly south to the place of beginning. The original township, named after Oil Creek, was rectangular in shape. It em- braced all the territory of the present townships of Sparta and Rome, which were subsequently taken off from Oil Creek, also a part of the present town- ships of Bloomfield, Athens, Steuben and Troy, which were afterward sev- erally formed. The township, reduced to its present boundaries, is left rec- tangular in shape. Within its boundaries is the territory of Titusville, first incorporated in 1849 ^^ a borough, and that of Hydetown, which was made 552 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. a borough in 1868. Titusville was incorporated as a borough under a special act of the State Legislature, and Hydetown by an order of the County Court. The territory of the present township, exclusive of Titusville and Hydetown, contains between 18,000 and 19,000 acres. The township is now bounded on the north by Rome, on the east by Warren County, as far south as a- point thirty-five rods north of the northeast corner, the land east of the line divid- ing it from Oil Creek Township, for this thirty-five rods is in Venango County ; on the south by Venango County, and on the west by Troy and Steuben. The principal stream of water running through the township of Oil Creek. Thomp- son's Run, or Little Oil Creek, empties into the main stream at Hydetown. Pine Creek, coming from Warren County, a stream of considerable size, empties into Oil Creek a short distance southeast of Titusville. Church Run enters Titusville on the north side, and running in a southeast course passes through the town and empties into Oil Creek. The first settlers in what became Oil Creek Township were Samuel Kerr and Jonathan Titus, who located in the southeastern corner of what became Crawford County. By an act of the Assembly passed in March, 1800, Craw- ford County was created, and by order of the court, as above stated, in Octo- ber following, the same year, 1800, Oil Creek Township was formed. They began their settlement as early as 1796, by laying claim each, under the then existing system of pre-emption, tO' a large tract of land, the two tracts thus selected lying adjacent to each other: This settlement became the capital of the township. As ancient Rome was Italy, as Paris is France, Titusville has always been, not alone the capital, but in a large degree the soul of Oil Creek Township. In 1 797 Kerr and Titus built each a log house upon their respec- tive lands and began a permanent residence in their new homes. The same year Peter Titus and his brother Daniel settled upon the spot which in after years became Hydetown. Peter Titus married Jane, the half sister of Samuel Kerr. Jonathan Titus was the son of Peter and Jane (Kerr) Titus. In 1800 the Gilsons, a large family, settled in the township. William Gilson, the progenitor, an Englishman, a Revolutionary soldier, who had served in the Continental army, came from Bedford County, this State, and settled on what is now known as Gilson Ridge. His son, John, in 1 799 made a trip into this section, and while chopping down a tree for the purpose of con- structing a crossing over Oil Creek, he accidentally cut his knee, and thus temporarily disabled himself from further immediate travel. He stopped with Daniel Titus, and during his stay there he learned something of the adjacent country. On recovering' the use of his limb, he went back to Bedford and induced his father to move in the following year, 1800, to the Oil Creek coun- try, himself returning at the same time. The children of William Gilson consisted of six sons and three daughters. The names of the sons were John, Thomas, William, Richard, Peter and Benjamin. His daughters were OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 553 Anna, Charity and Martha. Anna married Michael Gorman, the head of the Gorman tribe, whose old home was in Deerfield Township, Warren County, not far from Tidioute. Charity, the second daughter, married Samuel Mc- Guire, the head of the McGuire tribe. He settled near the mouth of the McGuire Run, above Tidioute on the Allegheny River. Samuel and Charity McGuire had a family of two sons and six daughters. Martha, the third daughter, married Patrick Shirley, who first lived in Rome Township, but subsequently moved to Crossingville, this county, where he died. The widow afterward returned to Oil Creek. Her children were two sons and six daugh- ters. John Gilson, the oldest son of the progenitor, had a family of thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters. The sons were William, Charles B., Richard, Thomas and John B. The daughters were named Nancy, Dorcas, Alice, Eliza Jane, Martha, Anna, Margaret and Sarah. Nancy married James Titus and became the mother of a large family. Dorcas married Will- iam Finney, and they also raised a large family. Alice married James Coyle, and they had only one child. Eliza Jane married James Early, and they had two daughters. Martha married Jacob Baugher, and they had no chil- dren. Anna married Christopher Navey; they had three sons and one daughter. Sarah died single. Thomas Gilson had six sons and one daughter. The sons were Hugh, William, John, Thomas, James M. and Joseph. The daughter married a Chaney and had two sons. William lived on Gilson Ridge and had six sons and four daughters. Richard Gilson also located on Gilson Ridge, and had one son and two daughters. John H. Gilson was the son. The daughters were Julia Ann and Sarah Ann. Peter Gilson also lived on Gilson Ridge. He had two sons and two daughters. His sons were Benjamin M. and John M. His daughters were Mary and Alice. Benjamin Gilson located on Gilson Ridge and raised a family of six sons and three daughters. The sons' names were James, David, William S., Martin B. and Francis. The daughters were . Elizabeth and Margaret. In the foregoing account is embraced a brief record of each of the nine children of the progenitor, William Gilson, the Revolutionary soldier. Be- ginning with the progenitor, there are already six generations, which may be safely estimated to contain not less than one thousand descendants now living. Samuel Kerr came in 1800 and settled in the northeastern part of the township. His sons were Andrew, Oliver, James, David and Robert. Care should be taken not to confound this Samuel with Samuel, the first pioneer. John Kerr, probably the brother of the second Samuel, came also in 1800. His sons were Samuel, James, William, John, Robert, Andrew and Matthew. These last were the cousins of the sons of Samuel. The descendants of these Kerrs are very numerous, perhaps more numerous than the descendants of 554 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. William Gilson. The sons of the first James Kerr were Samuel W., Robert, Andrew, David, James B., John and WiUiam. William is the only one of the brothers now living. The sons of the second John Kerr were Samuel C. and John B., both dead. The sons of Matthew were John and Samuel, both dead. The sons of the first David Kerr were Samuel B., Robert, Cunningham and David A. Cunningham alone is living. Andrew, the son of Samuel, who came in 1800, settled on Kerr Hill, about three miles southwest of Titusville. This Samuel was the progenitor of a distinct branch of the Oil Creek Kerrs. Samuel, the first pioneer, was the head of another branch. John, who came in 1800, was the head of another branch of the Kerr tribes. Then there was another David Kerr, who' married Anna Shelmadine. The present Silas Kerr, of Oil Creek Township, is their son, producing still another branch of the Kerr tribe. The progenitors of the Kerr tribe were all from Ireland. James Kerr, the father of Samuel Kerr, who with Jonathan Titus founded Titusville, came from Ireland about the year 1732. It does not appear that this James Kerr was a kindred of the large tribe above spoken of, though he may have been a relative, but his descendants constitute a branch of Kerrs still living in Oil Creek Township. The Henderson brothers were early settlers. They were Richard, Sam- uel and David. Samuel Henderson married Rebecca Mitchell in 18 14. Their oldest son, William Mitchell Henderson, born in 1816, now lives in Titusville, on North Washington Street, in the eighty-third year of his age. He has ' always been a citizen of high standing in the community. Joseph C, the youngest of the family, now resides on the Henderson homestead. David , Henderson, a prominent citizen of Pleasantville, Venango County, is a son of David, one of the three Henderson settlers. Robert, a younger son of the first David, was a sergeant in Company D, Eighteenth Cavalry, an account of which appears elsewhere in this work. He died in Andersonville prison. Adam HoUiday, from Holli'daysburg, Pennsylvania, was among the early settlers. James Kerr, brother of Samuel Kerr, the surveyor and settler, came in 1804 and located on a tract selected for him by Samuel, south of Woodlawn Cemetery, the home of Mrs. McCombs, wife of the late James McCombs. He married Mary Rankin, daughter of Colonel James Rankin, of Michigan, an officer in the United States army, who served in the War of 1812. James Kerr was born December 30, 1762. He died February 10, 1818. As stated in the account of Titusville, given in this work, in a sketch from the pen of the first Samuel Kerr, his father, James Kerr, the progenitor of one branch of Crawford County Kerrs, and the maternal grandfather of Jonathan Titus, came from Ireland to Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, at about 1732, where he settled and married first a woman named Stewart, who bore him ten children. After her death he married Susannah Stevenson, by whom he had two sons and one daughter. The daughter died in childhood. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 555 Samuel was the youngest child in the family. He says in the sketch quoted from that his father moved from Lancaster County about the year 1766, and, after remaining at Canogocheague settlement a few months, he buried his sec- ond wife. He continued his course westward until he arrived at Frankstown, on the Juniata River, then in the county of Huntington, where he commenced a settlement near Frankstown, an old town where he continued to reside until the Indians made trouble. Notwithstanding the danger of remaining he stubbornly refused to leave his house, so his family left him and fled into Cam- bria County. This was in December, 1777. He continued in his house alone and in a very feeble state of health, until, some time in January following, when he was taken to Fitter's Fort, wlaere he shortly afterward died Now, one of the daughters of the first James Kerr, Jane by name, a half sister of Samuel, married Peter Titus. Another daughter, named Elizabeth, married John Curry, one of the earliest settlers in Oil Creek Township. Peter Titus had four daughters, and John Curry had four sons. The names of the' four daughters were Ruth, Fanny, Olivia and Susan. The names of the four sons were James, Robert, William and Samuel. James Curry married Ruth Titus. Robert Curi-y married Olivia Titus. Fanny Titus was married to Charles Ridgway, one of the early settlers, and Susan Titus was married to John Ridgway, brother of Charles. To James and Ruth (Titus) Curry was born in 1 799 Peter Titus Curry, the first white child born in Oil Creek Town- ship. Now, James Curry and his brother, Robert, married each a first cousin. The mother of the Titus daughters was Jane Kerr, and her sister, Elizabeth Kerr, was the mother of the Curry sons. Then there were two other half sisters of Samuel Kerr, the pioneer, besides Jane, whO' married Peter Titus, and Elizabeth, who married John Curry. They were Ann Kerr, who married John — or Jack, as he was usually called — and Ellen Kerr, who married John Felton. It will readily be seen that the family relationship embracing tht branch of Kerrs to which Samuel Kerr, the pioneer, belonged ; the Currys, the Tituses and the later Chases is far reaching and not a little complicated. John Lewis and his wife, Elizabeth, were early settlers. Their son, Rob- ert, married Jane Curry, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Kerr) Curry. Robert, while a volunteer soldier in the American army at Erie, Pa., died on the i8th of January, 1813. Six months after his death, July 18, 1813, the widow gave birth to a posthumous son, to whom she gave the father's name, Robert. Not long afterward she accompanied her parents-in-law, when they moved out of the county, to Cincinnati, Ohio. A cousin of the widow, a lad perhaps a dozen years old, named James Felton, the son of .John and Ellen (Kerr) Felton, accompanied her. After a year or two, the widow, leaving her parents-in-law in Cincinnati, started back for Oil Creek. She rode on horseback, young Felton traveling by her side on foot, and the little boy, Rob- ert, sitting before her on the horse, and playing with the reins of the bridle. 556 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. In this manner, with young Felton and the infant, Robert, about two years, old, as her sole companions, Mrs. Lewis rode all the way from Cincinnati, a distance of four hundred miles, back to her kindred in Oil Creek Township. Her way was mostly through forests, in which Indians, many of them hostile, roamed. There were few bridges, so that she had to ford most of the streams. Mrs. Lewis was the first cousin of Jonathan Titus. Young James Felton was another first cousin. James Felton became the father of William Felton, who married Sarah Curry, the daughter of Samuel Curry, the youngest son of John Curry, who married Elizabeth Kerr. Samuel Curry and James Felton were first cousins to each other, as well as the first cousins of Jonathan Titus. Clem Felton, who for years past has been in charge of the west end of the Titusville fire department, is a son of William and Sarah (Curry) Felton. By reference to the foregoing record, it will be seen that William Felton and his wife were second cousins to each other. Mrs. Lewis, after her return^ from Cincinnati, married William Wilson, to whom she bore five sons, Peter, Samuel C, Thomas Patterson, Alexander R. and Chase. One of the daughters married William Pastorious. Chase Wilson was drowned years ago. Peter Wilson is the man who, with R. D. Fletcher, rendered timely financial aid to Drake, as previously stated in this Avork. Robert Lewis grew to manhood under his mother's care and instruc- tion, and became a highly respected citizen. He was a farmer in the Kerr Hill neighborhood. His wife was Sally Breed. Their children were William W., John H., Charles Harvey (now deceased), Mary and Freelie M. Robert Lewis died September 21, 1898, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. He was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, and for many years a familiar figure in Titusville. James CtuTy, the oldest son of John Curry, lived perhaps two miles slightly northwest of Titusville. Robert, the second son, lived on the hill south of the city. William, the third son, lived on the farm now owned by Mr. John Fertig, of Titusville, lately known as the Love farm, perhaps a mile and a half north of the crossing of Main and Perry streets in Titusville. Samuel, the youngest, lived a half mile, or more, northeast of William's home- stead. Robert Curry had a son, Robert, who succeeded him on the homestead. Another son of the first Robert was Jonathan, who died in the western coun- try in August last in his ninetieth year. His remains were brought to Titus- ville and interred in Woodlawn Cemetery. William Barnsdall, of Titusville, married Eliza, a daughter of the first Robert Curry. William Curry was many years a justice of the peace. The office of justice of the peace at that time was not elective, but the incumbent was appointed for life, or during good behavior. Among the early settlers of Oil Creek was William Pastorious, whose farm is now occupied by his nephew, the present John Pastorious, on the hill OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 557 a little southwest of the city. John Pastoriotis, brother of the first William Pastorious, came later and settled south of Hydetown. He, however, did not remain quite a dozen years, but moved to another part of the country. Abraham Pastorious, a younger brother of the first William, when at the age of 13, in the year 1800, drove for William a yoke of oxen from Centre County, Pa., a distance of 150 miles, to William's farm. Thirty-eight years later, upon the death of William, who died childless, Abraham moved with his family, consisting of himself and wife, four sons and two daughters, from Centre County to the homestead now owned and occupied by the present John Pas- torious, as before stated. The four sons were William, James, George and John. The mother and two daughters rode on the journey in a covered car- riage. But the family goods were brought in one of the old fashioned covered Pennsylvania wagons, a vehicle of wonderful capacity and strength. The wagon was hauled by five strong horses, which were driven by William, the oldest son, using only a single line. William rode one of the wheel horses, or walked, as he chose, his line reaching to the single horse in lead. The wheel horses were powerful animals, weighing at least 1,400 pounds each. The second span weighed a little less, and the lead horse still a little less. Abraham managed the farm a few years in the interest of William's heirs, of whom he was one. He finally purchased their interest and thus came into possession of the property. John Pastorious, the youngest of Abraham's family, now owns and occupies the homestead. William, the oldest, now in his eighty-second year, lives just outside of the city limits on West Spring Street. James B., nearly 80 years of age, spends part of his time with his son in Erie and part of his time with his relatives in and around Titusville. George died years ago. - One of the daughters married the late Robert Robinson. The oldest son of James Kerr, brother of Samuel Kerr, the pioneer, was named after his uncle, Samuel. He was born April 4, 1810, and he died in August, 1895. Adam Kerr, the second son, was born September 4, 18 12. He is now living. James Rankin Kerr, who distinguished himself in local military matters, as colonel, brigade inspector, etc., was born December 28, 1807. Susannah, one of the early children, was married to Adam Holliday. Mrs. Dorcas Allen, of this city, wife of the late John M. Allen, was daughter of Adam and Susannah Holliday. Adam Holliday was a man of brains and energy. He owned a farm about a mile west of the city limits, and built and operated a saw mill on the property. The farm is now owned by Mr. E. O. Emerson, of this city, -a property of much value. Mary (Rankin) Kerr, the wife of James Kerr, was a woman of a good deal of character. She died June 21, 1855, at the age of 82 years. Other early settlers were John Watson, William Mitchell, the Alcoms, Thomas' McCombs and his brothers, Daniel and William; John McGinnett, John Thompson, Robert Glenn, William Reed, Patrick Sloan; William, Rob- 558 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ert, John and James Alcorn; Burnett Davis; James, Samuel, George and William McCray; James, John and David Caldwell. Then there were the McInt)Tes, McGuires, McDermots and Laverys. William Kelly settled on what has ever since been known as the Kelly farm about 1822, a short dis- tance from the northern boundary line of the city, on the Perry Street Hill. William Kelly' in 1819 came from Ireland to Philadelphia, and thence to Erie County. He taught school several terms at Beaver Dam. After settling on Perry Street Hill he taught school perhaps eight winters, while he cleared up and cultivated his farm during the rest of the year. He had married Mary Mclntyre a short time before he bought the farm. Their children were John, James, Hannah, Oliver, Mary, Susan M., Isabel and William M. The children are all living except William M., whO' died in childhood, and Oliver, who died November 2, 1895. The Kelly farm is owned by the heirs of William Kelly, the father. John, Hannah and Mary are at present living on the hom.estead. James lives in iRome Township. Susan M. married Amos ¥. Newton, and Isabel married Seneca Gee. John Kelly, when a young man, taught school. Dennis Carroll at about 181 5 taught a subscription school in a building about a mile north of Titusville. A large majority of the early inhabitants of Oil Creek Township were either natives of Ireland or the descendants of Irish natives, and these Irish inhabitants were almost exclusively Presbyterians. The Gilsons, Sloans, McGuires," Mclntyres, McDermots and Laverys were Catholics, while the Kerrs, almost without exception, w^ere Presbyterians. John Lewis, the grand- father of the late Robert Lewis, was a Covenanter. The Hendersons, Al- corns, Mitchells, Watsons and Shelmadines were Methodists. A Methodist class was organized about 1825 in the northern part of the township, to which belonged Andrew Alcorn, Obed Gardner and wife, Barnett and Benjamin Shelmadine and their wives, John and Martin Zeley, John Edton and wife, Charles Fenk and his father. Bethel Church, built in 1856, a Methodist chapel, has since been included in a circuit. In 1827 St. Stephen's Church, Catholic, was built about two miles northeast of Titusville. St. Stephen's, a frame building, is still standing and in good condition. It was long a sanc- tuary for the Catholics of the surrounding country of large area. From Tidioute and other remote places in the new country. Catholics came to St. vStephen's to worship. In the early times it was attended by Fathers McCabe and Peter Brown. It is now seldom opened, except for funeral services. It is really the parent of St. Titus' Church in Titusville, to the account of which in the history of Titusville the reader is referred. The Kerr Hill Presbyterian Church was formed from members belonging to the Titusville church in 1854. A church edifice was erected earlier in the year. It was a peaceful secession. Twenty-eight members of the Titusville congregation, living on Kerr Hill and vicinity, organized themselves into a OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 559 church body. The first elders chosen were WilHam McGinnett, WilHam Kerr and Isaac Newton, who had served as elders in the Titusville church. Rev. George W. Hampson, who had served more than twenty years as pastor of Titusville, labored very zealously there in a revival season, and on Saturday, December 2, 1854, a session was held to receive applications for membership. Some were admitted to church fellowship by letter, but more on examination of their faith in Christ. On the same evening the session met tO' receive Rob- ert Lewis. Rev. G. W. Hampson preached on the following Sunday, after which baptisms were administered. On December ist the services of Rev. Samuel Montgomery for one-third of the time began. By special arrange- ment with the Cherrytree church it was agreed that part of the collections taken upon the Sabbath should be applied jointly to assist any young man under the care of the Meadville Presbytery whO' had the ministry in view. Rev. Jaihes Rise, Rev. R. Craighead, Rev. George H. Hammer, Rev. S. Wyckoft", Rev. O. W. Chapin, Rev. Mr. Berchard, ministered — most of them in a lim- ited way as to time — to the church from 1858 to 1862. On September 15, 1866, W. F. Breed and G. H. Conover were elected and installed as elders. Revs. William Elliott and William Smith ministered to the church. Rev. John McLaughlin served about five years. Beginning in 1883, Rev. Samuel Stevenson served from four to five years. The present pastor. Rev. Robert Murray, has ministered from ten to eleven years. The present elders are G. H. Conover, Amos Hancox and A. B. Kerr. The general condition of the church seems to be prosperous and the labors of the present pastor highly acceptable. The United Presbyterian Church on Kerr Hill was organized December 6, 1852. The house of worship was built in 1857. Andrew A. Kerr and William Mars were chosen elders. Upon the death of the latter in 1877, Robert Mack and Benjamin J. Mars were elected elders. Rev. J. R. Slentz became pastor in September, 1855. Following him Rev. A. Murray was installed as pas- tor, in February, i860. Rev. John Jamison succeeded in August, 1864. Rev. J. L. Clark was pastor from August, 1876, to June, 1883. Rev. James Dodds was afterward pastor for several years, until his resignation in 1896. Since that time the congregation has had no shepherd. Robert Mack and Benjamin J. Mars still continue to serve as elders. The first manufacturing industry of importance in Oil Creek was started before the township, or even the county, was formed. The Holland Land Company in 1798 built a saw mill and a grist mill on Pine Creek, a little north- east of East Titusville, perhaps half a mile away. The grist mill came to be called the Holland mill because of its ownership. It was purchased by John Watson in the early part of the century. Mr. Watson owned and operated the mills for years afterward. In later years Alexander Thompson built a grist mill lower down on Pine Creek, near the Venango County line. About the 56o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. year 1824 Joseph L. Chase & Co. built on Pine Creek, a little below the John Watson mills, a saw mill and a grist mill. Soon after this Mr. Watson dis- mantled his industry, and built a mill still lower down, and south of Titus- ville. The Chase grist mill was operated about forty years after its con- struction. Charles Ridgway at an early date built a saw mill a little north of Hyde- town, on Little Oil Creek, or Thompson's Run. James, the son of Daniel Titus, built a saw mill higher up the run. Adam Holliday built a saw mill on Oil Creek, about a mile above where the stream crosses the west line of Titusville, about the year 181 5. John Thompson built a saw mill on Thomp- son's Run about three miles north of Titusville, about the year 1825. At the present time there are two grist mills in Oil Creek Township. One is about half a mile west of the western boundary of the city. The other is about where the old John Thompson saw mill was, three miles from Titusville, on Thompson's Run. The latter mill is owned and operated by James M. Kerr. The one near Titusville is owned and operated by the Kerr Hill Mill Co. The company was organized in 1884. It is an ordinary partnership. Its first members were Hugh Jamison, J. W. Crawford, A. B. Kerr and G. B. Kerr. The members of the present firm are A. B. Kerr, G. B. Kerr and S. M. Con- over. A new grist mill is in process of erection at East Titusville. Another industry largely cultivated in the early history of Oil Creek was the manufacture of whiskey. The production of this liquor was regarded at that period as legitimate and reputable. The trade in alcoholic liquors was engaged in by the best citizens in the community. Every grocery dealer kept in stock whiskey as well as flour. Distilleries in Oil Creek Township were numerous. Adulteration of whiskey in those days was not thought of. As rum was the favorite product of New England, whiskey was the choice bev- erage of the people of Irish extraction, both Protestant and Catholic. There are in the township fourteen schools, three of which are graded, having two schools each, making seventeen schools in all. The present school directors are H. M. Kerr, Winfield Kerr, Charles Weed, John C. Ross, Will- ard J. Gilson and Albert B. Kerr. There are two villages in the township, Hydetown and Kerr Hill. The latter has two very neat church edifices, of which an account has already been given. It has one store of general merchandise, and one blacksmith shop. Kerr Hill is a hamlet, but a tidy hamlet. The Kerr Hill community, embrac- ing the inhabitants of the surrounding country, represents intelligence and good morals. When the Kerr Hill Presbyterian Church was formed in 1854, the Titusville congregation gave up twenty-eight of its substantial members. The loss of such a body of earnest and devoted worshipers seriously weakened, for the time, the Titusville church. Several years passed before the parent church recovered its former strength. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 561 Peter Titus, as has already been stated, with his brother Daniel, settled upon what is now embraced within the limits of Hydetown. Charles Ridg- way, a m.illwright, married Fanny, one of the daughters of Peter Titus. Ridg- way secured a large body of land, a part of which, at least, lay within the pres- ent borough of Hydetown. Ridgway and James Titus, the son of Daniel Titus, each built a saw mill on Little Oil Creek, a little above the present village of Hydetown. Daniel Titus had previously erected a mill in the village, and the lumber business was carried on there extensively for several years afterward. In 1846 Elijah Hyde and his sons cametO' the place and purchased the Titus mills. These afterward came to be known as the Hyde mills. Mr. Hyde and his son also opened a store. A postoffice was established at the place, arid William Hyde was the first postmaster. The name of the postoffice was Oil Creek, but it was afterward changed to Hydetown. Oil Creek Borough was incorporated by order of the Crawford County court in 1868. The name has since been changed to Hydetown. The bur- gesses have been as follows: 1868, W. C. Hyde; 1869-70, Reuben Rogers; 1871-72, L. G. Worden; 1873, J. G. Titus; 1874-75, G. H. Sanford; 1876, E. I. Roft'ee; 1877, J, E. Paul; 1878, S. S. Spaulding; 1879, W. A. Baker; 1880, Joseph Fertig; 1881, H. Malin; 1882, J. E. Paul; 1883, C. E. Akin; 1884, G. H. Sanford (who resigned before the close of the term, when C. E. Akin was appointed to the vacancy) ; 1885, C. E. Akin; ^886, C. E. Akin; 1887, E. I. Roffee; 1888, H. Malin; 1889, H. Malin; 1890, S.F. Powers; 1891, Henry Morse; 1892, Samuel F. Powers; 1893, Samuel C. Davis; 1894, W. C. Fulmer; 1895-96-97-98, H. Malin. The Baptist Church of Hydetown was organized Ajpril 27, 1879, under the direction of Rev. John L. Bailey, who was pastor several years afterward. At the beginning there were only four members. They were Mrs. Louisa Ridgway, Mrs. Anna C. Spaulding, Mrs. Helen Kerr and Mrs. Harriet A. Roffee. At first meetings were held in the Union School building. But sub- sequently a very tasteful church and parsonage, in one edifice, were erected. It was dedicated in 1882. The present pastor is Rev. E. H. Anderson, who preaches every two weeks at Hydetown, and alternately at Centreville and Breedtown.. At present the number of members of the Hydetown church' is about forty. The church has had a Sabbath school connected with it for the last sixteen years. There are now six teachers and about thirty'pupils in reg- ular attendance. The Methodist Episcopal Church at Hydetown belongs to a circuit. A class was formed in 1847 by Rev. John Abbott, then in charge of the Oil Creek circuit. The first members of the class were Joseph Spaulding and wife, Oran Davenport and wife, Thomas Titus and wife, and Mrs. Baugher. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse. The Hydetown charge was organized by Rev. John Peate, P. E., in 1874, with Hydetown, Tryonville and Bethel classes. .36 562 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. In 1877 Troy, of the Sunville circuit, was added. The other three had pre- viously belonged to the Titusville circuit. In 1886 a house of worship was built at Hydetown. The present pastor is Rev. S. E. Winger, now in his third pas- toral year. He preaches on a circuit, which includes with Hydetown, East Troy, Tryonville, Bethel and White Oak. The Hydetown church at present has twenty-seven communicants. The Union Church at Hydetown was dedicated March 23, 1890. It was built for the original purpose of accommodating the Union Sabbath school. It is non-denominational. The building is under the charge of five trustees. It is not to be opened indiscriminately to everybody v/ho might apply for its use, but the intention is to admit to its pulpit clergymen of reputable standmg in any evangelical denomination, who are not able to get admission to other pulpits in the borough. All the other pulpits might be preoccupied, or sectarian prejudice might exclude worthy clergymen. For instance, a Universalist min- ister might be shut out of the other houses of worship in the place because of his peculiar doctrine, while some people might desire to listen to the preaching by the Universalist minister. In such a case, it may be supposed that the doors of the Union Church would be opened to the excluded clergyman. The important institution of Hydetown is the Ridgway Sanitarium. Many years ago Samuel Ridgway experimented extensively in the production of a medicinal liijiment. He ultimately succeeded in getting a compound of remarkable potency for the relief and cure of people afflicted with rheumatism, neuralgia and other kindred ailments. As a result he established at Hydetown a large hospital or sanitarium, in which with his liniment and a special massage treatment he expels disease and restores the sick to health. The institution has acquired a wide reputation and patients come to it from distant parts for treatment. Those suffering from general debility find benefit from the massage method. The sanitarium is now a hotel as well as hospital. The citizens of Hydetown have always given a good deal of attention to their schools. Miss Sally Shelmadine taught in the place as early as 1830. The first schoolhouse, erected in 1838, stood on the lot of the present Union School building. The members of the present board of school directors are Joseph Fertig, president; J. T. Farrer, treasurer; C. E. Akin, secretary; Fred Ford, Jacob Grider and E. C. Newton. The nuniber of inhabitants of Hydetown is about five hundred. The Oil Creek Railroad, now the W. N. Y. & P., has passed through the village since its construction in 1863. The trolley line now connects Titusville and Hydetown. The distance between the western boundary of the city and the eastern part of Hydetown is about two miles. Charles A. Ridgway is the hospital steward of the i6th Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard. He ac- companied the regiment during the late war, and returned from the West OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 563 Indies with a saffron-hued complexion. Dr. W. A. Baker, physician, is located in Hydetown. There are at present in the village three general stores and groceries, one hardware store, two blacksmith shops and one cider mill. CHAPTER XV. PINE TOWNSHIP. PINE TOWNSHIP was included within the boundaries of North She- nango until 1845. But the Shenango Creek and Pymatuning Swamp seemed to naturally divide the township into two parts, and as com- munication was thus rendered difficult between the northern and southern set- tlements, it was thought best to divide the township, using as a line of division the Shenango Creek, which flowed in a northwesterly direction diagonally across it. Pine was the name given to the northeastern corner thus set off, probably derived from the prevailing kind of timber. A great deal of it was formerly logged and burned, and large amounts were sawed into^ lumber for home use and for exportation. In former days pine logs were rafted down the Shenango Creek to Newcastle. The pine stumps, owing tO' the resistance of the roots to decay, are valuable for fencing, and large quantities are extracted and utilized for this purpose. The surface of Pine Township is almost level, rising gradually toward the north. The entire southern half is covered by the famous Pymatuning Swamp, so that only the northern part is available for cultivation. Stock raising and dairying form the chief agricultural pursuits. That vast body of waste land known as the Pymatuning Swamp, although extending intO' Sadsbury and North Shenango, has a larger area in Pine than in any other township. It extends in a general northwest and southeast direction, following the course of the Shenango Creek, and according to a survey made by Colonel Worrall in 1868, has an area of about nine thousand acres. In the early times it was a favorite resort for wild pigeons, and they were killed in incredible numbers. They were so numerous that they could be knocked off the limbs by the dozen with a club, and even picked by hand from the bushes. Mr. Alfred Huidekoper, writing of it in 1846, said: "It has every appearance of having once been a lake, whose bed has been gradually filled up with accumulated vegetable mat- ter. Covered with the cranberry vine, with occasional clumps of elders, and islands of birch and other timber, the subsoil is so loose that a pole can be thrust into it to a depth of from ten to twenty feet. Ditches that have been S64 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. cut through it for the purpose of draining it exhibit fallen timber below ground, and the dead stumps of trees still standing in place show by the diver- gence of their roots that the surface of the soil is now fi^om two to three feet higher than it was when the trees were growing." Old Indian canoes have been found buried in the soil and show that at one time the lake was navigable. The land is not so miry as in former years, and by drainage much is being re- claimed and is now fit for farming, Swamp willow, witch-hazel, whortleberry bushes, elders and clumps of tamarack or larch and other trees still cover parts of the ground. The vegetation is close and dense and consists of a great variety of plants, among them the beautiful "side saddle flower" being found in great abundance. The Pymatuning Swamp was a favorite resort of the Indians, and many a tradition concerning it has been handed down from them. The early settlers were supplied with salt by the Indians, and the fact that it was warm when they received it led to the belief that it was obtained in the vicinity of the swamp. Many attempts were made to discover from where and in what manner it was obtained, but the locality remains a secret to this day. William Burnside was a blacksmith, who located on a tract of land in the northern part of what is now Pine, as early as 1797 or 1798. His is the first settlement on record. He was an Irishman, and boldly took possession of a tract with the belief that he could hold it by complying with the provisions of the land act. But he was defeated when the case came to trial and was obliged to vacate. He removed to Meadville, but afterward returned to Lines- ville, where he was accidentally killed about 1826 at a log rolling. Samuel Glenn, another native of the Emerald Isle, located in the southern part of the township at an early date, and is by some claimed to have been the first settler. He spent the remainder of his days upon the farm which he -cleared. Robert Graham, a miller by trade, was also^ of Irish extraction. He came in 1802 and took up a tract upon which he passed the remainder of his life. Martin Cunningham, another early settler in Pine Township, was an Irishman, and resided in the southern part until his death. A widow by the name of Jane Patterson settled with her family about a mile south of Linesville. She was a weaver, and was one of the first settlers, but after her death the children re- moved from the township. Another pioneer settler was Samuel McKay, a bachelor, who lived the life of a recluse in a cabin just south of Linesville. As the settlers increased around him he left his first claim and retreated still further into the wilderness. Jabez Colt, the agent of the Pennsylvania Population Company, had in 1797 attempted to build up a town in Conneaut Township by means of arti- ficial immigration. The name of Colt's Station had been given to the place, but in a year or two it had completely disappeared. In 1800 he repeated the experiment in Pine Township. He built a grist mill and erected a half dozen OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 565 log cabins as a nucleus .of the prospective city. A tannery was also started. When Crawford County was organized he made a vain attempt to have the county seat located in the western part on the land owned by the company which he rq^resented. The name of Colt's New Station was given to the place, in distinction from the former Colt's Station in Conneaut Township. But the country was too new and thinly settled to support a place of any size, and when the artificial stimulus which started it ~had been withdrawn it de- creased in numbers and was soon entirely abandoned. It was located about a half a mile north of the present village of Linesville. The first school in the township was taught in 1824 by Joseph Line, in the northeastern part. Many of the children from Pine now attend school in Lines- ville, so that the records do not show for Pine Township as large a proportion of schools as would otherwise be the case. Almost eight hundred dollars was raised and expended in 1896 for the use of the schools. BOROUGH OF LINESVILLE. The Borough of Linesville, the only postoffice within the territory of Pine, is a spacious little village situated in the northeastern part of the town- ship. It has a population of between five and six hundred. The Erie and Pittsburg Railroad passes through the village. It was the western terminus of the former Meadville and Linesville Railroad, now a branch of the Pitts- burg, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad. Linesville was founded by Amos Line, who in 1800 had been a surveyor in the employ of the Pennsylvania Population Company. His home was in Plainfield, New Jersey, but having purchased a tract of land in Pine Town- ship he removed to it in 1818. He paid for his tract four dollars an acre, and built a cabin in the northern part, near the township line. For some years he kept a small store here, but in' 1823, his cabin having burned down, he removed to the site of Linesville, where he had previously built a mill. Here he lived for two years, occupying an old log cabin, but in 1825 removed to a frame house he had built beside the mill. It was about the same year that he laid out the village, and several of the lots were soon disposed of. William Burnside and Jesse Gilliland, blacksmiths, were among the first settlers; also Joseph Allen, a carpenter ; William Russell and Moses Lord, shoemakers, and Samuel Shattuck, a cooper. The plot of the village, as recorded in 1838, contained a public square, sev- entyrfive lots, and five streets, Pymatuning and Mercer streets extending north and south, and Erie, Mill and Conneaut crossing them in an east and west diredtion. Joseph Allen laid out the southern part, which was recorded in 1842. The first tannery was erected by C. S. Stratton about 1837. Two years later, Smith Line, a son of the proprietor, opened the first store. Amos Line was the first postmaster, and the records show that the receipts for the 566 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. first quarter amounted to twenty-five cents, the postage on one letter. Mr. Line was a Quaker in belief, and worshiped with the Quaker congregation in Conneaut Township. He died in 1853 at the age of seventy-seven, leaving a family still represented in the township. Jabez Colt, while trying to secure the county seat for the western part of the county, had erected a mill at Linesville in 1800, it being fed by water power by means of a long race. The mill was abandoned soon afterward, and when Mr. Line came to the neighborhood in 18 18 it had fallen into total decay. About two years later, however, he erected a new grist mill and afterward added a saw mill. In 1837 he sold the mill to Joseph Boyd, and a year after- ward the grist mill was burned. It was rebuilt some years later by the Lines- ville Industrial Association, and has since then been burned and again rebuilt. An extensive lumbering business was for some time carried on, large quan- tities being shipped by the canal from Shermansville. Linesville's first newspaper was founded in 1875 by Britton & McCoy, under the name of the Leader. After various vicissitudes it was converted into the Linesville Herald, under which name it is still published in the form of a semi-weekly, and finds a large circulation. The Linesville Gazette. founded after the Leader, had but a brief existence, and was later on published for a few months under the name of the American Citizen. Amos Line, the first settler, also taught the first school in Linesville, in 1835, in a log building which stood on the south side of Main Street. Joseph Allen was another early teacher. In 1841 the first schoolhouse was built, at the northwest corner of Main Street, in the eastern part of the borough, a dis- trict school, consisting of one room. Later on a frame building, also of one room, was erected on West Main Street, on the site of the present schoolhouse, and as the village grew an addition was built. After this a two-story frame building was used for some time, when in 1880 a handsome brick building was erected. In 1896 five schools were in operation, with a school year of eight months. Two hundred and eight scholars were in attendance, although some were from Pine Township, and the average cost for each pupil per month was $2. Almost $2,000 was raised for purposes of public instruction. The St. Philip's Catholic Church of Linesville worshiped for several years in private houses. In 1870 a church edifice was erected on South Mercer Street and services regularly held. About twenty-five families are included in the congregation. The Methodists of Linesville held meetings for many years in the schoolhouse, at which time John Thayer, John Rea and A. G. Woods were leading members. In i860 a church building was erected. The congre- gation, which is small, forms a part of the Linesville circuit. The first church edifice in Linesville was erected by the Baptist Church in 1852. Back in the early days of the settlement a society of this denomination had flourished, and worshiped in a log cabin about a mile east of Linesville. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 567 Services, were held here as early as 1818 by Rev. McMillan; and William Ward, James Bishop, Moses Bishop and William Bunnell were among the early members. These services were continued during many years. About 1846 a Baptist Church was organized at Linesville, and was reorganized in 185 1 by Rev. E. M. Alden, with eighteen members. Within the next year they had built a large building at a cost of $2,500. CHAPTER XVI. RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP. RANDOLPH is an interior township, situated a little southeast of the center of the county, and has an area of 25,188 acres. The soil is quite hilly, and is drained by Woodcock and Sugar creeks, the former flow- ing north into Richmond and the latter following a southerly direction into Wayne. The eastern part of the township is comparatively new and is not so thickly settled, but the soil is good throughout, is well adapted to grazing and produces good crops. A portion of the land was marshy in early times, but clearing has made it tillable. Dairying and stock raising are the chief pursuits, although lumbering was formerly carried on quite extensively. Maple, birch, ash, poplar, cherry, chestnut, elm and oak are the chief varieties of forest timber. Randolph Township was organized in 1824 from parts of Mead, Rockdale and Oil Creek, and its original limits included what is now the northern part of Randolph, the greater part of Richmond, and the western sections of Troy, Steuben and Athens. It was laid out with its present outlines in 1829. Rich- mond bounds it on the north, Steuben and Troy on the east, Wayne on the south and Mead on the west. The northern and southeastern parts of the township were donation lands, while the southwestern corner was the property of the Holland Land Company. It was on these tracts of the Holland Com- pany that the first settlements were made. As the conditions necessary to maintain a valid title required a residence and improvements on each tract, the company offered a gratuity of one hundred acres to each one fulfilling the terms of settlement, in order to place an occupant on each tract at the earliest possible date. Many of _the pioneers then coming into the country gladly availed themselves of this opportunity to secure a home. The question as to who made the first settlement in Randolph Township is a disputed one. It is not doubted that the Johnsons made a settlement in S68 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1797, although, according to some accounts James Brawley, often called the second pioneer, was there two years before that date. But by the records of the Holland Land Company and according to the traditions handed down from the earliest settlers, the honor of making the first settlement belongs to Alexander Johnson and his son Joseph. The latter, when but a boy of eighteen years, left his home in Dauphin County and started out on foot tO' seek his fortune in the western wilderness. He reached Meadville in the June of 1797, and thence striking out to the east, he reached the lands of the Holland Land Com- pany in Randolph Township. He selected a tract on which to locate, and re- turning to Meadville contracted with the company, in his own and his father's name, for its settlement. He built a small hut on the land, constructing the roof with the boughs of trees, and spent the summer there, returning in the autumn to his old home. Early in the next spring he started out again, this time accompanied by his father's family, and again reached his wilderness home. They constructed a log cabin and began the work of clearing the land and preparing it for cultivation. Here they remained throughout life, one of the most prominent families of pioneer times, the elder Johnson dying in 1823. James Brawley, by some accounted the first settler, but who, according to the more trustworthy accounts, did not come to Randolph until 1797 or 1798, located on the land of the Holland Land Company and built a cabin. Having procured some seed potatoes at Franklin he carried them upon his back through the woods up French and Sugar creeks, following an Indian path. He cleared a small patch of land and planted it with potatoes, after which he joined a sur- veying party in Erie County. In the fall, upon returning to dig his potatoes, he was surprised to find his cabin occupied by Indians, who, supposing the claim abandoned, had dug and eaten his potatoes and were preparing to depart. But desiring to compensate him for his loss, the Indians opened their packages and shared with him their store of furs and dried meat. He exchanged these for a quantity of wheat, which he sowed, and then returned to Lycoming County. The next spring he brought his mother's family with him to his new home, arriving in June. They were six weeks upon the journey, which, like all pioneer emigration of those times, was accomplished in face of the greatest difficulties. They came directly through the woods with their ox team, driving before them several cows, the milk from which was strained, and being put into a churn was converted into butter by the motion of the wagon. When they reached their destination they were almost penniless, the last twenty-five cents being expended for a quart of salt. There were no mills in the neigh- borhood, and for some time the family lived on whole wheat boiled in milk. In the fall Brawley learned that a mill had been erected by the Holland Com- pany on Pine Creek, near Titusville. Loading four bushels of wheat upon an ox he started out through the unbroken forest, with no path and no guide to follow, save a pocket compass. He was six days upon the road. At night he OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 569 removed the load from the ox and turned it out to browse, while he built a fire, beside which he encamped, and by which the ox was accustomed to lie when he had appeased his hunger. When he returned with the wheat flour there was a day of festivity in the Brawley household. For many years James Brawley held a commission as justice of the peace. He also built the first saw mill and the first frame house and barn in the town- ship. In 1800 he married Mary Glen, a daughter of William Glen, of Mead Township, and theirs was probably thefirst marriage contracted in the township. William R. Brawley, their son, was doubtless the first white child born there, while Mary Brawley, who died in 1805, is supposed to have been the first person who died in the township. In company with Alexander Johnson Mr. Brawley took the contract to carry the mail once a week between Meadville and Mayville, N. Y. They performed the journey on horseback, going in turn upon alternate weeks, commencing in 1818 and continuing during a num- ber of years. Hugh Brawley, who came to the township with his brother James, settled upon a tract near him, where he remained throughout life. He was an active member of the Presbyterian Church. Beriah Battles, who contracted to settle a Holland Land Company tract in Randolph and an adjoining one in Mead Township, built his cabin on the township line at Frenchtown. He did not remain long, emigrating soon after- ward to Ohio. Archibald Stewart, who came from Lycoming County, set- tled a tract in the same vicinity, upon which he remained until his death. Be- sides being a farmer he also followed the occupation of a weaver. Andrew McFadden settled here at an early date and remained until death, leav- ing a family which is now widely scattered. The Daniels were a numerous family who settled upon Holland tracts in Randolph Township. Samuel, John, Daniel and Abraham were all farmers, and all took up land here at an early date. Mary, wife of Andrew McFadden; Sarah, wife of Joseph Armstrong, and Lucy, wife of Hugh Brawley, were their sisters. They were all members of the Methodist Church, and Abraham was a local preacher. Daniel built a small powder mill before 18 10 and supplied gunpowder to such of his neigh- bors as were fond of hunting. Amos Daniels was another pioneer who settled in .this township. The Donation Lands, comprising the northern and eastern portions of the township, and which were reserved for the soldiers of the Revolution, were settled much later. A large proportion of the soldiers who drew lands here made no settlements, and for many years the ownership of much of the land was unknown, being held by non-residents. Isaac Berlin, an old soldier, drew a tract in the extreme northwestern corner of the township. He brought his family from across the mountains and commenced a settlement upon it, but the solitude proving irksome and the unresponsive character of the soil dis- couraging him, he soon left it and purchased a farm on French Creek, in Wood- 570 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. cock Township. A Revolutionary hero named Meheffy settled here, remaining but a short time. The only permanent settlement made by an old soldier in the township was that of Dennis Kane, an Irishm.an, who settled about 1805 upon a tract in the southern part of the township. He built a cabin in the woods, far from any other settlement, and remained a lifelong and respected citizen. Michael Radle, a German by birth, was an early pioneer in the northern part. He came with his family from Philadelphia about 1806 and settled in the central part, some distance northeast of Guy's Mills. For many years three or four miles separated him from his nearest neighbors. Aided by his three sons, William, Andrew and John, he cleared away the forest and tilled the land, until by his industry he had a large and valuable farm, of which he remained a lifelong occupant. He is still represented in the township by numerous descendants. The soldiers to whom the donation lands belonged manifested little dispo- sition to settle upon them, and as late as 18 15 the township showed few signs of settlement except the scattered clearings made by the pioneers mentioned above. Large numbers of the unclaimed donation tracts were sold by the county commissioners for delinquent taxes. Extensive litigation frequently resulted from this, the soldiers or their representatives appearing and contest- ing their validity. Often the matter was settled by a compromise, but the original warrantees usually maintained their claims and in consequence the tax titles were looked upon with distrust. There were a great many tracts in this district which had not been drawn at all by the soldiers, and these could be entered upon by any settler and the title secured by paying to the State the amount recpired by law. A company was organized by Jacob Guy, Melanchthon Wheeler, and Troop Barney, all residents of Whitehall, Washington County, N. Y., which pur- chased a large quantity of the land sold at tax sale. Another company com- posed of Ward Barney, George Barney and William A. Moore, also' of Wash- ington County, N. Y., made large investments in these tax titles and sold' out their claims to incoming settlers. Jacob Guy, a member of the first company, settled in Meadville in 181 3, and two years later moved to Randolph Township. He was a native of Concord, New Hampshire, and had graduated at Dart- mouth College. He settled at Guy's Mills and was prominently identified with the interests of the township, in the development of which he was largely in- strumental. He was the first justice of the peace, and it is said that the set- tlers kept him busy during the winter examining wolves' scalps, on which there was a bounty. The first house built at Guy's Mills was erected for him, being constructed of poles and covered with hemlock brush. He lived upon the land which he settled during the remainder of his life. A large number of the settlers of the donation lands came from Wash- ing County, New York. Among the earliest to arrive were Russell Mattison OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 571 and Joel Jones, who about 18 16 settled near Mr. Guy's estate. Moses Gilbert came from Fort Ann, New York, and settled near a spring in the central part, in 1818, and remained until his death. His descendants are still prominent in the township. Andrew Barney settled in the northern part of the township, Elkanah Barney came about 1820 and located a mile southwest of Guy's Mills, and Joshua Barlow settled about 1824 on the west line of the township. These with Ezra Carpenter, Isaac Childs, Hiram Cornwell, Alfred Curtis, Luke Hotchkiss, Samuel Hatch, James McLaughlin and Nathan Southwick, were all immigrants from Washington County, New York. Leonard Hall, a native of Vermont, came in 1817 and settled in the north- ern part of the township, on a tract which occupied the present site of Hickory Corners, where he was the first settler. He walked the whole of the way from Vermont, averaging, according to his account, the almost incredible distance of forty miles a day. He was married in 1820, and his wedding trip consisted of a visit to his then far distant Vermont home. The journey was made with an ox sled, for which he was obliged to cut a road for some distance, while his father-in-law, who accompanied him a part of the way, drove the ox and sled bearing his wife. One cannot but admire the energy and deter- mination with which these hardy settlers entered into every phase of their life. Few bridegrooms would attempt such an undertaking in these degen- erate days. Philip Cutshall was one of the earliest settlers in the northern part of the township. He was a Pennsylvania German, and with his sons, John, Jacob and George, came, in 18 14, from his home in Cumberland County. They came through the woods with a six-horse team, crossing the streams that were too deep to ford by using their wagon box as a boat, in which they transferred their goods, a few at a time. One of their horses died on the way, so a bull which they drove was placed in the harness and driven in its stead the remainder of the distance. George was obliged to go to Meadville to work out his road tax, as there were no roads in his vicinity. William Waid came from New York State in 1816 and settled on a tract just north of Guy's. His brothers, Seth and Warner, settled on an adjoining tract. John Dickson, from Boston, was a carpenter, who remained until his death upon a tract which he settled in the center of 'the township. Thomas McFadden, who was raised in Crawford County, purchased and cleared a farm in the northeastern part of Randolph, while Elias Thayer made an early settlement near the township center. It was well toward the middle of the century before the township was thoroughly settled, although the period of the greatest immigration was between the years 1820 and 1830. John Oaks settled at an early date in the southeastern part of the township, on lands of the Sixth Donation District. He came from Massachusetts about 1816, bringing with him a large family. John Byham also came at an early date, and Lemuel Smith and Jonas Byham, 572 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. both from Worcester County, Massachusetts, had settled here before the organization of the township. Piokett and McKay are remembered as early residents, and Jarnes Douglass had settled here before 1810, but afterward removed to Meadville. The first saw mill was built by James Brawley. It stood upon his farm, and the power was obtained from the water of a small branch of Sugar Creek. Another one was erected by Jacob Guy, a year or two later, in the wilderness at Guy's Mills. Another was soon afterward constructed by George Cutshall, and others were put in operation in various parts of the township. A number of these are still in use. John Kane, a son of Dennis Kane, taught the first school in the town- ship, in 1813, in a little log schoolhouse that stood near the southwestern cor- ner of the township. It was constructed of rough logs, and gi^eased paper was substituted in the windows for glass. The Johnsons, McDills, Brawleys and Daniels attended here. Henry Thurston, son of David Thurston of Mead Township, and Allison De France, a son of James De France, also a pioneer of Mead, were teachers here in early days. In 1820 a second log schoolhouse was reared in the same neighborhood. The first school in the vicinity of Guy's Mills was taught by Mary Guy, in the upper story of a barn. Soon after the adoption of the common school system, in 1836, there were seven schools in operation, conducted by twelve teachers, six male and six female. Their pay was eleven dollars per month for the males and four dol- lars per month for the females. Three hundred scholars were in attendance, the school year having a length of four and one-half months. The character and qualifications of the teachers were considered good, and they were re- ported as being fully competent to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, geog- raphy and grammar. The new system was well received and in successful operation, and the progress of the scholars was reported as being as good as could be expected. In 1896 the number of schools had increased to seventeen, with a school year of seven months' duration. There were four hundred and seventeen scholars in attendance, at an average monthly cost to the township for each child of $1.24. A total amount of $4,362.89 was expended for school pur- poses during the year. A recent county superintendent, in reporting to the State upon the condition of the Crawford County schools, speaks as follows of the great progress made during the past few years : "I have seen a graded sys- tem, which simplifies and unifies the work, established in _all the country schools ; I have seen the teaching force animated and vivified by a system of professional reading; I have seen the attendance at normal schools more than double from this county ; I have seen more than one thousand pupils from country schools complete the common school course and receive their diplomas or certificates of . standing, ready to go into high schools or normal schools ; I have seen town- ship high schools established in several townships and boroughs, where ninth OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. . 573 and tenth year work was done that was a source of pride to the patrons, teachers and, in fact, all connected with the scliool work of the county ; I have seen the teachers of the county paid, in the aggregate, thousands of dollars more for their services than was ever paid them before." Guy's Mills, the only village in the township, is located a little west of the center, in the midst of a rich agricultural region. The first settlemeAt here was made by Jacob Guy in 1813, the whole region in that vicinity being then an unbroken wilderness. Soon after he located here he built a saw mill, which gave the name of Guy's Mills to the place, and one has been operated here ever since. About 1828 Noah Hall opened a small ^tore and for several years supplied the neighboring families with some of the necessities of life. Five years later Jacob Guy established a store of much greater magnitude, and kept it for several years. James Foreman opened the first tavern in 1838, and about the same time a postoffice was established there. In i860 the village consisted of nothing more than a store, a mill and half a dozen houses; but soon after that period it began to increase in size- and has had since then a slow but steady growth. It contains stores, shops and mills of various kinds, an excellent hotel, the- Guy House, besides schools and churches. Guy's Mills is the trading center of a region of unusual richness and productiveness, and its stores are filled with a greater and more varied stock of goods than is usually found in places of the same size. • Hickory Corners is a cross-road station in the northern part of the town- ship. Randolph Postoffice is located there. Sugar Lake Postoffice is in the southern part of the township. Black Ash is a settlement in the southeastern corner. The Baptist Church of Guy's Mills was organized at Dewey's Corners, Mead Township, in 1820, under the name of the "Mead Baptist Church." There were ten original members : Joel Jones and his wife Rhoda, Mrs. Lovey Wood, Benjamin Sweeney and his wife Mehitable, John Pratt and his wife Rebecca, Russell Mattison and his wife Phoebe, and Levi Dewey. Soon after its organization large accessions were made to the membership, and for more than a year meetings were held in Mead Township. After that the religious exercises were conducted in the schoolhouse at Guy's Mills until 1826, when a frame meeting house, the first religious structure in the township, was erected in the village. In 1868 this was replaced by a more commodious build- ing at a cost of $1,800. Rev. Oliver Alfred was the first pastor. This was the first Baptist church organized in the portion of Crawford County lying east of French Creek, and several other congregations in neighboring townships have been formed from its membership. A Methodist class was organized in 1822, at the house of Daniel Hunt, in Richmond Township, and from this the Methodist Society of Guy's Mills was formed. The services were continued in that township until about 1848, 574 . OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. when a frame structure was built in the northern part of Randolph, at Hickory Corners. Daniel and Luther Hunt and Delos Crouch were at that time prom- inent members. The services were conducted here until 1871, when a society was formed at Guy's Mills from the membership of the Hickory Corners church and a few members from Mount Hope. A handsome frame edifice was constructed in 1871 at a cost of $3,500. The First Congregational Church of Randolph was organized in 1825 as a Presbyterian and Congregational Society, and as a Congregational Church in 1839. I^cv. Timothy Alden, of Meadville, and Rev. Amos Chase, of Titus- ville, held Presbyterian services in this locality before the organization of the church. The Guys, Stewarts, Parkers, Kanes, Brawleys, Waids, Mc- Laughlins and Barlows were prominent among the early members. In 1845 a frame church was erected at Guy's Mills, before which the services had been held in a schoolhouse. The church was remodeled and enlarged in 1871 at a cost of about $5,000, and now has a large and flourishing membership. As early as 18 12 Methodist meetings were held at the cabin of Mr. Dan- iels, in the southwestern part of the township. They were continued regularly until 1825, when the membership was greatly increased by a revival, and a frame church was built about half a mile south of Guy's Mills. John Smith, David Jones, David Hanks, Thomas Wilder, Reuben Smith and William Waid were the leading members. Here regular services were maintained until 1858, when a church was built on the Oil Creek Road, on a lot donated by Levi Oaks, in the southern part of the township. The M'ount Hope Church, as it was called, was built at a cost of $900, and besides the society of the old Guy's church, the members of a class which had been organized about a year before a mile further south in Wayne Township, joined the new society. D. AV. Bannister, Joel Smith, John Oaks, Stephen Reese and Smith Byham were prominent members at that period. East Randolph Church was organized in 1850 by Rev. Edwin Hull, who became the first pastor. For some time the society worshiped in a schoolhouse in the. southeastern corner of the township, but in 1866 a building was erected at a cost of $1,275. Mark Bogardus and wife, Nicholas Bogardus and wife, and Mr. Loveless were early members. CHAPTER XVII. RICHMOND TOWNSHIP. RICHMOND TOWNSHIP was organized in 1829 from parts of Ran- dolph and Rockdale. The whole southern part was included within the Seventh Donation District and formed a part of Mead Township until 1824, when Randolph was organized. Along the northern border is a narrow strip of the land of the Eighth Donation District, and this formed a portion of Rockdale until the organization of Richmond in 1829. Between the two extended a narrow strip, having an average width in this township of half a mile, which, on account of the inaccuracy of the early surveys, was in- cluded within neither the Seventh nor Eighth Donation districts. This re- mained for a long time ungranted and unclaimed, and was finally settled as State land. Richmond Township is situated in the interior of Crawford County, east of the center, and forms an approximate square, six miles in dimensions, with an area of 20,993 acres. It is bounded on the north by Rockdale, on the east by Athens and Steuben, on the south by' Randolph and on the west by Wood- cock. The principal stream is Woodcock Creek, which flows westward through the southern part, while its northern branch rises in the northwestern corner of the township. Muddy Creek flows in a northwesterly direction across the northeastern corner, where it receives Macky Creek, which rises in the western part and flows east. It is a rich dairy township, and dairying is a leading pursuit of the inhabitants, while lumbering is also an industry of some import- ance.- The surface in general is rolling, with some lowlands in the south- eastern part. The streams are skirted by wide valleys which rise by gradual slopes to ridges of comparatively level land. Here the soil is a gravelly clay, and the timber is principally oak and chestnut, with some hickory, beech and other varieties. On the lowlands, where the soil is a gravelly loam, a great deal of hemlock is found, while in the drier portions beech and maple, with some ash and butternut, abound. In common with the other townships of eastern Crawford, Richmond remained unsettled until a comparatively late date. Almost all of the land in the township was included in the Donation Tracts, reserved for the soldiers of the Revolution, yet it cannot be found that a single settlement was made in the township by one of them. With the characteristic carelessness and gen- erosity of men of his profession, the old soldier held in low repute the war- 57S 576 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. rant granted him by the Commonwealth for a tract of land in the West, and usually sold his title for a trifle to the speculators, who made a practice of searching out the scattered heroes of the Revolution and obtaining their titles to the land. No concerted action, such as was made in the western part of the county, was possible in the military lands. Each soldier drew a definite lot and must settle on that particular tract. If a venturesome pioneer obtained a warrant for land, he had not the power of selection, but must find, the lot from among hundreds of others, and the chances were that it would be miles re- mote from any other habitation. This prevented those whO' came out together from settling in the same neighborhood, as was the custom in other localities. For this and many other reasons the settlement of Richmond was delayed long after other portions of the county were occupied, and it was not till 1817 that the first successful effort was made to wrest a home from this silent wil- derness. A temporary settlement had been made in the northeastern portion of the township, by several families, some years prior to 181 7. They erected cabins and cleared and planted little patches of ground, but discouraged by the deso- lateness of the region and tiring of their long continued isolation from the other settlements, while finding the soil unresponsive and barren, they deserted the place after a few years' residence. George Miller, who afterward located in Rockdale, was one of these transitory settlers, and a Mr. Falkouburg was another. The first permanent settler was Ebenezer Hunt, a native of Vermont, who left that State in the fall of 181 5, and passed the winter in Erie County, having come most of the distance on foot. He then resided a year in Mead- ville, and, having purchased a tract of two hundred acres in Richmond Town- ship, started to take possession of it in the spring of 1817. The land, which had been sold for taxes at Commissioners' sale, cost him $500. Accompanied by his brother, Daniel Hunt, he made his way to his land through the tan- gled forest from Guy's Mills, then the nearest habitation. A brush camp was temporarily erected beside a fallen hemlock, and served to shelter the two brothers until, without any assistance, they had built a log cabin, about twelve by fourteen feet. They split out a floor from the timber, fashioned a rude door, and as they had brought no furniture with them they made a table, stools and some other articles. With their rude cabin and its furnishings, and their desolate environment, they presented a type of the backwoods home such as many settlers possessed, and which a life time of hard labor and economical management scarcely sufficed to furnish with the common conveniences of life. In 1820, David Hunt, the father of the two pioneers, brought out his family to the settlement prepared by his sons, and remained with them until his death. In 1822 Ebenezer Hunt was married to Lavinia Hatch, of Randolph Town- ship, and passed the remainder of his life in tilling the soil. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLb. S77 Gould M. Lord came from Connecticut in 1817 and made a settlement in the northern part of thfe township. Here he remained many years, and his father arid two brothers came from the East and took up land in the same vicinity. Russell Flint came from Chautauqua County, New York, in 18 19, and settled on the State Road, about a mile and one-half east of New Rich- mond. He was a prominent Methodist and remained a resident of the township. About the same time Michael Bresee came from Ontario County, N. Y. He was a pioneer of more than usual activity and energy, and made a settlement in the northern part. About 1820 four brothers, David, William, Moses and Samuel Sanborn, came with their parents from Canada and settled in the northern part of the township. Here they remained for some time, but, evidently not finding the surroundings congenial, they all, except William, afterward left the vicinity and removed to other parts. William remained in the township, although he did not inhabit any particular locality, removing from place to place. About the year 1820 George Miles came from New Haven, Connecticut, and purchased land in the northern part of Richmond Township.. He was an old sea captain, but now turned his attention to the cultivation of the soil. For a short time he followed his new occupation with considerable ardor, but the fascination of a seafaring life was too strong for him, and he went to Erie soon afterward and resumed his favorite calling. Robert Townley emigrated from Ireland to Erie County, and from there came to Richmond in 1821, where he acquired land in the southwestern part upon which he remained throughout life. Jasper Lyon came from Whitehall, New York, and after having spent several years 'in the valley of the Cussawago came to Richmond in 1821 and remained a lifelong resident. Hollis Hull came from Washington County, New York, in 1822, and two years later Ananias Philips and Jesse Wheelock came from the East and made settlements in Richmond. Active settlement commenced about 1820, though much of the land remained unoccupied until, the middle of the century. Thomas Delamater came from New York State' in 1822, bringing with him his wife and one child, and settled at first in Athens Township, near Centerville. Finding that the title to his land there might be questioned he removed soon afterward to the western part of Richmond, where he spent the greater portion of his life. Several years before his death he removed to Townsville, where he died in 1868, leaving a family of seven children. Richmond Township was, in 1826, made memorable by the settlement in it of John Brown, the rash, impetuous foe of negro slavery. He was born of humble parentage at Torrington, Connecticut, May 9, 1800, but removed with his father to Hudson, Ohio, at the age of five. When but fifteen years old he commenced working at the tanner's and currier's trade. His time at school had unfortunately not been profitably employed, and he was at this 37 / 578 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. time without even a common school education. He remained thus occupied until the age of twenty, mogt of the time as foreman of the establishment under his father, keeping bachelor's hall and officiating as cook.' With the aid of a valuable library, to which he was generously allowed access, he made commendable progress in acquiring the rudiments of an education, and hav- ing experienced deep religious convictions, he commenced a course of study with a view of preparation for, the ministry in the Congregational Church. But he was compelled to abandon this project on account of inflammation of the eyes. However, with the aid of books, he managed to become fairly well acquainted with common arithmetic and surveying, which he practiced more or less, after the age of twenty, in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Western Virginia. He was married in 1820 to Dianthe Lusk, and in 1826 removed to Richmond Township, where he still followed the occupation of tanning. With his trade he afterward combined the business of farming and sheep keeping. The remains of the old John Brown tannery, which was the first to be erected in Richmond, are still to be seen standing near the center of the town- ship. His life here was characterized by the strictest integrity, and it is re- lated of him by one who served as his apprentice that he refused to sell his leather until it was perfectly dry, or as nearly so as human ingenuity could make it, lest his customers should be cheated in value or weight. He became at once a prominent, energetic young citizen in the community, and bore the reputation of strictest integrity and veracity. By his efforts a mail route was secured and he was appointed postmaster. He engaged in stock raising, and is said to have brought the first blooded cattle into the township. He assisted in organizing a Congregational Church, of which he continued an active member. In 1832 his wife died, and the next year he married Mary A. Day, ■of Meadville. He left the township in 1835 and from that time on he followed various vocations. In 1835 he was at Frankhn Mills, Ohio, and m 1840 was engaged in the wool business at Hudson. Soon afterward removing to Akron, Ohio, he formed a partnership with a Mr. Perkins, buying and selling wool on commission, chiefly for the farmers of Ohio and Western Pennsyl- vania. In 1846 he removed to Springfield, Massachusetts, but coming into competition with the New England manufacturers, who had been accustomed to purchase wool from the growers at their own terms, they combined against him and refused to deal with him. Thus deprived of a market. Brown took about 200,000 pounds of wool to England, where, being obliged to sell it for half its value, he was almost reduced to poverty. When a mere boy the subject of the liberation of slaves in America had engaged his attention, and in 1839 ^^ had originated a plan for its accom- plishment. While in England he submitted it to prominent abolitionists, but received no encouragement. Returning to America he learned that Gerrit Smith, of Peterboro, Vermont, had offered to give to colored settlers portions OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 579 of lands out of large tracts which he owned in the wild regions of the Adiron- dacks. He obtained an interview with Mr. Smith, in which he detailed the supreme difficulties under which the negroes labored in their efforts to reclaim the land in that inhospitable wilderness, difficulties which were immeasurably enhanced by their inexperience, and being thoroughly conversant himself with pioneer life, he offered to give to those who chose to avail themselves of the offer, the benefit of his experience, and to exercise over them a fatherly super- vision. Although entirely unacquainted with the applicant, Mr. Smith ap- proved the project and accepted the proposition. In 1849 Brown removed his family to North Elba, New York, where they remained for two years. In 185 1 they returned to Akron, where Brown again became interested in the wool business. In 1855 he went to Kansas, where his sons had already settled. He took a prominent and active part in the stirring scenes which were enacted there at that period, and opposed vv^ith all the energy of his nature the efforts • of the pro-slavery party to make Kansas a slave State. In August, 1856, with a band of sixteen poorly armed men, he held in check at Ossawatomie a force of five hundred lawless Missourians, who were thoroughly equipped. The place where this brilliant exploit occurred afterward became a distinguishing suffix to his name, and the phrase "John Brown of Ossawatomie," is only exceeded in familiarity by the title of the tract in the great wilderness of Northern New York which bears his name. In May, 1859, he called a secret convention of the friends of freedom, which met at Chatham, Canada, where an invasion of Virginia was organized and a constitution adopted. The following July he rented a farm house about six miles from Harper's Ferry, and collected there a supply of pikes, guns and munitions of war. On the night of October 16, 1859,' he surprised Harper's Ferry, and, aided by about twenty men, seized the United States arsenal and armory and took more than forty prisoners. About noon on the 17th, Brown's party was attacked by the Virginia militia, and after two of his sons and nearly all of his men had been killed and he had been wounded in several places, he v/as captured. He was tried, found guilty, and^on December 2, 1859, was hanged at Charlestown, Virginia. However much we may sympathize with his motives, every order loving citizen must condemn the means by which he attempted to consummate his purpose; and while throwing the mantle of charity over his rash deeds by believing his impulses for the liberation of the African race too powerful to be restrained, must deprecate his rash and suicidal attempt at their freedom which terminated in an overt act of treason. Jasper Lyon constructed a saw mill on Woodcock Creek at an early date, about half a mile below Lyona, but before it was ready for operation he sold it to Anthony Phillips, It was used but little, but was replaced by a second one on the same site in 1850. In the early days Captain Miles erected a saw mill on a branch of Muddy Creek, about two miles north of New Richmond. 58o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. John Brown's tannery was the first in the township. It was operated after his removal by Rev. Butt, a Methodist minister, and afterward by Ira Clark. After being closed for some time it was converted intO' a cheese factory, and later on was used as a jelly factory and corn grinding mill. There are at present several cheese factories, saw mills, etc., in operation in the township. The township was destitute of early school accommodations until 1826, when a term was held in a newly built corn crib and hog pen combined on the farm of Gould M. Lord, in the northern part. About the same time a school was held in the southern part of the township in the newly completed farm of Ebenezer Hunt. Sarah Hunt, his sister, who was the first teacher, received a compensation of one dollar per week. Only one term was held here, the chil- dren of Jasper Lyon, David Stewart and others attending it. The first school- house in the township was probably a small log building erected near the present location of Lyona Postoffice. Titus Johnson and George Delamater were early teachers in it. In 1836 there were five schools in operation during a school year of an average length of four months. Ninety-eight scholars were in attendance, the branches taught being reading, writing and arithmetic. The qualifications of the teachers were considered good, and the progress of the scholars was reported as giving general satisfaction. In 1896 the num- ber of schools was twelve, with a school year of seven months. Three hun- dred and twenty-three scholars were in attendance, at an average monthly cost to the township for each pupil of $1.26. During the year more than thirty- five hundred dollars was raised and expended for purposes of education. New Richmond, a hamlet and postoffice located about half a mile east of the township center, is the nearest approach to a village in Richmond Town- ship. It includes stores, shops, a town hall and ten or twelve dwellings. The first store on the site of this settlement was opened by Ira Clark about 1835. Some time before this he and David Stewart had kept a store about half a mile east of New Richmond. Lyona is a postoffice situated in the southern part of the township, on Woodcock Creek. The postoffice, which was established in 1868, was at first called Lyon's Hollow, then changed to Lines, and later on to its present name of Lyona. A store, church, schoolhouse and several dwellings are located here. Teepleville and Jewel are settlements in the northern part of the township, while Finney's Corners is located in the extreme western part A number of religious organizations have existed at various times in the township. The first was a Methodist class formed about 1822 in the cabin of Daniel Hunt, under the ministration of Rev. Hatton. Until 1848 services were held in a schoolhouse, when a church edifice was erected at Hickory Corners, in Randolph, and the society passed beyond the boundaries of the township. A Congregational Church was formed while John Brown was a resident of the township. Meetings were for a long time held on the second floor of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 581 Brown's tannery, and afterward in a schoolhouse. It was not strong numer- ically, and when Brown, who had been its leading spirit, removed from the township, it soon ceased to exist. Richmond Baptist Church was organized in 1841, with fifteen members, among them the Hunts, Hatches, Stewarts, Carrs and Littles. The first meet- ings were held in a log schoolhouse which stood at the corner near the present church, afterward in a schoolhouse built by subscriptions from the con- gregation. In 1866 a church structure was erected near Lyona Postoffice at a cost of $3,, 500. The Methodist denomination has several societies in Richmond. A church was organized at New Richmond about 1836 by Rev. Walter B. Lloyd, the first pastor. In 1840 a class was organized in the northern part of Richmond Township, of which James and William Morse, Franklin Lord, Emerson Chamberlin, Tracy Turner, Patrick Perry, David Macky, Jaines Grey and James Wilkinson were early members. A class was organized in the north- eastern part in the early forties, but went out of existence. It was succeeded by Van Scowder's Methodist Episcopal Church, which was formed about 1877. CHAPTER XVIII. ROCKDALE TOWNSHIP. ROCKDALE TOWNSHIP, which lies on the northern border of Craw- ford County, a little east of the center, has an area of 20,953 acres. It is well watered by French Creek and its tributaries, the main stream entering the township near the center of its northern boundary, flowing south, thence deflecting to the west, and leaving it near the center of the west line. Of the tributaries Muddy Creek, a stream of considerable size, enters from the southeast and reaches French Creek a little west of the township center. Kelly's Run is its principal tributary, draining the northeastern portion of the town- ship, and joining Muddy Creek just before its union with French Creek. The valleys of French and Muddy creeks are low and level, while beyond them low hills rise and lead to a rolling upland surface. The soil in the valleys is a rich alluvium of great fertility, elsewhere it is a mixture of clay and sand. In early times a marsh extended along Muddy Creek for a distance of almost a mile, but this has been reclaimed by systematic drainage and yielded an 'excellent farm- . ing land. Agriculture is the principal pursuit of the inhabitants of Rock- dale, and dairying the chief branch of agriculture. .Until some years ago a large portion of the township was devoted entirely to lumbering, which still 582 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. forms an important industry. Large quantities of lumber are manufactured, and it is shipped from Miller's Station in considerable amounts. Pine, oak and chestnut were the chief varieties of timber on the higher ground, while hemlock, maple, black ash and beech abounded in the lower lands. Rockdale was one of the original subdivisions of Crawford County, erected by the first court held in Meadville, in 1800. As then established its boundaries were as follows: "Beginning at the mouth of Woodcock Creek; thence up said creek to where the same intersects the line of the Seventh Dona- tion District; thence north along said line to the northwest corner of said dis- trict ; thence east along the north line of said district, ten miles, to the western line of the township of Oil Creek ; thence north along said line to the northern boundary of Crawford County; thence west along said boundary to- French Creek ; thence down said creek by the various courses thereof to the mouth of Woodcock Creek, the place of beginning." These limits included the greater part of what is now Woodcock, the northern part of Richmond, the northwest- ern corner of Athens, the western part of Bloomfield, the southern part of Cambridge and all of Rockdale that lies east of French Creek. In 1829 the township was laid out almost as it now exists, the portion west of French Creek having been part of Venango Township before that date. It is bounded on the north by Erie County, on the east by Bloomfield and Athens, on the south by Richmond and on the west by Cambridge. The l^Jew York, Penn- sylvania and Ohio Railroad traverses the northwestern corner, following the course of French Creek, which it crosses within the limits of the township. John Hayes, a native of Delaware, who accompanied General Mead in his journey to the county, made the first settlement in the township some time before 1790. William Hutchinson had commenced, but had not completed, the settlement of a piece of land, and this Hayes purchased and settled upon. His daughter Sarah, afterward Mrs. Joseph King, was born in this town- ship May 24, 1798, her husband serving as a captain under General Hull in the War of 1812. The greater pai't of the land of Rockdale Township belongs to the Donation District, but considerable tracts were the property of the ■ Holland Land Company, and it was under their auspices that most of the early settlements were made. A few individual tracts were also entered here. Major Roger Alden, the agent for the Holland Land Company, erected a saw mill on Kelly's Run, probably as early as 1798. It Avas a little flutter-wheel mill, having no gearing, and was driven by an undershot wheel. It was at first operated by George Fetterman and afterward for some time by Anthony Matson. Contracts for the settlement of a large amount of the land of the Holland Company were made in 1798 and 1799. The Indian troubles had delayed it for several years, while the donatioff lands settled slowly, as was the case wherever they predominated. William Carnachan came in 1799 from North- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 583 lunberlaiul County and settled on a tract on Muddy Creek. It was within the boundaries of the Eighth Donation District, but it was counted as waste land and had not been numbered on account of its marshiness. On this account he obtained it at a nominal price, and finding that a part of it was dry and fertile he made a settlement upon it. Henry Minium, George Peiffer, Peter Stone, and Jacob and William Kepler settled in the eastern part of the township at an early date on Holland Company land, but on account of dis- puted ownership they left their clearings and removed to other parts. George Fetterman purchased land in the northern part of the township, but before he had completed his settlement he was engaged by the Holland Land Company to run their mill. Removing to the mill he remained there until about 1808, when he embarked his family and household effects in a flat boat .and descended French Creek for some unknown destination. Anthony Mat- son, his successor at the saw mill, had* a) so improved land in the northern part of the township, and besides owned property in Erie County. He came to the township and for a time assisted Fetterman at the mill. Upon the de- parture of the latter he rnarried Patty Heatly and remained in charge of the mill for many years. About 1824 he removed to the southern part of Erie County. Hugh and Patrick McCullough came from Ireland and settled in Rock- dale at an early date, remaining upon their respective tracts throughoyt life. George Pack cleared a few acres and then left the coimtry, assigning his claim to Joseph Hackney, a resident of Meadville. Peter Y-oung came from the eastern part of the State and purchased a farm in the P'rench Creek Valley, in the western part of the township. He remained here until his death, and in addition to farming he followed the trade of a shoemaker, furnishing boots and shoes for his pioneer neighbors. Isaac Kelley, a native of New Jersey, set- tled at first in Northumberland County, but later on removed to Bloomfield Township. Having heard of a vacant, unsurveyed body of land at the mouth of Muddy Creek, he removed to it in the spring of 1800, and later on secured a patent for it. He was. a wheelwright by trade and for some time manufac- tured chairs, spinning wheels and other implements, but as rapidly as possible cleared his land and turned his attention to farming. He erected a grist mill in 1817, the first in the township, and operated it until his death in 1832. Moses Heatly was one of the earliest settlers. His son-in-law, Robert Still, was a "shingle weaver" or maker, splitting the shingles with an axe, then shav- ing them to the proper smoothness. He remained in the township ttntil his death, as did Isaac Willis, a weaver, who' came from the Susquehanna Val- ley about 1802. Nathan Mitchell, a native of Massachusetts, came m 1802 ■ from Canada and settled on the eastern bank of French Creek, near the north- ern boundary of the township. About 1812 John Hammond settled in the 584 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. southeastern part, at Brown's Hill, and Arthur Jervis arrived at about the same time from Fayette County. George Miller made one of the earliest settlements west of French Creek. He was of German descent, and early in the century had emigrated from the Susquehanna Valley and settled in the northern part of Richmond Township. He removed to a five hundred acre undrawn Donation tract about 1808, west of French Creek, where Miller's Station is now located, and there built his cabin. He was a man of deep religious convictions and although without edu- cation he resolved to preach the Gospel. A Baptist congregation was organized in Rockdale in 1812, of which he became the first pastor, but it was afterward removed to Cambridge. He was a prominent citizen and for many years labored in the ministry, in addition to following the occupation of a farmer. Jesse Brown, a native of Massachusetts, removed from Vermont in 181 5 and settled in Erie County. Three yeafs later he came to Rockdale Township and purchased and settled a tract of- land. In speaking of the early days Mr. Brown said : "When we came to this place we underwent great inconven- iences. We had to, go fourteen miles through the woods to- mill. But game was plenty and we got half our living out of the woods. The wolves used to trouble our sheep. The bears and panthers, though numerous, did not trouble us much." Alexander Anderson was a Scotchman who, after a short resi- dence in Cussawago Township, came to Rockdale and settled at Miller's Sta- tion. He died of camp fever about 181 3. John Daniel settled about a half a mile west of him in .1812 and remained a lifelong resident of the township. Pie followed the occupation of a farmer, and like most of those who settled in that vicinity was a Baptist. These, with a few others, were the only set- tlers in the northwestern portion of the township for a number of years. A saw mill had been erected on Kelley's Run by Major Roger Alden about 1800, and for many years this was the only one in the township. About 181 5 a second mill was erected on Muddy Creek by Jonas Clark. Pine was the principal timber, and much of it, cut and sawed, was rafted or shipped in flat boats down the river to Meadville and various other points. About 18 17 Isaac Kelley erected a grist mill about a mile from the mouth of Kelley's Run. At first he had but one pair of mill stones, but the mill was later on enlarged and improved. James Woodside, who came into possession at a later day, added steam power and a saw mill and transacted an extensive business. A military road had been laid out by the French from Franklin to Erie, and when the first settlers arrived it was still traceable, although overgrown with underbrush. It passed north and south through the township, a little east . of the center, and past the old Holland Company's mill. It was improved and largely used by the pioneers. The turnpike from Meadville to Erie, which was constructed in 18 18, passed through the northwestern corner of the town- ship. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 585 No sooner had several families settled within a few miles of one another than an effort was made to furnish instruction for the children. In those days it was not unusual for children to go three or four miles to attend school. Mrs. George Fetterman gave instruction to the children of the vicinity in, her cabin, as early as 1805, but it scarcely had the pretensions of a school. About 1816 one of the first regular schools in the township was taught by Miss Emeline Bidwell in a little log cabin on the Kelley farm, which stood in the woods remote from the road. The term was only two months long. The Kelley, Matson, Miller and Hutchinson children attended here. John Lang- ley, a well educated pioneer, was one of the teachers in this building. Several early schools in Erie County were attended by the pioneer youth of Rockdale Township. In 1896 there were fifteen schools within the township, in session during six months of the year. Two hundred and twenty-nine scholars were in attendance, and more than three thousand dollars was raised and expended for school purposes. Rockdale is a rural township and contains no boroughs nor villages. Miller's Station, on the western bank of French Creek, is the most important settlement. It is a station on the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, and contains an hotel, postoffice, stores, church and a number of residences. Brown Hill Postoffice, established about 1867, is situated in the eastern part of the township. The hamlet contains a store, a school and several dwellings, while numerous farm houses are in the near vicinity. The first, and for many years the only, church in the township was the Baptist congregation, organized by George Miller in 1812. Meetings were held in various cabins, until in 1820 a frame structure was erected at Miller's Station. George Miller officiated as pastor for many years and was succeeded by Amos Williams. In the course of a few years the membership centered further south, and a meeting house was built at Cam- bridge, for the greater convenience of the members. The services at Miller's Station were abandoned later on, and the home of the society passed beyond the limits of Rockdale Township. Brown Hill Baptist Church was erected in the southeastern part in 1874. A United Brethren Church was organized at Brown Hill in i860, and after meeting in the schoolhouse for some time they purchased a half interest in the Baptist Church. For several years services were held by the Free Will Bap- tists in the northern part of the township, in the Macky Hill schoolhouse. Rev. Lansing Mclntire organized a class of the United Brethren persuasion in 1876, which held meetings in the Kelley schoolhouse, in the southeastern part. A Methodist society was organized in 1881 by Rev. J. F. Perry, and during the same year a commodious frame church was erected in the southern part of Rockdale, at a cost of about $1,800. 586 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. A union or undenominational church was erected at Miller's Station in 1880, which has been used in common by several denominations. A branch of the United Brethren Church erected a'frame meeting house in 1 88 1, on the east side of French Creek, at a cost of $900. The congrega- tion was organized a short time before the building of the church, Rev. David Smock being the first pastor. CHAPTER XIX. ROME TOWNSHIP. ROME TOWNSHIP. lies upon the center of the eastern border of the county, and contains 24,565 acres of land, being one of the largest in the county. Its territory formed a part of Oil Creek Township when the first division was made in 1800, and in 181 1, when Bloomfield was formed, it included the northern half of what is now Rome. In 1829 Rome Township was organized, having on its north Sparta, on its east Warren County, on its south Oil Creek Township and on its west Steuben and Athens. The township was settled by a colony of Irish Catholics, who, prompted by their religious faith, named it after the "Eternal City," and the name of Rome was confirmed by the courts when the township was organized. It is abundantly watered by Oil Creek and its numerous tributaries, the principal of which are McLatighlin's Creek and Thompson's Run. The main stream traverses the western portion, while the above named tributaries flow through the central and eastern parts, all having a general southerly direction. The surface is generally rolling, with little low or marshy land, and the soil is productive. The whole extent of the township was heavily timbered, oak and chestiiut prevailing in the central and eastern portions, with cherry, beech and maple in the valleys, and hemlock in every part. Large quantities of pine were found in the northern and western parts, sometimes interspersed among the other varieties. Large tracts of timber still exist in the sparsely settled parts of Rome, and the lumber industry is an important one, several saw mills being in operation. Along the-streams the soil is sandy, becoming clayey in the more elevated sections, with sandstone outcropDing in places. The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad passes through the western end of the township. Like most of the land in the eastern part of Crawford County, Rome Township was settled at a comparatively late date, although it was com- menced here earlier than in some of the surrounding townships. The northern portion formed part of the Eighth Donation District, and most of the southern OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 587 part belonged to the Holland Land Company. Under its auspices settlements were made in the central portion before the opening of this century, but in the other parts it was delayed for a long period, as in 181 5 only eight of the thirty tracts composing the township had been settled upon. At that date many of the unsold tracts were disposed of to land speculators and non-residents, and by 1820 the length and breadth of the township was dotted with clearings and log cabins. Patrick Brannon, Patrick McGee, Daniel McBride, James Lafferty and James McLaughlin formed a colony of Irish emigrants, which, in 1795, left County Donegal, Ireland, and settled in Northumberland County, on the banks of the Susquehanna. There they remained for three years, and in 1798 came to Pittsburg. In the autumn of the following year they ascended the Allegheny River and Oil Creek to the present location of Rome Township, and having selected their future homes on Holland Land Company tracts, they made con- tracts for their settlement with the agent of the company. They cleared oH little patches of land, built cabins to serve as a temporary shelter, and then returned to Pittsburg to pass the winter. In the following April they set out with their families for the homes they had selected in the wilderness, taking with them their scanty household goods. Here they settled within short dis- tances of one another and faithfully began the work of clearing away the forest and tilling the soil, until they had transformed their patches of forest into productive and valuable farms, which are still possessed by their descendants. Patrick Brannon was the leader of the colony, arid was of considerable educa- tion and intelligence. He had been educated for the priesthood, but had not embraced the profession for which he had been destined. He settled about two miles east of Centerville, where he remained until death, and where he is still represented by numerous descendants. Patrick McGee settled a little south of him, and spent his life on his farm, leaving a numerous posterity. James Lafferty built his cabin south of and near that of McGee. Daniel McBride settled on the present site of Centerville. James. McLaughlin located about three miles southeast of McBride and lived to a good old age on the farm which he first settled. All of these early settlers' were Roman Catholics, all re- mained lifelong citizens of the township, and are to-day represented by -many children of the second and third generation, who have reason to be proud of their sturdy ancestors, who left their oppressed motherland to become re- spected citizens of the American Republic. The newly commenced Irish settlement in Rome was reinforced in 1800 by Robert Coil, who came from Pittsburg up the valley of the Allegheny. He also was a native of Ireland, and made a clearing and built a cabin near the farm of James McLaughlin, with whom he boarded while making his im- provements. He brought his family tO' his new home in 1801, and remained throughout life clearing and cultivating his extensive farm. He becarpe in- 588 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. volved in a lawsuit with the Holland Land Company, but succeeded in defend- ing his title to his land. He also' was a Catholic, and left a large family. Of his three sons, Hugh became a member of a Baptist Church, John became "a Methodist minister, while Patrick remained true to the faith of his ancestors. Daniel Carlin came from Ireland and in 1801 settled in what is now the northwest corner of Oil Creek Township. A few years later he removed to Rome and took up land directly south of Centerville. He lost his way in the woods one cold winter day and was frozen in the snow. He left two sons, John and Daniel, an(| four daughters. Robert Conn came early in the century, but did not remain. During the early days the infant settlement received but few accessions. Several who came remained but a short time and then de- parted. In 1830, when the first tax duplicate of the county was made, there were about seventy-five names, including the settlers above mentioned and many of their descendants. Among the others were Daniel Bement, a New Englander, who followed the trade of a tanner a little south of Centerville ; Rev. Amos Chase, a well known pioneer Presbyterian divine, who dwelt just south of the borough ; David Winton, who operated a saw mill near him ; Cornelius Cummings, a carpenter, and Daniel Rogers, a native of Ireland and one of the earliest settlers. An English settlement was commenced in the central part of the town- ship in 1833 by Benjamin Harrison, Sr., who came from Northumberland County, England, and settled with his famil}'^ in Rome Township. The eastern part of the township was still a vast wilderness, and many years passed before its solitudes v/ere disturbed. David Winton built a saw and grist mill on Oil Creek, about 1815, just south of Centerville, which was the first in the township. James and David Tryon came from Litchfield, Conn., and built a fulling and carding mill near the same locality. This they operated for about fifteen years, then removing further down the stream into what is now Steuben Township. Patrick Coyle had a carding mill on Oil Creek about 1825 which he operated during twenty years. The first school was held in a little cabin which stood on the McGee farm, where reading, writing and ciphering were taught to the children of the set- tlers. Patrick Brannon was the first schoolmaster, and the liberal education he had received in Ireland well qualified him to fill the position. Dennis Car- rol, an old soldier of the Revolution, was another early instructor in Rome Township. When the system of common schools was introduced in 1836 Rom.e had three schools, employing three teachers and attended by one -hundred scholars. They were kept open but two and one-half months during the year. The cjualifications and character of the teachers were reported as being good, and the progress of the pupils in reading, writing and arithmetic as being "reasonably good." In 1896 a wonderful advancement had been made. Twelve schools were OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 589 in operation during seven months 6i the year, and two hundred and sixty- two pupils were in attendance. The average cost to the township for each pupil per month was $1.52. More than $3,500 was raised and expended during the year for purposes of education. Aside from the borough of Centerville there are no villages in Rome Township. Buell Postofhce is in the northeast corner and Vrooman Postoffice in the southeast. In the northwestern part of the township is a United Brethren Church, of which Frederick Lyons, Lyman Phillips and Manning Childs were prominent early members. In the southern part the Hemlock Baptist Church was erected, largely through the contributions of Isaiah Rowe. In the central part of the township a Covenanter Church was founded in i860, the leading members at that time being the Harrisons, the Stewarts, Jacob Boggs, Henry Wright and John Edmunds. The Church of the Immaculate Conception was organized in 1822, with twenty-five members, at- Magee- town, two miles east of Centerville. It was composed of the colony of Irish settlers, who have been mentioned, and their families, almost all of whom were devoted adherents of the Catholic Church. It is to their religious .feel- ing that the township is indebted for its name. Priests from Pittsburg and other points officiated for many years, and later on Rev. Peter Sheridan be- came the first resident priest. During his pastorate a house of worship was erected at a cost of $1,200 on a lot donated by Francis Magee. BOROUGI-I OF CENTERVILLE. The borough of Centerville occupies the site of one of the oldest settle- ments in Crawford County. Daniel McBride was the first to erect a dwell- ing there, constructing a little tent of poles and brush, and clearing a small patch of ground. The next year he built a log cabin, and from that time he labored zealously at the work of clearing and cultivating a large farm. He built an addition to his house, and before the War of 1812 opened it to the public for the entertainment of guests. Charles Peck, to whom he afterward sold the farm, continued the business of inn-keeping. The second perma- nent settler was Nathan Winton, who came from Connecticut with his family and settled on land in the eastern part of the borough. He built a sawmill which was operated many years. The first store was opened in 1820 by Mr. Merrick. David Winton erected a grist mill in 1813 at the confluence of the two branches of Oil Creek, and this was patronized by the farmers for many miles around, making Centerville the trading point of the community. Joseph Patton settled at an early date and was a justice of the peace. Settlers came in rapidly during the years from 1820 to 1840, many from New England, and the village had a steady growth. Centerville was incorporated as a borough in 1865. A petition for its incorporation having been filed in the Court of Quarter Sessions, and a favor- 590 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. able report by the grand jury having been givai, it was confirmed by the court. George W. Rockwell was the first Burgess, A. P. Waid, James Clark, L. B. Main, O. F. Himes and T. L. Noble composed the first council. There are several stores, shops and markets, while several mills and factories are among its industries. It is a shipping point of some note, and annually ex- ports large quantities of hay, wood, lumber and produce. Centerville contains two schools, which are in session eight months of each year. In 1896 eighty-one scholars were in attendance, and about $830 was expended for ordinary school purposes. In 1872 a substa:ntial frame building was erected at a cost of $3,500. The Presbyterian Church of Centerville was organized about 1815 by Rev. Amos Chase, who served as supply until 1827, and then officiated as regular minister until 1830. They erected a frame church in the village near the site of the Congregational Church. The congregation diminished in numbers and finally services were abandoned. Elder Davenport, Lorin Wood and Charles Peck were prominent among the early members of the society. The Centerville Congregational Church was organized in 1841 in the Presbyterian Church. building, by Rev. Lucius Parker, who became the first pastor. It had eighteen original members, among whom were the Phillips, Woods, Tryons, Taylors, Sextons and Scotts. After an existence of sev- eral years the services came to an end. In 1859 it was reorganized with thirty-eight members through the exertions of Rev. U. T. Chamberlain, who remained as its pastor until 1865. Meetings were held in the old structure of the Presbyterian Church until 1869, when a handsome frame house of worship was built at a cost of $4,000. A Methodist society flourished at Centerville about 1830, meeting at the schoolhouse and in the houses of the members. It was a small society and existed only a few years. A class was organized in 1863, of which Johnson Merrill and wife, Samuel Winton and wife, Samuel Post and John Buell were early members. The meetings were held in the Presbyterian and Congrega- tional churches for several years, but in 1875 a large frame building was erected at a cost of $2,500. The First Baptist Church of Centerville was organized in 1862 by Elder Cyrus Shreve. The seven original members were Franklin Weatherbee and wife Melissa, D. B. Weatherbee and wife. Freeman Bradford and wife, and Penila Chapman. The first meetings were held in the house of Franklin Weatherbee and sometimes in the Congregational Church, until in 1875 a Baptist Church was built, which cost about $1,600. CHAPTER XX. SADSBURY TOWNSHIP. SADSBURY TOWNSHIP was established by the Court of Quarter Sessions in 1800, and included within its somewhat indefinite boun- daries parts of what are now Vernon, Hayfield, Summit, Sadsbury and Summerhill. Upon' the erection of the new townships in 1829 Sadsbury was reduced to about its present territory, including also the southern por- tion of Summit. The residents of Harmonsburgh and vicinity found it in- convenient to go to Evansburgh for elections, so for their convenience Summit Township was formed in 1841, thus reducing Sadsbury to its present limits. The township now contains 12,770 acres, the territory which forms it having been, before 1829, apportioned between the four townships of Conneaut, Fallowfield, Sadsbury and Shenango. The Beaver and Erie Canal passed north and south through the western part, and the feeder crossed the town- ship east and west. The Meadville and Linesville Railway, now a part of the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie system, crosses the township in a northwest and southeast direction, and the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad enters it by a curve in the southern part. A branch from the Meadville and Linesville track connects the system with Exposition Park, one of the popular summer resorts oi Conneaut Lake. Sadsbury is an interior township, lying southwest of the center. It is bounded on the north by Summit, on the east by Vei-non and Greenwood, on the south by the Fallowfields, and on the west by West Fallowfield, North Shenango and Pine. The surface of the township is level, gently undulating in parts, and its rich alluvial soil, becoming clayey in the higher portions, is well adapted for grain raising. The soil is watered by numerous small springs, Conneaut Outlet being the only stream of any size. The timber, which has mostly disappeared, consisted of beech, oak, pine, chestnut and maple. Conneaut Lake is a beautiful sheet of water about three miles in length and one mile in breadth. It covers an area of 1,200 acres, and its depth varies from a few feet in its shallow portion to one hundred in some of the deepest parts, but its average depth would fall far short of the latter figure. The water is of remarkable clearness, being fed almpst entirely by springs under its surface. It received its name from the Indian word "Kon-ne-yaut," meaning "Snow Place," the name by which they designated it on account of the fact that the snow remained frozen- on the ice of the lake long after it 591 592 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. had melted from the surrounding land. It is nearly oval in shape, and lies almost wholly in Sadsbury Township, the northern point projecting into Summit. It is the largest lake in Pennsylvania, is about five hundred feet above the level of Lake Erie, abounds in fish, and is much frequented by sportsmen for the wild game which alights upon its waters. When the Beaver and Erie Canal was constructed Conneaut Lake was utilized as a reservoir, and continued in use until the abandonment of the canal. At that time the surface of the lake was raised about ten feet by building a dam across the outlet, but when the canal was abandoned the dam was torn away and the waters receded tO' their original level. During the summer season Conneaut Lake is a pleasure resort of great popularity. Cottages have been built along the shores and summer hotels with accompanying attractions provided; Conneaut Lake, Oakland Beach, Conneaut Lake Park, Midway and Exposition Park being the best known points. Hotels and other accommodations for picnickers, pleasure parties and campers are amply provided, and nothing is wanting tO' help while away a few happy hours. Numerous steamboats ply between the various points, while row and sail boats supply an additional source of amusement. The Iroquois Boating and Fishing Association is composed of sixty gentlemen from Meadville, Pittsburg, Franklin and other points, who have . erected a club house on the banks of Conneaut Lake, about one-half mile north of Evansburgh. Their handsome house, with its broad verandas and spacious quarters, furnishes an ideal place for rest and recreation, and the hours of repose from the cares of business and professional life are spent here in hunting, boating and fishing. By their efforts measures have been taken to protect the fish from illegal catching, and preserve them from ex- termination. Sadsbury Township was settled at a very early date, as it attracted some of the foremost pioneers, and most of its territory had been entered before the land companies were in the field. Two tracts in the northeast corner belonged to the Holland Land Company, the Pennsylvania Popula- tion Company owned four in the northwest corner, and the remainder was located and settled by individuals. In 1800 S. B. and A. W. Foster, of Meadville, bought the land of the Holland Company in the northeast corner and made a settlement upon it. Joseph Allen, Daniel Williams, Samuel Williamson and Matthew Williamson purchased tracts of the Pennsylvania Population Company in 1797, and settled upon them and remained for years. Samuel Williamson, who came from the southern part of the State, owned and operated a distillery. Dennis Hughes, a native of Ireland, came from New Jersey in 1802 and settled in the northwestern part of the township. One of the foremost pioneers of Sadsbury Township was Abner Evans, for whom the village of Evansburgh was named and who was probably here OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 593 as early as 1796. He built the first mill in the township on Conneaut Outlet, but the fall was not sufficient to afford it great power and it was not a com- plete success. In 1797, or perhaps earlier, John Harper came to Sadsbury and settled just east of the lake. Luke Stevens, an Englishman,- settled about a mile south of Evansburgh; where he remained until death. William Shot- well settled near Evansburgh and remained a lifelong resident of the township. William Campbell made his home in the western part of the township, where he operated a distillery. During the first years of the century many settlers came in and occupied land in various parts of the township. Jacob Shontz came in 1800 and settled on a tract near Evansburgh. His descendants still reside in the township. Jacob Stewart, an Irishman, was a justice of the peace in Evansburgh, after- ward removing to West.Fallowfield. Negro Dick, a peaceable old colored man, roved about from place to place, selling straw baskets and bee-hives. Charles Frew, who lived about three miles west of the lake, was a plow- maker and afterward removed to Pittsburg. David Garner settled in the northern part of the township, just west of the lake, and spent his life in farming. John Jones occupied land in the same locality. Samuel Lewis, a half brother of Garner, followed the trade of a blacksmith for several years, afterward moving to Illinois. James McEntire, Sr., died in 1800, and his is said to have been the first death in the township. A rough coffin was made from planks brought from Powers' sawmill and he was buried near where the Soldiers' Monument at Evansburgh now stands. John Quigley, a native of Ireland, settled east, of the lake and remained a lifelong resident. Henry Royer, a German, cultivated a farm near Evans- burgh throughout his life. George Shellito, an Irishman, settled about three miles west of Evansburgh, where his descendants still live. Richard Coulter, Joseph Marshall and John Williams were also early settlers. Daniel Miller, a German, came with his family and settled on a tract patented in the name of his son Michael, before 1800. It was situated about a mile south of Evansburgh. Joseph T. Cummings built a distillery on Conneaut Outlet, and the business was carried on after his death by a Mr. Sutleff and others. Another still was operated by David Steward, about two and one-half miles west of Evansburgh. James McEntire was probably the first school teacher in the township. He settled west of the lake in 1800 and two years later removed to East Fal- lowfield. He taught a term at Daniel Miller's cabin in 1805, receiving a compensation of $10 per month. Several of those who attended this school went the next year on Burr's expedition, John Gelvin among the others, and several of his pupils served in the War of 1812. He had a wide reputation as a teacher and held school in Sadsbury and adjoining townships from 1802 to 1827, the year of the four-foot snow. William McMichael, a Pres- .38 594 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.' byterian minister, Mr. Higgins, Robert McEntire and Mr. Plum may be mentioned among the early school teachers of the township. Seven schools were in operation in 1836, during a school year of four and a half months. They were presided over by twelve teachers, and three hundred and sixty-three scholars were in attendance. The character and qualifications of the teachers were described as good, the branches taught being 'reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, natural philosophy and book- keeping. Since this report the township has been reduced in area and the borough of Conneaut Lake taken from it. In 1896 the number of schools taught was seven, kept open during seven months of the year, and attended by one hundred and sixty-three pupils. More than two thousand dollars were expended during the year for the support of the schools. Outside of the borough of Conneaut Lake and Shermansville there are no villages, the township being entirely agricultural. In 1828 Rev. Timothy Alden laid out a town just north of Evansburgh, to which the name of Aldenia was given. It was on part of a two hundred acre tract purchased by him in 1 8 18, and Contained ninety-five lots, a public common and a hollow square. Streets were laid out and named and the plan filed for record. Isaiah Alden, brother of the proprietor, settled there and remained for some time, but others were slow to follow his example, and the attempt was finally aban- doned. Stony Point is a postoffice located near the southern border of the town- ship. It is on the line of the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, and the cluster of houses which is found there is known as Evansburgh Sta- tion. Shermansville is a small settlement in the northwestern part of the township. A Mr. Craven was the first settler in this vicinity, and the village was laid out along the canal in 1842 by Anson Sherman. He and Peter •Bakely were prominent among the early residents. It is situated on the old canal, and during its prosperous days Shermansville was a lumber shipping point of considerable note, but now consists of but a dozen or twenty dwell- ings. A Methodist Church existed during the early days, Henry Moyer and wife, John Conley and wife, and Mrs. Lasure being among the members. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse until 1867, when a frame church building was erected. BOROUGH OF CONNEAUT LAKE. The borough of Conneaut Lake, originally known as Evansburgh, was founded by Abner Evans, one of the earliest settlers in Sadsbury Township. It is one of the oldest villages in the c6unty. Abner Evans patented the two tracts forming the site of the village and settled there as early as 1796, re- siding there until his death. About 18 16 Joseph Cummings started a store OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 595 and was succeeded by Willis Benedict, whO' was for many years the only mer- chant of the village. Among the earliest residents were James Stanford, a cabinet maker, Zerah Blakely, a carpenter, and Richard Van Sickle. A tavern was kept at an early date by Alfred Strong and another by Rosanna Mushrush, whose twin daughters. Desolate and Lonely, were early school teachers in the vicinity of the lake. Jacob Young followed the trade of a tailor here before 18 lo, and at the same time George Royer was a carpenter in the village. During these days twO' tanneries flourished. The village prospered, and when the canal was constructed Evansburgh was a thriving town, perhaps larger than at present. It did a large amount of business, having- five general stores, besides grocery stores and others. When the dam was built across the outlet of Conneaut Lake, the decomposition of the vegetable matter caused by the flooding of the land filled the air with a deadly malaria. Many of the citizens fled, tO' escape from its ravages, the time of the greatest sickness being in 1840, but the conditions changing, many of them returned in a few years. Evansburgh was incorporated as a borough in 1858, upon a petition signed by twenty-five citizens. In 1892 the name of the borough was changed to Conneaut Lake. It is situated at the outlet of Conneaut Lake, and is one of the prettiest and most sightly towns in the county. Since the con- struction of the Meadville and Linesville Railroad it has become well known as a summer resort, and having several good hotels and restaurants, is amply fitted for the entertainment of guests. It has a population of about two hundred, and contains several stores, shops and mills, besides schools and churches. There were three schools in 1896, with a school year of eight months, wjiich were attended by one hundred and fourteen pupils. They were maintained during the year at an expense of $1,400. The ice houses of the Conneaut Lake Ice Company, Limited, are situated at Conneaut Lake. Their enormous store houses, erected in 1881 and 1882, are filled each winter with ice of a superior quality, which is shipped in large quantities to Pittsburg and other points, and furnishes an important in- dustry. The United Presbyterian congregation, formerly known as the Seceders, is the oldest religious society in the village. The first church edifice was a log meeting house, erected at Evansburgh before 181 5, which was occupied until the building of a frame church a half mile east of the borough. In 1864 a new frame church was built in the village, at the southeast corner of High and Fourth streets. Rev. McLean, of Shenango Township, was the first pastor. The Evansburgh Presbyterian Church, formerly known as the Conneaut or Outlet of Conneaut Church, was organized some time before 181 r. It was dependent upon supplies until 1841, when Rev. Edward S. Blake was 596 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ordained and installed pastor in connection with the Gravel Run Church. A large church building was erected on the southwest corner of Fifth and Water streets in 1831. The Evansburgh Methodist Church existed at a very early period. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse and in the old log Seceder Church until about 1840, when a frame building was erected in Evansburgh, on Line Street, opposite Third. Prominent among the early members were Michael Miller, James Birch and John Vickers. J. Prosser and R. Parker were among the early pastors. CHAPTER XXI. SOUTH SHENANGO TOWNSHIP. AT THE first session of the courts at Meadville, in 1800, after the or- ganization of the county, Crawford was divided into townships, and Shenango, then about eight miles square, occupied the southwestern corner. In 1830 a division into North and South Shenango took place. South Shenango still occupying the southwestern corner. In 1863 its terri- tory was still further reduced by the erection of West Shenango, the line of division being the Shenango Creek. South Shenango now contains 17,258 acres. The land is low and level, and in the early days was sO' wet and marshy that it was thought unfit for cultivation, but it is now covered by productive farms. Numerous small streams flow ^southwest inta Shenango Creek, the land rising gently toward the north. The valleys have a soil con- sisting of a sandy loam, but on the higher lands the soil is clay. White oak, poplar, chestnut and pine are the principal timbers. The larger part of the land of South Shenango Township belonged to the Pennsylvania Population Company, and was by them transferred to set- tlers at an early date. Michael Marshall, one of the surveyors for the com- pany, was the first settler, having received a tract of land in payment for his services. He was o'riginally from Lancaster County, and came out alone in 1796 and erected a rude cabin on his land. He then returned to the East and in the autumn of the same year brought his wife and child to his new home. For some time he was the only settler in the township, and he and his family lived a secluded life in their wilderness home, far from any neigh- bors or friends. But in 1798 others came and settled on neighboring tracts, and for the next ten years there was a large and steady growth. Marshall remained a citizen of the township until his death, and the numerous Mar- shalls now living in the Shenangos are his descendants. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 597 The first settlers to arrive after Marshall were Patrick and William Davis, who came in 1798. Soon afterward David Atchison came from Lan- caster County, and he was elected the first justice of the peace. William Campbell built and operated a grist mill on Shenango Creek. A sawmill was erected by William Snodgrass, and building was thus much facilitated. Char- acteristic of the early days is the fact that William Douthitt, Alexander Mc- Elhaney, John Snodgrass and Jesse Snodgrass all owned distilleries, so that the infant settlement was well supplied with whisky. Before Campbell's mill was erected the milling was done at Greenville, and later on John Clyde erected a srnall mill. Carding mills were operated in the southern part of the township by Robert McKinley and James McMaster. There were several asheries where the settlers could dispose of the ashes obtained after burning a clearing, and in the early days that was one of the most important of the farm products. Some of the farmers learned the secret themselves of making the black salts from lye, and m,any times the year's taxes were paid from the proceeds of this industry. The Shenango Valley had always been a favorite camping place for the Indians, and they remained for many years after the arrival of the whites. The hunting was good and "they also engaged in sugar making. Their in- tercourse with the settlers was always peaceable and they exchanged their game and fish for whisky, powder and shot. There was one character by the name of Jake Kashandy, who seems to have been a general favorite with the settlers. He would come to a cabin and, knocking at the door, com- plain of sickness. When asked what they could do tO' relieve him, he would quickly answer "cup tea," and it was usually given him. The settler always received a reward for his kindness in the shape of a haunch of venison, or other wild game. Kashandy was killed in an Indian brawl in 1804, while en- camped on Shenango Creek. The Erie and Pittsburg Railroad runs north and south through the township. Westford is the only station and is also the only postofifice in the township. It was established in 1881, and now contains a store, blacksmith shop, a grist mill and several dwellings. It is the only approach to a village in the township and- bids fair to some day become a thriving little town. Jamestown, on the southern boundary, is a part of Mercer County, but has some territory taken from South Shenango. There are several industries scattered through the township, such as a stave factory, cheese factory and others. Marshall's Corners was for many years a postoffice, but was aban- doned. At McLean's Corners another was started, but it has also been abolished. Robert McComahey was a native of Ireland who had settled in West- moreland County. In 1798 he arrived in South Shenango with knapsack and camp kettle on his back, and settled upoa a farm which he afterward 598 • OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. occupied. He built a rough cabin and, leaving some of his possessions within it, returned to Westmoreland County for horses, sheep and cattle, which he drove before him over the mountains. Upon his arrival he found that the Indians had broken in and stolen his clothes and dishes during his absence. He bought 200 acres of land at the rate of one' dollar per acre. His de- scendants still live in the township. This corner of the county was for a long time known to the settlers as the "White Thorne Corner." William Powers and his party were engaged in making surveys in this district as early as 1795. On one occasion their camp was robbed by a band of Indians, and James Thompson, who had been left in charge of the camp, was taken prisoner, but soon afterward made his escape. James Dickey came from Washington County in 1799 and purchased a farm of 100 acres from John Grimes, for which the consideration was a gun, a powder horn and a blanket. The first school was taught by Peter Smith in 1802, in a cabin that had been used as a barn. The next term was held in a log schoolhouse built for the purpose, Edward Hatton being the teacher. He was the schoolmaster for several years. Miss Datie Buell was also an early pedagogue. In 1837 there were three schools and sixty-one pupils. The schools were in session five months in the year, and were maintained at an expense of less than six hundred and fifty dollars. Spelling, reading and writing were the branches taught. The character of the teachers and the progress of the scholars were reported as "good," but complaint was made of the lack of money with which to build schoolhouses. This was no longer the case in 1896, when almost three thousand dollars was expended for school purposes, and the eight schools, presided over by nine teachers, were attended by one hundred and eighty-five pupils. Nothing so well illustrates the sober common sense of the settlers than their early establishment of schools, and these have increased and flourished in a way highly creditable to the people of the township. A congregation of the United Presbyterian Church was organized in Shenango Township in 1801, and was the first organization of that denom- ination in Crawford County. It was effected under the direction of Rev. Dan- iel McLean, who, in 1802, was installed as pastor of the church, in connection with the Sandy and Salem churches of Mercer County. He was possessed of strong and unquestioned devotion to the ministry and great mental and physical powers, and his pastorate continued fifty-two years, until his death in 1854 at the age of 84. His was an admirable character, and he is still re- membered by some of the oldest inhabitants of South Shenango. At first the services of this congregation were held in a tent near the burying ground, and about 1805 a log building was erected as a place of worship. In 18 1 8 a second house was built, the first frame building in the township" It con- tinued to be used until 1879, when the present commodious edifice was erected at a cost of $5,000. The first elders were Joseph Work, Hugh Fletcher, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 599 Thomas Ewing and David Nelson. The congregation is large and comprises some of the substantial farmers of the township. The North Bank Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1824 by Rev. Charles Thorn. There were nine original members, and among the earliest to join them were William Fonner and wife, Charles Campbell and wife, Aaron Herriott and wife, and Mark Royal. The early meetings were irregular, and at first the preaching was on weekdays, when it was attached to the Williamsport, Ohio, circuit. Until 1845 the meetings were held in the schoolhouse and in private houses, when Charles Campbell donated a lot, and on it the present church was built. The congregation is in good condition, and is attached to the Espyville circuit. The Ebenezer Associate Reformed Church was organized in 1864, by members who had, for political reasons, withdrawn from the United Pres- byterian Church and connected themselves with the Associate Reformed Church of the South. The first pastor was Rev. James Burrows and the con- gregation had an original membership of thirty-five. A church was erected in 1868, James Martin and Free Patton being the first elders. In 1881 the congregation, upon application, was again received into the United Presby- terian Church. CHAPTER XXII. SPARTA TOWNSHIP. THE WHOLE of the eastern end of Crawford County was laid out as Oil Creek Township when the county was organized in 1800, ex- tending fifteen miles north and south and ten miles east and west. In 181 1 Bloomfield was erected from the northern part, including at that time what is now Sparta. In 1829 Sparta Township was laid out as it now exists, forming an almost perfect pai-allelogram. It occupies the northeastern cor- ner of Crawford County, being bounded on the north by Erie County, on the east by Warren County, on the south by Rome Township and on the west by Bloomfield Township. Its area of 24,883 acres is well watered in every part, the eastern branch of Oil Creek passing through the central portion, while the waters of the northwest branch of Spring Creek and its tributaries, Spauld- ing's and Britton's Runs, irrigate *he western and southeastern portions. The surface is rolling and hilly, ai-J when cleared is well adapted to agricul- ture, although much of the land is still uncleared, and lumbering is an im- portant industry. Hemlock, beech and maple are the principal varieties of 6oo OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. trees, although some pine, ash and elm are found. The highest land in Craw- ford County is found in this township, some of the summits having an alti- tude of 1,225 f^^t above Lake Erie. The southern part of Sparta Township was included within the Eighth Donation District, while the northern part formed a portion of the domains of the Holland and North American Land companies. The first sparse set- tlements were made in the northern part, where, before 1810, Patrick and Hugh Fitz Patrick, Andrew Britton and the Prices had established them- selves. Andrew Britton came with his father from near Philadelphia and settled in the extreme western part of the township. Jle made a large clear- ing and remained for some time, raising a large family, then removed from the county. The Prices settled in the northwestern comer of the township, near the county line. Patrick Fitz Patrick located in the northern part, and died and was buried on the farm he cleared. Hugh Fitz Patrick was one of the earliest pioneers, having settled before 1810 on a tract of land a mile northeast of Spartansburgh. His brutal mur- der at the hands of a ruffian stranger attaches a tragic interest to this locality. He had married the daughter of Daniel Carlin, of Rome Township, and their infant daughter was only a few weeks old when the terrible deed was com- mitted. George Van Holland, an English soldier, -while wandering through the vicinity, heard that Fitz Patrick had a sum of money in his cabin, and going there just before sundown, requested permission to stay all night. They welcomed him with characteristic Irish hospitality, although they deemed him rather a suspicious character. The cabin contained but one room, but a bed was made for him on the floor, and all retired to rest. In the dead of night Van Holland arose, found an axe, and split the head of his sleeping host. Mrs. Fitz Patrick fainted upon waking and seeing the terrible sight, but upon her recovery the murderer demanded that she should get the money and ac- company him to the British border. Pretending to accede to his demands, she went to the loft for the money, but in passing a tub of maple syrup dropped into it a large quantity of silver, bringing him about $40 in bills, telling him that it was all she had. The inhuman monster then wished to kill her babe, stating as a reason that it would encumber them in their flight to Canada, but the entreaties of the mother finally saved its life. He ordered her to go and saddle the horses for the journey, and she therefore went to the barn, but instead of preparing them for the journey she turned them loose and returned to the house with the statement that she could not catch them. Van Holland went to the stable, and no sooner had he gone than she seized her child and started through the woods for the nearest neighbor, two miles aw*y. It was bitterly cold, and two feet of snow covered the ground. He soon returned to the house, and discovering her flight, started in pursuit, swearing that he would serve her as he had served her husband. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 60 1 He had almost overtaken her when the wind put out the lantern and he gave up the pursuit. Mrs. Fitz Patrick kept on through the snow to the cabin of James Winders, in Erie County, the keen winter wind almost benumbing her, and when within calling distance of the house she cried for help and they came to her assistance. They carried her into the house, and after hear- ing her story spread the alarm throughout the country. The neighborhood was all excitement and the nearest settlers turned out to capture the murderer. The next day he was found by four of the settlers encamped in the woods three or four miles from the scene of his fiendish deed, and was captured and conveyed to Meadville. In May,, 18 17, he was tried, found guilty and sen- tenced to be hanged. The extenuating, claim was set up that he was men- tally deranged, caused by a sunstroke alleged to have been received while in the English army in the West Indies, but that did not avail to save him. He was endowed with great muscular strength, and at one time nearly escaped from the old jail by bending the iron bars with his hands. On the daj^ of his execution he pushed the sheriff's assistant from the scaffold, from the effects of which injury the man died, and tried to jump upon him, but was frustrated in his devilish design by the rope. He was executed July 26, 18 17. It was found afterward that he was the son of a renegade American who had removed from New Hampehire to the British dominions upon the triumph of the colonies in 1783 ; and that he was supposed to have committed another murder in another part of the country. Reuben Blakeslee came to Meadville from Granville, Washington County, New York, in 18 17, and in the following spring settled in Sparta Township, about one mile north of Spartansburgh. His father and six brothers soon followed him, and located in the vicinity, many of their descendants still re- maining in the township. The father, David Blakeslee, had been a captain in the War of 18 12, and settled a mile and a half southwest of Spartans- burgh. Hugh Coil was an Irishman who settled about 1815 in the southern part of the township, where he remained until death. He combined the oc- cupations of farmer, Baptist minister and hunter. Walter Crouch settled in the southern part of the township, building a rough cabin whose only door . was a blanket. This was sufficient to keep out the cold air, but did not prove adequate against the wild animals of the forest, as the wolves came in one day during his absence and devoured a young pig which he was rearing in his cabin. Other settlers came in a considerable number arriving between 1820 and 1830. A large number of them, however, did not remain in Sparta, but removed to other parts. The firs-t saw mill in the township was erected in 1829, by William B. Sterling, upon the banks of Oil Creek, and was operated by him fifteen years. A second was erected at Spartansburgh, and a third at Glynden Station, in the southern part of the township. Andrew Britton erected the first grist 6o2 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. mill near the western line of the township, on Britton's Run. It was sit- uated at the very head waters of the run, and was much appreciated by the neighbors, as it enabled them to add corn feed to their bill of fare, which had previously consisted of wild wheat and potatoes. Moses Higgins operated another corn cracker on Cold Brook, in the northern part of the township. William B. Sterling erected a carding and fulling mill upon the site of his abandoned saw mill. He was the first justice of the peace in the township. One of the first duties of his office was to settle the differences between a young married couple who could not agree to live together in peace and Har- . mony. The justice, after hearing the evidence, prepared a legal opinion, in which he directed that the wife should remain in possession of the cabin, and that the husband, under penalty of the law, should not approach within a radius of two miles, but that the children, although remaining under the cus- tody of the mother, be allowed to pass the two mile limit and visit their father. Glyndon is a postoffice in the southern part and is a station on the West- ern New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, which passes in a north and south direction through the center of the township. East Bloomfield Postoffice, long since discontinued, was established at the cabin of Geiorge White and was the first in the township. During the years 1826-27, before either church or schoolhouse had been erected, religious services were conducted in the cabin of Marcus Turner by Rev. Amos Chase. The first houses of public en- tertainment were conducted by George White and Mr. Blakeslee. In a deserted cabin about a mile south of Spartansburgh, Patty Blakeslee taught the first school. A schoolhouse was soon afterward built in the south- ern part of the township, where Phoebe Patton, Phoebe Dickey and Stephen Post taught in turn. In 1833 Ruth Gleason taught in a schoolhouse built a half mile west of the village. In 1836 five schools had been organized, being in operation seven and one-half months of the year. They were attended by two hundred and ten pupils. The character of the teachers was reported to be imexceptionable, with qualifications sufficient to give instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar and geography. In 1896 the township, exclusive of the Borough of Spartansburgh, con- tained nine schools, in operation seven months of the year, and attended by two hundred and three pupils. The average cost per month tO' the township for each pupil was $2.30. The total amount raised and expended during the year for school purposes exceeded $2,400. BOROUGH OF SPARTANSBURGH. • The borough of Spartansburgh was incorporated in 1856. It is situated near the center of Sparta Township, on the eastern branch of Oil Creek. The first clearing made there was that of Abraham Blakeslee, on land west of the creek. The village originated with a grist and saw mill erected in the QUE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 603 woods, by Andrew and Aaron Aikin, who came from Erie County soon after ' 1830. They followed the milling business for some time, then disposed of it, since which time it has passed through many hands. The Aikin brothers then started a store, as the location of the mill here had made the place a sort of center for the neighboring farmers. They were followed in the mercantile business by Eli D. Catlin, who also operated an ashery for several years, and acquired possession of most of the land in the borough west of the creek. It was he who surveyed and laid out the village. Jotham Blakeslee was the first village blacksmith. Smallman and McWilliams built a carding and fulling mill on the creek in 1849, which they afterward sold to Harvey Lamb. The latter, in 1862, enlarged the building and converted it into a well fitted woolen mill. Several small industries were commenced which have since ceased to exist, William Basset having a chair factory, John McWilliams a tannery and Chauncey Aikin a small bowl factory. The village, which in the early days was called Akinsville, has had a slow- but steady growth. Upon the establishment of a postoffice there its name was changed to Spartansburgh, under which title it was incorporated. A fire broke out in the central portion of the village in March, 1878, which swept up both sides of Main Street, burning about thirty buildings, including all the business portion of the village. But the town soon recovered from the destructive effects of this conflagration, and finer and larger structures sprang up in the place of those which had been burned. It is the chief trading and lousiness point for the people of Sparta Township, and is well provided with stores, markets, shops and various industries. It is located on the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad' as well as on Oil Creek, and as much of the surrounding country has not yet been cleared of timber, lumbering is an important industry, and numerous saw mills are engaged in converting the primeval forests into sawed timber. Four schools are maintained for the education of the youth of Spartans- burgh, with a school year eight months in length. The -number of pupils in attendance hi 1896 was one hundred and sixteen, at an average monthly cost to the borough for each pupil of $1.06. About $1,700 was required during the year for the support of these schools. The First Baptist Church of Sp^irtansburgh was formed in 1849. It originated in the Bloomfield Baptist Church, which was organized in 1820 by Rev. James Williams. A large portion of its membership was from Erie County, and in 1823 the meetings were transferred to Concord Township, of that county. The society conducted services just across the line, two and one half miles north of Spartansburgh, until about 1849, when the Spartansburgh congregation was formed by the removal of the Concord society to that borough. A. J. Millard and wife, A Matteson, Joseph Cook and wife, Isaac 6o4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Shreve and wife and Benjamin Darrow and wife were the leading members. In 185 1 a commodious frame church edifice was built. The Spartansb'urgh Methodist Episcopal Church was organized by Rev. I. H. Tackett about 1827. Zebulon Miller, Abner Miller, James Miller, Orriii Miller, Corey Goldin, Green Alsdurf and wife and Robert Goldin were prom- inent among the early members. The first meetings were held in a schoolhouse west of the village, then in the borough schoolhouse, and afterward in the Presbyterian Church. In 1877 a church was erected east of the creek at a cost of $2,600, and since its completion the membership has increased largely. The Presbyterian Church of Sparta was organized in 1844 by Revs. George W. Hampson and Amos Chase. It had a eood membership at that time, and meetings were held in the old schoolhouse until the large frame church was erected on Main Street. The church did not have an installed pastor, but was dedicated in 1849 ^y Rev. George W. Hampson. Supplies followed for a period of eighteen" years, after which the regular services were discontinued. A Congregational Church was organized in 1875 with twenty-six mem- bers, and for some time services were held in the Presbyterian Church. J. T. ^Vaid, W. W. Youngson and William Major were the first elders. The pul- pit was filled by supplies during several years, but regular services were finally given up. CHAPTER XXIIl. SPRING TOWNSHIP. SPRING TOWNSHIP lies on the northern border of the county, west of the center, and is one of the largest, most important and' earliest set- tled of the townships of Crawford. The first settlement was made in 1795 by Alexander Power, on land then included in Beaver Township, and during the succeeding years a steady ■ stream of immigration flowed in. In 1829 the township was laid out, the western part being taken from Beaver and the eastern part from Cussawago. The name of Snowhill was given to the newly formed township, but the citizens, displeased with this seemingly dreary title, petitioned the judge of the court to change it to one more genial and prepossessing. He accordingly reconsidered it and gave to the newly organized township the name of Spring. The territory composing Spring Township forms almost a perfect square, being about seven miles each way, and contains upward of twenty-six thou- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 605 sand acres. It is drained in the western part by Conneaut Creek, which flows northwardly into Lake Erie, and in the eastern portion by the headwaters of Little Cussawago Creek, flowing eastwardly into Cussawago Township. The soil is of good quality and is weU and profitably cultivated, while grazing re- ceives considerable attention. The Erie and Pittsburg Railroad and the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad extend north and south through the western part, whilcNthe old Beaver and Erie Canal followed the course of Conneaut Creek through the townshii?. It includes within its limits two important boroughs, Cbnneautville and Springboro-, and the postoffices of Shadeland, Hickernell and Rundells. Erie County forms the northern boun- dary, with Cussawago Township on the east, Summerhill on the south and Beaver on the west. In the northern and western portions most of the land was patented by individuals, while the remainder of the township, with the exception of the six Holland Land Company sections in the south- eastern part, belonged to the Pennsylvania Population Company. Several tracts of land near Conneautville were located by William and Alexander Power in 1794 and 1795, while the latter was engaged in sur- veying the land of the Pennsylvania Population Company. He afterward returned to his home in Perry County, but came back tO' Spring Township in 1804 and became the founder of Conneautville. Samuel Fisher came with his family from Cumberland County in 1797, and settled on land about a mile north of Conneautville, where he remained throughout life. His son, Thomas Fisher, was a major in the militia and served three months at Erie during the second war with England, and was the first justice of the peace in what is now Spring Township. James Orr was another pioneer, who settled at an early date on the land upon which a part of Springboro now stands. He remained a few years and thai left the vicinity. Christopher Ford settled north of him in 1798, where he raised a large family. The Pennsylvania Population Company had contracted for the settlement of much of its larid before 1 798, and a large number of settlers had then come into the township at or before that date. There was an interminable train of disputes, discussions and lawsuits between the pioneers and the land com- pany. Many who had entered into contract with them to settle this land were made to believe that the title of the company was not good, and hence abandoned the contracts and attempted to hold their farms by virtue of their settlement and improvement. Others settled on tracts without having made any contracts for them, supposing that under the land laws they could hold them by reason of residence and improvements made. In both cases the settlers had the worst of it, lengthy litigation in the courts proving that the land company possessed a just title and that the irregular settlers had en- tered upon the land unlawfully. The Holland Land Company's land in the eastern part of the township 6o6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. had received a fair sprinkling of settlers before 1800. Samuel Patterson, Joseph Stanford, John Summers, Andrew Parker and Joseph Baker were the first to arrive. Many emigrants had located on the individual tracts before the close of the century, among them a considerable colony from Ire- land. During the first fifteen years of the present century but little increase was perceptible in the population of the township, and the work of improve- ment was almost wholly confined to the clearing of the tand and the substitution of hewed log houses for the rough huts at first constructed. About 1816 a stream of immigration set in from the East, and ten years later the township was thoroughly settled in every part. Among the first of these were the Bowmans, Halls, Powells, Wells, Sturtevants, Woodards, Temples, Hotch- kisses, Woods, Sheldons, Hurds, Ponds, Baldwins, Mylers, Wetmores, Greens, Jenks, Bolards and Thomases. Some of these purchased farms which had already been settled upon and partially improved, while the others took up claims in the unsettled districts and went through the toils and privations attendant upon clearing a farm in the wilderness. Game abounded at this time and hunting was a favorite pastime of the pioneers. George Foster was one of the most successful deer slayers of the time, once killing eight in the course of one day's hunt. Two tragic acci-dents befell members of the Foster family early in the- century. In 1805 John Foster was engaged in building a new house, atout a mile from the location of his old cabin. At noon his wife sent their little boy, about four years old, to call his father to dinner, but the boy not reaching his destination, Mr. Foster, after continuing his work for some time, started home alone. Upon reaching the cabin unaccompanied by the child, his wife informed him that he had been sent to call his father, and an anxious search for the boy was at. once commenced. The neighbors turned out on all sides and searched the woods far and near, but without finding a trace of the missing child. His fate was never chscovered, but among the conjectures as to his disappearance the most probable is that he was picked up and carried off by a straggling band of Indians. In 1830 Robert Foster, another son of John Foster, and brother of the lost child, went hunting on a cold winter's day, and did not return in the evening as expected. It had turned bitter cold and a heavy snow storm had set in, and after waiting for him some time the family be- came alarmed and instituted a search. Two hundred men turned out and traversed the forest in every direction, and on the third day his body was found within eighty rods of the house. It was supposed that, overcome by bewilderment and fatigue while wandering circuitously through the blinding storm, he had fallen, exhausted, and frozen to death. The provisions of the early settlers, such as flour, salt and meal, were usually brought from Pittsburg. They conveyed them up the river to Mead- ville in flat boats, pushed along by poles, and thence upon their backs over- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 607 land, a distance of sixteen miles, through the woods, being guided by the blazed trees. Foot paths were the only roads through this wilderness at that time. Numerous varieties of game abounded here, and formed an import- ant item on their bill of fare. Black salts was the chief article of commerce, being the only product which commanded ready money. They made consid- erable maple sugar, and traded what they did net require for other necessi- ties, sometimes, it is ^aid, exchanging it^ for fresh fish, pound for pound. Money was so scarce an article that many walked barefoot to Meadville to attend the general training, rather than subject themselves to a fine of fifty " cents. Alexander Power erected a grist mill on Conneaut Creek in 1799, the first in the township. It proved a great convenience to the settlers in the vicinity, ai]d was .replaced in 1805 by a double geared mill, built of hewed logs and having a shingle roof. Samuel Fisher built a mill on Conneaut Creek in 1801, about a mile north of Conneautville. It was both a saw and ■grist mill, and when built was one of the best mills in northwestern Pennsyl- vania, doing most of the grinding for northwestern Crawford and south- western Erie. Frederick Bolard, who came from Erie County in 18 16, carried on, in addition to his farming, the industry of making bells. They were at that time used by every farmer for the oxen, cows and sheep, and were even put on horses when pastured in the woods. Christopher Ford built the first distillery before 1800, and John Foster and Luther Rundle erected others soon afterward. At one time Spring Township contained no -less than seven distilleries, all of which, it is said, did a good business. All have lofig since disappeared. In 18 17 and 18 18 the Wood brothers built a wool carding and cloth dressing establishment on Conneaut Creek, twO' miles north of Con- neautville. Another was erected by Collins Hall at Spring Corners, and both did a good business in their day. Before the mills were started the operation of carding the wool was done by hand by the women of the household, and afterward spun into yarn. The sawmill connected with the Fisher plant was the first in opera- tion in the township, and others were soon afterward erected in various parts. The opening of the Beaver and Erie Canal gave an impetus to the lumber trade, and sawmills were built wherever power could be secured and the timber would warrant it. The country was rapidly cleared, farmers going into the lumber business to the neglect of their farms, until only enough lum- ber remained for home use. White wood, ash, lumber gind staves found a ready sale in the Eastern markets, and there was a great demand "for oak timber for building canal boats, railroad cars and vessels at Erie. Hemlock timber was shipped South, where it was used for fencing and building. The canal carried away enormous quantities of lumber, and the township was al-. xnost stripped before the business slackened. 608 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The first schoolhouse was built in 1811 or 1812, about two miles north of Springboro, and school was taught by Jane Garner. The Ford, McKee, Garner and Fleming children attended here. About 1817 Mrs. Mitty Beals taught a term of school in her own cabin within the present limits of Spring- boro. Another early schoolhouse was erected on the Powell farm, a mile north of Springboro. In 1896 there were fourteen schools in operation in the township, exclusive of the boroughs of Conneautville and Springboro, the school year being seven months in length. Two hundred and fifteen scholars were in attendance, the average cost per month to the township for _ each scholar being $1.47. During the year about $4,200 was expended by the township for educational purposes. A local Methodist preacher, George Stunty by name, held the first relig- ious services in the township in 18 17, preaching at the cabin of Henry Cook. He organized a band, composed of members of different denominations, which held services during a number of years. In 1822 a Methodist preacher at- tempted to make the class exclusively Methodist in its cast, with the result of entirely breaking up the organization. The Presbyterians, including Wat- kin and Sarah Powell, David Hurd and wife, and Henry Nickerson and wife, organized a congregation and erected a small church about a mile north of Springboro. Rev. John Boyd was the pastor, and the services were main- tained during a number of years. A Baptist congregation, known as the Spring and CussawagO' Baptist Church, was organized in the spring of 1837 by Rev. Albert Keith. There were t^yenty-seven original members, among them William Case, John Turneur, Stutley Carr, Sr., Stutley Carr, Jr., and others. Many others united soon afterward, until the membership had increased to eighty. A building was erected in 1838 near the eastern line of Spring Township. After a season of prosperity the tide turned, and the chur-ch began to decline, until in 1852 they united in a body with the ^Springboro congregation. A Wesleyan Church was organized at Hickernell's Corners in 1839. Rev. William Howard was the first pastor, and Benjamin Haak, Abraham Hick- ernell, Sr., Abraham Hickernell, Jr., John Michael and others were among the original members. Until 1842 the meetings were held in a schoolhouse, when a frame church was erected. The society increased in membership for a time, then languished and went out of existence. A United Brethren Class was organized in 1850 by Rev. Willis Lamp- son, which included among its early members many who had been connected with the Wesleyan Church. A church building was erected, accessions to the membership received, and a prosperous organization maintained. Rundle's Postoffice is a hamlet in the southeastern part of the township, containing a store, shop and several houses. North of it is Hickernell's, a post village of about the same size, formerly known as Hickernell's Comers. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 609 Shadeland is a settlement in the western part of the township, one mile north of Springboro, which has been made famous by the establishment there of the Powell Brothers Stock Farm. It was first settled by Watkin Powell, who came in 181 6 and took up the land upon which the old homestead is located. Here his son, Hon. Howell Powell, the father of the present owners, was raised, and here he spent most of his life, holding a prominent position among the neighboring farmers, and serving as a member of the Pennsyl- vania Legislature. He was a successful farmer, raising some of the finest stock in this part of the country, and his sons grew up in the business. He handled blooded stock, and after his death the business was continued by his sons, who in 1874 began importing from Europe. The firm, known as the Powell Brothers, consists of Watkin G., Will B. and James Lintner Powell, who, by a clear comprehension of what the country needed, their indomitable energy and perseverance, coupled with a thorough knowledge of the busi- ness, and strict integrity in all their dealings, have made "Shadeland" the largest, best appointed and most noted establishment of this kind in the world. The business of importing blooded stock has grown up mostly within the past twenty years, and at first but little attention was paid to it in this section, but the energy and perseverance of these gentlemen have given tO' Crawford County and the State of Pennsylvania an establishment which overshadows all competitors, and has attained a national and even world-wide reputation. The brothers seem to have inherited a love for fine horses, and from the be- ginning they have bred with extraordinary success several of the varieties of horses and cattle usually classed in the first rank. For some time the breeding of roadsters, nearly all of the celebrated Hambletonian strain, occu- pied much of their attention, but as time went on they increased their business by taking up other varieties, until now to do more than mention the various breeds of horses constantly on hand and for sale at Shadeland would be im- possible. Having, many years ago, become satisfied by a knowledge obtained from long experience, extensive travel and close observation, that there was great need of improvement in the heavy draft horses employed iri this coun- try, they at once set about devising means to remedy the evil in the most thorough manner. Convinced, after a careful examination, that there was no worthy foundation in this country upon which to build, they made an extensive tour of the Old World, visiting England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Belgium and other countries of Europe, as well as western Asia, Arabia and Lower Egypt, with the object of learning from a close, critical and personal inspection the merits and demerits of the different varieties of horses bred and used for draft and other purposes in these countries, and with a view of making an importatiort of those they thought best adapted to meet the demands of their own country. It is a characteristic of the American that he is always willing to take up a new idea, a new method, or a new article 39 6io OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.' of any kind, when he has become convinced that it is better than that which he has been employing, and it is to that quality that we owe much of our national greatness. The European nations have a prejudice against what they did not themselves originate, to the exclusion of new ideas, but the American, with his spirit of progress, takes the best of everything, no matter what its origin, and makes it his own. With this progressive American spirit, convinced that nothing is too good for the American farmer, they commenced, notwithstanding a former preference for French and Norman horses, the importation of the famous Clydesdale breed of heavy draft horses. Their first, and up to that time one of the largest shipments of Clydesdale horses ever made to this country, found congenial quarters on the beautiful meadows of Shadeland. As their superior merits became known other ship- ments followed, until hundreds after hundreds have been received, arid after a short period of rest and recuperation from their long ocean voyage, they have been sent out to all parts of the continent, gracing the farms and im- proving the stock in every State of the Union. The Clydesdale Stud Book of Great Britain shows more horses registered by "Powell Brothers, Spring- boro, Crawford County, Pa., U. S. A.," than any five firms combined, and gives them the enviable reputation of being the most extensive importers and breeders of choice Clydesdales in the world. The Clydesdales, however, are but one of several breeds to which the Powells have devoted much attention. In order to be able to meet all the tastes and demands of the public they import the French Percherons, or Nor- mans, and give the same degree of care to their selection and breeding that they devote to the Clydes. But it is not on their draft stock alone that the Powell Brothers have built their world-wide reputation. They have been as long and equally as well known on account of their wonderful success in breeding trotting roadsters of the finest form and action. Their Hamble- tonians, without doubt the best trotting horse blood in America, are celebrated abroad as well as in this country for their size, speed, fine form, endurance and magnificent action. Besides the mammoth draft horse and swift stepping roadster, they possess the Shetland ponies, so diminutive in size that some of them do not weigh more than one hundred and fifty pounds at maturity, a striking contrast to the draft breeds, that sometimes weigh one and one-half tons. It would be no small task to count up, on their books, the number of hundreds of each variety which they have handled, but a hasty inspection shows that it would run into many thousands. The prices realized for these animals vary according to breed, size and age, ranging from fifty to as high as fifteen thousand dollars. Another department of this great stotk farm is not less interesting, namely, the cattle. For some time the Devons were the favorites of the proprietors of Shadeland, and numbers of this famous breed are still to be OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 6ii found there, but the greater demand for producers of milk and butter, during the past twenty years, has brought the Holsteins prominently to the front. The Powell Brothers have not been idle in developing this breed, which pos- sess the most striking characteristics of any cattle they own, being especially adapted for dairy purposes. Some of the remarkable milk and butter records made need only to be quoted to prove this. "Shadeland Daisy" pro- duced in one day one hundred and three pounds and six ounces of milk, and in one week five hundred and twelve pounds and twelve ounces, being an aver- age of seventy-three pounds four ounces per day. "Shadeland Bloom" pro- duced in one day one hundred and seven pounds and eight ounces, in five days five hundred and twenty-two pounds eight ounces, being an average of one hundred and four pounds eight ounces per day. In one week she produced seven hundred and sixteen pounds and four ounces, and from July 4th to August 3d she made the record of two thousand eight hundred and seventy- eight pounds four ounces. "Shadeland Boon" in thirty one days produced one hundred and twenty-five pounds twelve ounces of unsalted butter, it aver- aging only fourteen pounds of milk for a pound of butter. The original "Shadeland" consisted of but a few hundred acres, but new territory has been acquired until now the estate comprises several thousand acres. Had these enterprising gentlemen, instead of having inherited their estate, traveled the country over to find a location exactly fitted to the re- quirements of their business, they could not have chosen a better. Situated in the best farming section of Pennsylvania, it is remarkably healthy, and has never been visited by any of the fearful contagions which in other sections have made havoc among the stock. The large farm is in a high state of cultivation, and the rich pastures, covered with a carpet of native grasses, are well watered by pure springs and clear running brooks. A large creek runs through the center of a rich valley, across which the farm extends well up the hills on either side, thus giving all the varieties of soil and grasses so- neces- sary for the health and thrift of horses and cattle. The buildings consist of ■sixteen different groups, some of which contain six or eight barns. They are thus isolated because more healthy for the stock, safer in case of fire and more convenient to the different sections of the farm. Stock from this establish- ment has gone to almost every State and Territory of the United States, to various European countries, to Canada, Mexico, South and Central America. The great industry has brought forth a little settlement of employees, buyers and shippers. A postoffice has been established, a Western Union Telegraph office, railway stations of the Erie and Pittsburg and the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie railroads, and express offices of both the Adams and Wells-Fargo companies. The cable address is "Shadeland, U. S. A." 6i2 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. BOROUGH OF CONNEAUTVILLE. The borough of Conneautvihe was founded in 1804 by Alexander Power. He had, while a young man, been engaged with a party in the work of sur- veying northwestern Pennsylvania during the years of 1794 and 1795. Their adventures with the Indians were varied and exciting, and they were obliged repeatedly to flee from hostile bands. On one occasion their camp with its equipage was scattered and destroyed, and one of their number, James Thompson, was captured and taken West by the savages. It was while en- gaged in this work that Mr. Power selected several tracts in what is now Spring Township, for which he later on secured a patent. He returned to his former home in Perry County, and in 1798 set out on horseback to locate on his Western lands, bringing with him his wife, to whom he had been married but a short time. He settled at first at the head of Conneaut Lake and for six years remained there, clearing and cultivating his land. In 1804 he re- moved with his wife and two children to the present site of Conneautville, and took possession of the land he had selected many years before while on the surveying party. In 1798 he had been appointed a justice of the peace for Allegheny County, which then embraced what is now Crawford. In 1800 he had built a sawmill, and in 181 5 received an appointment as the first post- master of Conneautville, his son William being the second. The village was laid out by Alexander Power in 1815, and was rectan- gular in shape, including what now lies between High and Main, and Arch and Pearl streets, with several lots on the southwest side of Main Street. For several years the village was known as Powerstown, William Power laying out an addition which extended to the southern line of Spring Township, and it was afterward extended across the line into Summerhill. The original plat included the public square, and when the canal was built the direction of some of the streets was changed. The first house was built by Alexander Power before the town was laid out. William Douglas and Henry Christie erected cabins within the village in 1816, and the next year William Crozier began keeping the first tavern in a frame house he had built. The first store was kept in Alexander Power's dwelling house by Richard Dibble, who copi- menced business in 1815. Peter Benway followed his trade of shoemaking, commencing business in 18 19. In the same year Curtis Adams erected a hewed log cooper shop, but his health failing he abandoned the business, and several years later the building became the schoolhouse and village ball room. The first blacksmith was Joseph Pratt, who came in 1820 and occupied the site of the Courier office, on Main Street. Mr. Power opened a store in the front room of his dwelling about 1819, and in 1827 Zimri Lewis also began business. Conneautville was incorporated as a borough in 1844 by an act of the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 613 State Legislature, and the first election was held on May 24, 1844. John E. Patton was elected the first Burgess, and William S. Crozier, Minor T. Carr, George M. Myler and Charles Rich composed the first council. The borough received its territory partly from Spring and partly from Summerhill, the greater part being taken from the former township. It is located in the valley of Conneaut Creek, on the main line of the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, and one and one-half miles east o^ the Erie and Pittsburg, with which it maintains communication, by means of hack lines. The old Beaver and Erie Canal also passed through it. Conneautville is the center and trad- ing point of a considerable portion of northwestern Crawford, and is sur- rounded by a rich and populous agricultural district. In 182 1 Francis Mc- Guire erected a tannery on the corner of Main and Pearl streets, and other industries sprung up. The village continued to grow slowly, receiving a decided impetus when the canal was constructed, which produced an influx of laborers, mechanics and tradesmen, and the tide of prosperity which then set in has continued without serious interruption to the present. Two great fires have visited the town, one in 1867 and another in 1874, but the burnt districts were soon rebuilt and left no lasting damage. During the busy days of the canal a great amount of business was transacted at Conneautville, a heavy lumber traffic being induced by the facilities for transportation afforded by this water course. In i860 the village had attained tO' a population of about 1,200, but with the discontinuance of the canal came a depression in trade, and in 1870 the population had decreased to 1,000. Since then busi- ness has again revived, and Conneautville has improved in many respects. Several large factories are numbered among the industries of Conneaut- ville, among which the extensive tannery of Mr. Bolard is especially deserv- ing of mention. The village is provided with numerous dry goods, drug, clothing, jewelry, furniture, boot and shoe, hardware and millinery stores, groceries, tailoring establishments and tin shops ; meat markets, hotels, livery stables, blacksmith shops, harness shops and shoe shops; churches, schools, physicians, a lawyer and a well edited newspaper. The Conneautville Na- tional Bank, of which Hon. J. C. Sturtevant is President, was organized in 1 86 1, and has a capital of $100,000. A cemetery was laid out in 1836, and in 1864 it was greatly enlarged and beautified. The first fair of the Crawford County Agricultural Society was held at Conneautville in 1852, it being the first organization of the kind in the county. Ever since that date fairs have been held annually, which have increased in exhibits and the number of visitors until now the society is one of the best and most successful in this portion of the State. The spacious and well im- proved grounds, finely adapted to the purpose, are situated near the south- eastern corner of the borough, and here each year are to be seen some of the 6i4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. finest agricultural and other products of the rich and fertile district in which Conneautville is located. In- 1846 the first newspaper published in Conneautville was started by Piatt & Son, under the name of the Union. The next year it was discon- tinued. The Crisis, commenced in 1868 by Mr. Field, was another unsuc- cessful venture, and after a three months' existence it was removed to Girard. In 1847 A. T. Mead and George W. Brown issued the first number of the Conneautville Courier. It prospered to such an extent that the introduc- tion of a steam press became necessary, and after passing through various hands it was sold to J. E. and W. A. Rupert and united with the Record, a paper started by John W. Patton in 1858 as an advertising sheet, but which soon developed into a regular weekly and a formidable rival of the Courier. The Rupert Brothers for some time published the consolidated papers under the name of the Record and Courier, until in 1870 they restored tO' it its old name of the C oimeautville Courier. Under that name it is still pub- lished by James E. Rupert & Son, being Republican in politics, local in char- acter, and has a wide circulation throughout Crawford County. In 1881 William F. Zell started the Conneautville Independent, but after various changes in ownership it was discontinued. The first school within the limits of the borough was taught by Josiah Brooks in a log schoolhouse erected about 1812. The windows were made of greased paper instead of glass, and the chimney was built of sticks of wood and mortar made of clay and chopped straw. Sheffield Randall, James Mc- Intire and Samuel Steele taught there at various times. During the War of 1812 a messenger brought the news that the English were landing Indians at the mouth of Conneaut Creek to plunder and slaughter the settlers. The children were at once sent to their homes through the woods to spread the alarm, in order that the farmers might be on the defensive, but the report proved to be false, and no Indians appeared. In 1828 a frame schoolhouse was erected on the corner of Water and Center streets. In 1868 a substantial brick schoolhouse was erected by the borough at a cost of $20,000. In 1896 five schools were maintained during a school year of eight months, one hun- dred and ninety-four scholars being in attendance. The average cost per month to the borough for each scholar amounted to $1.55, the total amount expended for purposes of education exceeding $2,700. The Conneautville Methodist Episcopal Class was organized by Rev. Davis in the spring of 1829, with seven original members. The early meet- ings were held in a schoolhouse, until in 1837 a frame church was built at a cost of $875. This buildipg was used until 1877, when it was replaced by a handsome brick edifice which cost, exclusive of the lot, more than $8,300. In 1829 Conneautville class was made a part of the Springfield circuit, in 1833 of the Summerhill, and in 1834 of the Harmonsburgh. Several other changes OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 615 followed until in 1868 Conneautville was made a regular station. Jesse Dan- ley and wife, Thomas Landon, wife and daughter Esther, and George Nelson and his granddaughter, Margaret Nelson, were the seven original members. The First Presbyterian Church of Conneautville was organized in 1835 by Rev. Peter Hessinger, with nine members. The congregation was sup- phed by various preachers until 1843, when Rev. J. W. Dickey was ordained and installed the first pastor, in connection with the Harmonsburgh and Evansburgh churches. In 1854 the congregation was divided into two branches, but their differences were finally settled and they reunited in 1865. The first church building was a frame structure built in 1848. In 1871 a handsome brick structure, with stone trimmings, and a spire one hundred and forty feet high, was constructed at a cost of $17,000. There is a large and flourishing membership. The Conneautville Universalist Church was organized in 1843 with nine- teen members. Early meetings were held \v 1 schoolhouse. About 1850 a frame church was built at the north extremity of Pearl Street, The society was organized under the supervision of Rev. B. F. Hitchcock, who became ■ the first pastor. The first church bell and the first organ in the village were purchased by this society. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter's held its first meetings in the barn of Thomas Henrietta in 1850. Services were held in the houses of the members until the purchase of an old frame schoolhouse in the southern part of the village. This was used until 1871, when they purchased the old academy. During the first years the congregation was attended by the priest from Crossingville. Forty or 'fifty families are connected with St. Peter's. The Conneautville Protestant Episcopal Church had its origin in meet- ings conducted here as early as 1850 by Rev. Samuel T. Lord. Regular services were soon afterward commenced and continued until about i860. About 1868 the church was reorganized by Rev. S. B. Moore, a missionary. In 1870 a church edifice was erected at a cost of $5,000 and consecrated by Rt. Rev. J. B. Kerfoot, of Pittsburg. The membership has been greatly weakened by removals from the vicinity. BOROUGH OF SPRING. The borough of Spring was settled early in the century, James. Orr and Thomas Ford being the first to locate within its limits. It owes much of its importance to the opening of the Beaver and Erie Canal, although it had be- gun to assume the appearance of a trading point some time before. The first store was opened in 1835 by Harry Pond, and about the same time Collins Hall erected a woolen, fulling and saw mill. Hawley Dauchey built a sec- ond sawmill some time afterward. The opening of the canal contributed to its growth, although it increased slowly. It has had a steady growth even 6i6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. since the canal was abandoned. The place was known as Spring Corners during the early years and a postoffice was kept about a mile north of the village. In 1866 it was incorporated as a borough and Jonathan Sheldon was elected the first Burgess. Springboro is situated in the western part of Spring Township, on Con- neaut Creek, about three miles north of Conneautville. The houses, which are neat, new structures of remarkable beauty for a village of that size, are scattered along Beaver and Main streets, which intersect one another at "the center." The village has grown steadily from the beginning, and con- tains a number of prosperous, well-to-do citizens. There are a number of stores and shops of various sorts, sawmills, wagon works, hotel, schools and churches. The first schoolhouse was a primitive log cabin which stood on the hill east of the village. In 1872 the Odd Fellows' Hall on Beaver Street was purchased for a schoolhouse, and was used until 1880, when a commodious, two-story frame structure was erected on the same site at a cost of $4,500. .In 1896 three schools were in operation during eight months of the year, and were attended by one hundred and sixty-eight scholars. They were provided instruction at an average cost per month for each pupil of $1.09. The total amount expended during the year for school purposes was almost $1,900. The Christian Church of Springboro was organized in 1825, when Rev. Asa Morrison gathered together a large congregation. The Whitmans, Baldwins, Sturtevants, Wells, Halls, and Bowmans were among the early members. The first meetings were conducted in the schoolhouse, and about 1845 a- commodious frame edifice was erected on the south side of Cussawago Street, it being the first church building within the limits of the borough. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Springboro was organized in 1828 by Rev. Daniel Ritchie, of the Albion circuit. The five original members were Joel Jones and his wife, Maria Cook, Mary Cook, and George R. Cook, and the first meetings were held on the upper floor of Butler's tannery. They were continued there for a year or two, after which they were held in the school- house for five or six years. About that time Mr. Butler erected a store room at the northeast corner of Main and Cussawago streets, and its upper floor was used for meetings until 1864, when a frame church was built on the north side of Cussawago Street, at a cost of $1,200. The First Baptist Church of Springboro was organized in 1833 by Rev. O. L. Dunfee, of North Shenango. The fii-st members were Nathaniel Pond, Henry Wait, John Gillett, Liba Woodard, Silas Cooper, Hiram Shel- don, Mary Pond, Polly Wait, Tryphosia Conover, Sybil Woodard, Polly Gleasofi, Mary Cutler, Ruth Gillett, Jerusha Mann and Sylvia Hammon. Rev. Adrian Foote, of Meadville, preached occasionally for a few months, after OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 617 which Rev. Levi Fuller was secured as pastor. For some time meetings were held in the old hotel, and later on in the schoolhouse east of town, until, in 1853, they erected a church building-. In May, 1880, it was burned, but work was at once commenced on a new structure, which was dedicated in 1882. It is a handsome Gothic building, with a good-sized chapel in the rear. A large membership worships there. Rev. H. H. Emmett being the present pastor. CHAPTER XXIV. "STEUBEN TOWNSHIP. STEUBEN is an interior township, lying east of the center of the county, and contains 14,394 acres. It was formed in 185 1 from parts of Troy and Athens. Athens bounds it on the north, Rome and Oil Creek on the east, Troy on the south and Randolph and Richmond on the west. The larger portion consists of land of the Seventh Donation District, with some tracts of the Holland Land Company in the eastern part. It is drained in the east by Oil Creek and the small streams tributary to it, and in the west by the headwaters of Muddy Creek and the northern branch of Sugar Creek. The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, extends north and south through the eastern part, with a station at Tryonville. The land has been settled very slowly, and although almost a century has elapsed since the first settlement was made, there still remain some tracts which, have not been brought under cultivation. Dennis Carrol, who is considered the first settler, is supposed to have located in the eastern part in 1808, or even earlier, and for twenty years was its only occupant. He did not remain in one place, but wandered about, and he was also an early settler in Rome Township. He built a cabin in Steuben and remained there until his wife died, when he removed to Erie City. In 1 82 1 Philip Navy, a native of Germany, came from Lancaster County and settled in the northwestern part of the township. Before coming out he had exchanged his house and lot in Lancaster for the farm on which he settled, and upon his arrival found that he had paid for it at the rate of eight dollars an acre, four times as much as it was worth. Dense forests then covered this section, and he was forced to cut a road through before he could bring his family to his tract, leaving them in the meantime at Newtontown, in Troy Township. He spent the remainder of his life in the work of clearr ing his farm and bringing it under cultivation. At first there were no neigh- 6i8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. bors within a radius of six miles. The early settlers in this section did not stop to fell the trees, they girdled the oak and chestnut, and then cleared out the underbrush with fire and planted their crops under the bare limbs of the trees. Five or ten acres of land might be planted thus the first season, and the crop, as it ripened in the autumn, would be gathered with the least possible waste, as it was the food supply of the pioneer and his family, and upon its safe preservation depended their existence, perhaps, in the struggle to live through the winter. While the first crop was growing the pioneer had time to construct a cabin of some sort, to serve him as a refuge from the winter's cold, the wild beasts of the forest, and the savage red men. It was usual for a number of settlers to go into the wilderness together and settle near to one another, so as to be able to assist in case of need. To erect a log cabin required the combined efforts of several men, and on these occasions the settlers from all the surrounding coufftry turned out to assist. If a settler were completely isolated from his fellow men his lot was a hard one, for without help he could build only a small and temporary shelter. In case of sickness or accident, too, he ran the risk of suffering before the neces- sary assistance could be summoned. Philip Navy, being ill one day and with- out any meat in the house, hired Samuel Winton to hunt a day in the woods for him, the pay to be one dollar. Winton went into the woods and killed seven deer, bringing them to Navy's cabin, and returned to his own residence, seven miles away, in the same day. Navy died in 1824, and soon afterward his widow married Walter Wood, who had come out from Vermont several years before. They lived on the farm for a short time, then removed to near Centerville. John Baker, Zephaniah Kingsley, George Northum and Silas Mason made a settlement in 1822 in the vicinity of Townville. The two latter, both of whom came from Fort Ann, New York, located just west of the village, but bo|h afterward removed from the township. Baker secured land north of the village, where he remained throughout life, and numerous descendants still reside in the same vicinity. The Kingsleys settled upon the present site of Townville. Harvey Hull also located there about the same time. James and David Tryon came in 1828 and took up their residence upon the present site of Tryonville. They had been operating a carding and fulling mill in Rome Township, and came to Steuben with the intention of lumbering. They secured more than a thousand acres of land, and made the first improve- ment of any consequence in this part of Steuben, at one time having three sawmills in operation. James R. Maginnis settled the next year in the same vicinity. About 1832 Reuben Phillips came from Waterloo, New York, and set- tled north of Townville. He was a Quaker in religious belief. He engaged in farming, which he followed throughout life, leaving a family of three sons OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 619 and two daughters. The Winstons, Gilletts, Ponds, Smiths and other fam- ihes moved into the township from 1830 to 1840, and most of them are still represented by their descendants. The population of the township has in- creased slowly, but steadily. Lumbering was the principal industry, the country being full of fine timber, and great quantities of it were sawed and shipped to Pittsburg. Many pine shingles were also made, being at that date split out and shaved by hand. During the oil excitement Steuben Township received an imijetus, the rapid growth of Titusville and vicinity furnishing a ready market for lumber and farm products at advanced prices. Much of the eastern part of the township was leased by oil speculators, but the test wells put down failed to develop any of the looked-for petroletim. No schools existed in Steuben during the earlier years. In 1856 there were six schools in operation during four months of the year. Two hundred and eighteen pupils attended them, the average cost for each pupil per month being twenty-seven cents. Five hundred and twenty-five dollars was raised during the year for school purposes. In his annual report for that year the State superintendent of schools said, "Great, improvements have been made in the art of teaching and in the standards of qualifications among our teachers ; in the architecture and furniture of the schoolhouses ; in the establishment of graded schools, and in the apparatus so needed in the schoolroom. And it is gratifying to hear that a large proportion of the teachers are natives of the State and have been educated in our public schools. The duty of fostering our system of public instruction need not now be urged. It has been gain- ing in strength and usefulness for twenty years. It has conquered prejudice and now fairly rests on enlightened public opinion. * * * The great principle of universal suffrage, which lies at the foundation of our theory of government, can only be protected from abuse by the education of the masses, and without it they are insensible to its perfection and can have no just appreciation of the value of its perpetuity." In 1896, the schools, which were barely established forty years before, had increased in number to seven, and from their former unstable condition to a high degree of efficiency. The term had been increased in length to seven months, almost doubling the educational work of the schools in that respect alone. Two hundred and nine pupils were in attendance, at an aver- age cost to the township per month for each scholar of $1.56. An amount exceeding $2,300 was raised in the township during 1896 and expended by the authorities for the support of the schools. Clappville, a little hamlet in the eastern part of the township, was set- tled by Ralph Clapp, a Methodist minister who came here about 1840. He built a sawmill, but after a few years' residence went tO' other parts. The village, which lies about a mile southwest of TryonviUe, consists of a little store and eight or ten houses. 620 OUR COUN'TY AND ITS PEOPLE. Tryonville is a village in the eastern part of the township, in the valley of Oil Creek. It was settled by David and James Tryon, who came there from Rome Township in 1828. They kept a few supplies for their mill, hands, and established a sort of store. In 1848 E. B. Lee brought out a con- siderable stock of merchandise. Lyman Jones kept the first tavern and James Tryon the first school. The village contains forty or fifty houses, a few stores, and the usual small industries found in a place of its size. It is stretched along both sides of Oil Creek. The Western New York and Penn- sylvania Railroad passes within a half mile of the town, and a station has been established there, where quite a little hamlet has sprung up. A Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Tryonville in 1833, with a small mem- bership. Among its original members were James Tryon and wife, David Tryon and wife, and Mrs. Harriot Matthews. James Tryon was the moving spirit in effecting the organization, and was leader of the class during forty 3^ears, being succeeded by David Titus. The early meetings were held in the schoolhouse, until in 1870 a large frame structure was built at a cost of about $7,000. BOROUGH OF TOWNVILLE. The borough, of Townville is situated in the southwestern corner of Steuben Township, on the southern side of Muddy Creek. The first to settle in the wilderness on the site which the village now occupies was Noah Town, who emigrated from Granville, New York, in 1824, and after residing some time in Randolph Township and in Meadville, came to the banks of Muddy Creek in 1831. He cleared and cultivated a farm, at the same time carrying on a lumbering business, erecting a sawmill on Muddy Creek about 1833. He hauled the lumber across country to Oil Creek and from there shipped it by river to Pittsburg. He established the first store in the village and operated it for some time, afterward removing to Erie. Zepheniah Kingsley came from New York State in 1822 or 1823 and settled with his three sons in what is now the western part of the village. His son Ransom built a sawmill on Muddy Creek at about the same time that Town constructed his, and together the}' commenced the work of clearing the country of some of the heavy timber that then covered it with a dense growth. It was several years before a road was constructed through the forest to the little settlement. The elder Kmgsley was appointed the first postmaster and the oflice received the name of "Kingsleys'." John Baker and Harvey Hull came soon afterward, the latter erecting a third sawmill on Muddy Creek. In 1849 the settlement contained a store, a blacksmith shop, a cabinet shop, and eight dwellings. Soon after this Dr. Adams came in and was the first resident physician, remaining several years. A. Hamlin erected a tannery and about 1850 Lewis Wood built a steam grist mill. Var- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 621 loiis factories and mills for the manufacture of woodenware have been estab- lished at different times, utilizing the timber with which the surrounding country is covered. * Townville was incorporated as a borough in 1867, and W. R. King was elected the first Burgess. The dwelling houses are scattered for a mile along l)oth sides of Main Street, the principal thoroughfare, which runs northwest and southeast. In the southern part of the village it is intersected by Fre- mont Street, and the "corners" thus formed constitute the business center of the community. The village, with a population of about four hundred, con- tains rather more than the usual number of stores of various sorts, shops, mills, factories, and establishments of different kinds, and is the trading center for a large area of country. The earliest school held in Steuben Township is supposed tO' have been taught in Townville. In i860, before the incorporation of the borough, the Township Directors erected a schoolhouse here, and the citizens of the village added a second story to serve as a public hall. The necessity for more room for school purposes led to its conversion to a' schoolroom. In 1896 the bor- ough contained three schools, in session seven months of the year, and at- tended by one hundred and twenty scholars. More than one thousand dollars was raised and expended during the year for their support. The Troy Baptist Church was organized in Townville, in the Kingsley schoolhouse, in 1836, with a large membership. After an existence of seven years it disbanded and went out of existence. In 185 1 the Steuben Baptist Church was organized, including in its membership the greater number of the members of the old Troy CUurch. In 1852 a frame edifice was erected in the western end of the borough at a cost of about $1,000. In 1881 the name was changed to the First Baptist Church of Townville. A Methodist Church was organized at Townville in 1845, among the original members being J. A. Pond, Harvey Hull and Gamaliel Phillips. Soon afterward Dr. William Nason, Dr. Luther Pearse and Mr. Langworthy united with the society, and became prominent members. Until 1849 the meetings were held in the schoolhouse, when a frame church was erected on Main Street. In 1877 a larger and handsomer structure was erected on the oppo- site side of the street, which cost about $5,000. The Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church was organized at Townville in 1867 by Rev. Henry Fitch, the nine original members being Peter and Eliza A. Rose, Mary A. Rose, W. S. Rose, S. D. and Mary L. Guion, Mary Myers, and Emily and Ann B. Rose. The church building was commenced in 1867, but was not completed until 1873. Its total cost was about $5,000. The organization grew -out of Episcopal meetings held in the village in 1862 by Rev. S. T. Lord, of Meadville. The church has never had a regular minister, being supplied from Meadville, Titusville and Corry, 622 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Noah Town, the founder of the village, was a member of the Congrega- tional Church, and witlj his family and several others organized a society of that belief at an early date. Ebenezer Harris, Harvey Coburn, Hezekiah Wadsworth and L. L. Lamb were among the first members. A church edifice was erected in 1845, ^'^'^ ^'^^ some time regular services were held, but the society becoming greatly reduced in membership, the meetings were discon- tinued. CHAPTER XXV. SUMMERHILL TOWNSHIP. SUMMERHILL, an interior township, lying west of the center of the county, is regular in outline, extending four miles north and south and six miles east and west, and contains 14,603 acres of land. It is watered in the western part by Conneaut Creek and numerous small streams tributary to it, and in the eastern part by a small stream which empties into Little Cussawago Creek, in the eastern part of Cussawago Township, and by the headwaters of Pine Run, which flows south and empties into Conneaut Lake. The old Beaver and Erie Canal extends through the township, along the valley of Conneaut Creek. Abundant springs are found in every part of the township. The land in the eastern part is comparatively level, becoming more rolling in the west. Excepting along the flats of the Conneaut, where it is a rich loam, the soil is clayey, well adapted to grazing and grain raising. Oak, maple, ash and chestnut are the principal timbers. The township was organized in 1829 and included the northern part of Summit. In 1841, when Summit was organized, it was reduced to its present boundaries, Spring lying on the north, Hayfield on the east, Summit on the south and Conneaut on the west. Of the thirty-six tracts included within the township boundaries, twenty had been patented by individuals before the land companies commenced locating claims, a fact which speaks for the good quality of the soil and the early date of the settlements. These individual tracts are for the most part situated along the valley of Conneaut Creek, where, in consequence, the early pioneers of the township fixed their habitations. Six tracts in the eastern part of the township belonged to the Holland Land Company, while the Pennsylvania Population Company held the title to land in the southern part. James McDowell, of Scotch extraction, took up a tract of land on Con- neaut Creek, below Dicksonburgh, about 1796, and this is believed to have OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 623 been the first settlement within the township. He came from the Susque- hani^a Valley, and remained a resident of the township until his death. He is still represented by numerous descendants. Daniel Myers came from cen- tral Pennsylvania about the same time, and settled on a tract next to Mc- Dowell, near the center of the township, which had been surveyed in the name of A. Power. John Stirling with his three sons, James, Washington and Andrew, came soon afterward and settled in the same vicinity, all becoming the proprietors of fine farms. James Fetterman, a young, unmarried man, came at the same time and occupied land about a mile and a half southeast of Conneautville. He married Betsy McDowell in 1798, and this is said to have been the first marriage in the township. He at one time owned eleven hundred acres of land, part of which still remains in the possession of his descendants. Valentine Gwin, of French descent, came to the township in 1803, His father had been one of those who accompanied Lafayette to this country, and served under him in the Federal army until the close of the Revolution. Nfeal McKay, an early justice of the peace, followed the occupation of a weaver. Robert McKay, his son, was a captain of militia during the War of 18 12, and served at Erie while Perry's fleet was being built. John McTier was a stone mason by trade, and his services in building stone chimneys for the log houses were often called into requisition, and made him a valuable member of the community. Samuel Gowdy patented a tract of land in the southwestern corner of the township, and soon afterward married Betsy Gilliland. He manufactured the wooden plows, such as were used at that period, and.was a valued accession to the settlement. He was a colonel of militia in 1812, and commanded a regiment at Erie during the construction of Perry's fleet. Settlements had been made in all parts of the township soon after the beginning of the present century. John and Michael Winger built a saw- mill on Conneaut Creek in 1820, the first in the township. George Dickson operated a sawmill on Conneaut Creek at an early date, and also owned a grist mill at Dicksonburgh. Lumbering was for a long time one of the most important occupations, and during the days of the canal several sawmills were in operation in various parts of the township. In 1828 James Beatty built a carding mill about a mile south of Dicksonburgh, which was success- fully conducted for some time. The first distillery in what is now Summerhill was erected by James Fetterman, and the second by John McDowell. The latter operated his still for several years, and then abandoned the business from a religious convic- tion that it was wrong to manufacture intoxicating liquors. Scruples of this kind seldom occurred, as the custom of using whisky was in those days very general. The pioneers of this region, descended as many of them were from the people of Scotland and Ireland, came very honestly by their love of 624 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. whisky. There was nothing disreputable in either making or drinking whisky at that day. No temperance societies then existed; to drink whisky w^s as common and as. honorable as to eat bread, and the quahty of "Pennsylvania whisky" was proverbial both in the East and the West. Distilling was then esteemed as honorable and as respectable as any other business, and it was early commenced and extensively carried on in northwestern Pennsylvania. There was no market for the grain, a horse could carry only four bushels over the mountains, but he could transport the product of twenty-four bushels in the shape of whisky, which therefore became the most important item of remittance in pay for salt, sugar and iron. When a tax was imposed on whisky the people of western Pennsylvania regarded it as the farmers of to- day would regard a tax on lard, pork or flour. A little log schoolhouse was erected in 1812 about a half mile north of Di'cksonburgh, and this was the first in the township. It was used for school purposes about six years, and Triphosa Rugg, Samuel Steele and Whately Barrett were its early teachers. In 1836 there were six common schools in Summerhill Township, presided over by nine teachers. The male teachers received thirteen dollars per month, the female one dollar and twenty-five cents. The schools were in session three and one-half months of the year, and were attended by two hundred and sixty-three pupils. The character of the teachers was reported as good, and their qualifications such as to do justice to the several branches taught. Reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar and geo- graphy were the studies in which instruction was given, and the progress of the scholars was favorably commented upon. In 1896 the number of schools had been increased to twelve, with a school year of seven months. The salary of the teachers did not vary so much as sixty years before, the pay of both male and female instructors being twenty-four dollars per month. Two hundred and thirty pupils were in at- tendance, at an average monthly cost to the township of two dollars and twenty-four cents for each scholar. During the year $2,800 was raised and expended for the support of the schools. Dicksonburgh, a small settlement in the southern portion of the township, is the only village in Summerhill. It contains a score of dwellings, a school, store, church and blacksmith shop. It was on the Beaver and Erie Canal, and in the early days was known as McDowell's Postoffice. George Dickson, for whom the place was named, built a grist mill here, and John Thompson and Thomas Proctor were early merchants. It is on the line of the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad. Rev. James Quinn was in 1801 sent by the Baltimore Methodist Epis- copal Conference as circuit preacher to the Pittsburg district, to form a circuit extending from Lake Erie to the Allegheny and Ohio rivers. After laboring for some time he was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Shackelford, who filled out OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 625 the remainder of the year. In 1802 he organized a class in Summerhill Township at the house of James McDowell. James McDowell and wife, George Nelson and wife, and Mrs. Johnson were the earliest members. The Erie circuit soon contained twenty appointments, and the preacher was obliged to travel four hundred miles each month in order to fill them. The McDowell class was at first attached to the Summerhill circuit, afterward to the Har- monsburgh. For many years meetings were held in the cabins of the mem- bers, afterward in schoolhouses, until the church was built. A class of the Methodist Church was organized in the northeastern part of the township as early as 1825, the more prominent members being Nelson Smith, Edmund Greenlee, Andreas Bagley, Daniel Bagley and Elisha Curtis. The meetings were for many years held in an o\^ log schoolhouse, until a frame edifice was erected in the extreme northeastern corner of the toWnship. The membership has decreased considerably, as it was formerly, a large society. A class of the Evangelical Association Church was organized by Rev. James Grossman in 1863, with twenty-five members. Minor Walton, Balfzer Gehr, Mrs. Lawrence, E. Stevens and Nathan Stevens were among the first members, and Rev. Grossman became the first pastor. Meetings were held in a schoolhouse in the eastern part of Conneaut Township until 1871, when a church edifice was erected near the western line of the township at a cost of $1,800. CHAPTER XXVI. SUMMIT TOWNSHIP. SUMMIT is an interior township, lying west of the center of the county, and contains 14,717 acres of land. It is six miles in length and four in width, being bounded on the north by Summerhill, on the east by Hay- field and Vernon, on the south by Sadsbury, and on the west by Pine and Conneaut. Conneaut Inlet, or Pine Run, and its tributaries drain the eastern part, entering Conneaut Lake in the southeastern part of the township. Con- neaut Greek rises in the southwestern part and flows north, draining the western part of the township. An elevated ridge extends between the two creeks, separating the tributaries of French Greek from those of Lake Erie, and making the division between the two systems, and it is from this summit, as it is_ called, that the township takes its name. Its surface was covered with several varieties of timber, pine and hemlock in the south, with oak, 40 626 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. beech, sycamore, sugar maple and cherry in tfie north. The surface of the township is fairly level, and no better land for the cultivation of grain exists in the county. In the early days the soil of the southern part was rather wet, but with the removal of timber it has been dry and tillable. The township was formed in 1841, while M. B. Lowry was a member of the State Legislature. He was then a resident of Harmonsburgh, at that time in the extreme northern part of Sadsbury, and the citizens of that place were obliged to traverse the whole of the township to attend the elections held at Evansburgh. For the convenience of himself and neighbors Mr. Lowry secured the passage of an act of Assembly, in 1841, establishing a new town- ship, the southern half being taken from Sadsbury and the northern from Summerhill. The western portion had, until 1829, formed a part of Con- neaut, while all of the remainder was included within the original limits of Sadsbury. Alexander Power, in 1795, located a tract at the mouth of Conneaut Inlet, and this is considered the first settlement in the township. He was at that time engaged with a sui'veying party in the western part of the county, but he soon afterward settled upon his land and erected a sawmill upon the Inlet in 1798. This is said to have been the first mill built in Crawford County west of French Creek. Mr. Power did not remain long in Sum- mit, but emigrated to the north and settled upon the site of Conneautville. Five tracts along the eastern line of the township 'became the property of the Holland Land Company, and seven in the southwest corner of the Penn- sylvania Population Company, but all of the remainder of the township was located by individuals. During the years 1797-8-9 the Holland Company made contracts for the settlement of its lands, but none of tho'Se who received the tracts are remembered as residents of the township except William and Robert Burns, who were hardy pioneers and soon left the county. Much more permanent was the early settlement of the Population tracts. Between the years 1797 and 1804 most of their tracts had been disposed of, chiefly to hardy settlers of German extraction, who remained as permanent residents and whose descendants still live in the county. Adam Slump and Christopher Kauffman settled tracts in the southwestern corner. Jacob, JosqDh, Samuel, Adam, John and Baltzer Gehr were brothers, of German extraction, who came from the eastern part of the State, and all settled on farms in one locality. They were among the first settlers, their contracts bearing date of 1797, and their descendants still possess the land. One of them, Baltzer Gehr, was for a long time, at the advanced age of more than one hundred years, the oldest man in Crawford County. With their families they soon formed a large settlement. John Gehr was a captain in the War of 1812. Jacob Flickinger was a German Dunkard, and with his large family subsequently removed from the township. One of his sons, John, was a OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 627 noted runner, and once distinguished himself by his fleetness of foot by pur- suing a wild turkey and catching it just as the fowl was about to give up the contest and take flight with its wings. Samuel and David Yorty settled in 1803 in the southwestern part. But the settlement advanced most rapidly on the individual lands in the central portion of the township. James McClure was a young unmarried man who came from Mifflin County in 1798, and purchased from John Field a tract of four hundred acres on the western banks of Conneaut Lake. Re- turning to Mifflin County he induced his cousin, John McClure, toi come with him to his new possessions. John was a carpenter by trade, and the excel- lence of the pine timber in that vicinity led him to remain, and they erected adjoining cabins upon the tract, which James divided with his cousin. He was married in 1803 and resided upon his farm, with the exception of an interval of thirteen years passed in Mifflin County, until his death, in 1852. His cousin John remained a lifelong resident of Summit, his death, which oc- curred in 1845, resulting from malaria engendered by the overflow of the lake when raised for canal purposes. Adam Foust was a German of some means who came from Berks County and settled on the eastern side of the lake in 1797. He obtained by purchase and settlement thirteen hundred acres of land in Summit and Sadsbury townships. He had eight sons and three daughters, and to each of his children he gave one hundred acres of land and an ax. He remained a resident of the township until his death. William Butler, a native of Ireland, settled as early as 1 797 in the eastern part of Summit. Silas Chidester, a native of New Jersey, came to the township from Pittsburg about 1800. He settled a tract of land about a mile south of Harmonsburgh, where he made his permanent home. Jacob Looper, a German, remained a resident of the township throughout life, following his trade of blacksmithing. His descendants still live in the township. William McFadden took up land one and a half miles west of Harmonsburgh and was a lifelong resident. John Inglehoop, a soldier of the Revolution, settled in the northern part of Summit, where he passed the remainder of his life. As early as 1797 John Smith settled in the northern part of the township, where his descendants still reside. Samuel Shotwell also made an early settlement. Archibald Sloan came from Carlisle and located about a mile north of Harmonsburgh. He was a member of the Seceder Church, and died on his farm about 1810, leaving a widow and ten children, who remained on the place a number of years afterward. Matthew, John and Thomas McClure, three brothers, came from Ireland, and at an early date settled in the northern part of Summit. Hugh Gilliland and his sons Hugh and Robert were early settlers in the northwestern part. Joseph Garwood removed to the same locality from Fayette County as early 628 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. as 1797. He purchased four hundred acres of land from a Mr. McDowell, for which it is said the consideration was a barrel of flour and a watch. The elder Garwood subsequently removed to Illinois, but his son, Joseph Gar- wood, remained a permanent resident. All the above mentioned pioneers had secured homes in Summit before 18 10, and others came in and gradually took up the land in every part. When the War of 18 12 broke out the settlers of this as well as other regions were frightened by reports of contemplated Indian attacks. On one occasion the scattering inhabitants of the northwestern portion of the township gathered at the cabin of Joseph Garwood upon hearing the report of an imminent at- tack, and remained there until two of their number, who had been dispatched to Erie, returned and dispelled their fears. The northern end of Conneaut Lake lies in Summit Township, which includes most of the grounds of Exposition Park. This was formerly known as Lynce's Landing, and is now the most popular of all the resorts on the shores of Conneaut Lake. In 1892 an association was formed which pur- chased about 145 acres of land near the head of the lake for use as an ex- position grounds, and it was incorporated under the act of Assembly of 1874 as the Conneaut Lake Exposition Company. Major A. C. Huidekoper, Col- onel S. B. Dick, Joseph Sibley, Cyrus Kitchen, Stewart Wilson, S. J. Logan, John J. Shryock, Colonel Frank Mantor, John S. Kean and W. G. Powell were the incorporators. A track was laid, connecting the grounds with the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railway system, and numerous buildings were constructed. A spacious auditorium, a pavilion, an exposition building, stores, offices, hotels and boat landings have been erected, broad avenues laid out, ■ and numerous improvements made. A system of water works was constructed, and the grounds and buildings are lighted by electricity. It is a favorite resort for picnickers, campers and pleasure seekers, and excursion trains are run during the season from Pittsburg, Erie, Franklin, Meadville, Greenville and numerous other points, the number of visitors in one day fre- quently ireaching five or six thousand. In the summer of 1897 a brigade encampment of the National Guard of Pennsylvania was held here. The Exposition Grounds were selected as the meeting place of the Conneaut Lake Christian Culture Assembly, an organization of the Baptist churches of northwestern Pennsylvania, and in June of 1897 the first assembly was held, which proved of great success. The present officers of the exposition company are Major A. C. Huidekoper, President; John E. Reynolds, Secre- tary and Treasurer, and Colonel S. B. Dick, R. C. McMasters, S. J. Logan, John S. Kean, W. G. Powell, H. C. Crawford, Sarah M. Mantor and John J. Shryock, Directors. The Beaver and Erie Canal passed north and south through the western part of the township. Its construction through the township was attended OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 629 with serious difficulty on account of the great beds of quicksand which for more than two miles underlaid its course. The Meadville branch, or feeder, of the canal entered the main canal in Summit Township, and the point of junction was the highest point along the whole route. An extensive peat and marl bed existed about half a mile northwest of Harmonsburgh. The marl is eight or ten feet in thickness, and is covered with peat to a depth of two or three feet. The marl is much used as a fertilizer and is also burned into lime, several grades of which are produced. The peat, which is still in process of formation, is impure, owing to a muddy sediment deposited during high waters by a small stream which oozes through it. The first school in the township was taught by Mrs. Knox, in her cabin, at an early date.^ Carson Sloan was the first male teacher. There were in 1 896 ten schools in the township, in which instruction was given seven months of the year. Two hundred and twenty-two scholars were in attendance, at an average monthly cost to the township for each scholar of one dollar and sixty-three cents. During the year almost four thousand dollars was ex- pended by the township authorities for educational purposes. The only village in the township is Harmonsburgh, which is located about a half a mile east of the center. Henry Bright, a German Dunkard, in 1802 purchased and settled the farm upon which he afterward laid out the village. He was by trade a blacksmith, and followed that avocation in con- nection with farming during his earlier years. He remained a resident of this farm until his death in 1838, and his descendants still reside in the locality. He laid out the village in 1818, and for many years it was known as Brights- town. Joseph McMurtry built the first house and used it as a tavern. Whately Barrett, George Cook and Mr. Morgan were merchants, while Nathaniel Jones and John Rice were the village smiths of the early days. Two tanneries were at one time operated here, but both have now gone out of existence. The village contains thirty or forty houses, together with churches, stores, shops and a schoolhouse. A German Reformed Church was organized in the township at a very early date, and a log house was erected near the eastern bank of the lake. Mr. Foust was a prominent and active member, and a large congregation was formed, including the Browns, Traces and other families. Many of the mem- bers afterward united with other churches, the congregation was disbanded and the house of worship went to decay. Contemporaneous with its existence was that of a Methodist meeting house which stood across the corners from the present Catholic Church. The settlers for many miles around attended here, but religious services were held in it for but a short period. A fire in the woods was communicated to the building, which was burned to the ground and never rebuilt. An Albright or Evangelical Association Church was organized at an 630 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. early date, probably about 1825, but as the records are lost, its history is not known with certainty. The Gehrs were the leading members. Services were held in private dwellings and in the schoolhouse until a frame church was erected in the southwestern part of the township about 1855. John Sibert, Joseph Long and John Bernhart were the first pastors. The Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception had its origin in services conducted in this locality about 1840, and continued for many years in the house and barn of Philip McGuire. The construction of the Erie and Beaver Canal brought quite a number of Catholic families tO' this neighbor- hood, among the first of whom were Philip McGuire, Robert Robinson, Tim- othy Clark, Michael McCarthy, Felix Duffy and John and Daniel Boyle. The congregation was at first attended by the priest from Crossingville and afterward from Conneautville. A house of worship was erected in the north- western part of the township in 1852. The Methodist Episcopal Church of. Harmonsburgh was organized early in the history of the township, but the exact date cannot be given. A Union Church was erected in the village in 1821 which was free to all Christian denominations, and this was used by the Methodists until 1840, when they built a frame building, with a basement, in the northeastern part of the village. John Smith, Watson Smith and Thomas McCray were among the earliest members of the church. The Harmonsburgh Presbyterian Church was organized in 1829 by Rev. David McKinney. Services had been held there by various ministers for some time previous to this, and for a short time Rev. Timothy Alden had been stated supply, by whom John McClure and John Neal were ordained elders. In 1829 the church was formally organized with forty-one members, David Breckenridge, Thomas Chidester, Robert Stockton, John McClure and John Neal being installed as elders. Many of the members had formerly been connected with the Meadville Presbyterian Church. For many years they were dependent upon supplies. Their early meetings were held in the Union Church, but in 1844 a frame edifice, situated just north of the village, was erected, at a cost of about eight hundred dollars. Revs. Peter Hassinger and J. W. Dickey were among the early pastors. CHAPTER XXVII. TROY TOWNSHIP. TROY TOWNSHIP lies upon the southern border of the county, east of the center, and contains 18,407 acres of land. It is watered in the western and central parts by the north and east branches of Sugar Creek, which rise in the northern part, flow south across the township and unite near the southwestern corner. Oil Creek traverses the northeastern part. Numerous small streams water the township, from which the land rises gradually on either side, only to fall again toward other streams. The land in most parts is a clayey loam, and was in the early days covered with dense forests of beech, maple and hemlock, with a considerable sprinkling of chestnut, ash and oak. Most of the timber has now been removed, but lum- bering is still an important industry. The township was organized in 1829 and originally included what is now the southern part of Steuben. Before 1829 the eastern part had be- longed to Oil Creek Township, the northwestern to Randolph, and the south- ern prolongation was attached to Wayne. It is irregular in outline, being bounded on the north by Steuben, on the east by Oil Creek, pn the south by Venango County, and on the west by Randolph. The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad crosses the northeastern corner.^ Most of Troy Township belongs within the Seventh Donation District, the irregularly shaped southern part lying in the eighth. A strip along the eastern border and some tracts in the southern part of the township belonged to the Holland Land Company. Mistakes were made in running the lines of the Seventh Dona- tion District; and the Holland Company's tracts to the south of them were surveyed upon the supposition that the Donation lines had been correctly lo- cated. It resulted that several years afterward the southeastern corner of one of the Donation tracts was found in the Holland Company's land, more than half a mile from its supposed location, and this discovery was the be- ginning of litigation which involved the title tO' much of the land in the southern part of the township. In most cases the differences were at last amicably adjusted. There were various causes of dispute between the settlers on account of conflicting claims. It sometimes happened that two pioneers settled upon the same tract, building their cabins remote from one another, each at first ignorant qf the presence of the other. When the double settlement was dis- 631 632 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. covei-ed a contest for possession would begin. Several settled on Holland tracts and attempted to hold them directly from the State. Charles Ridgway settled on a Holland tract in the northeastern corner of Troy, in 1800, and determined to locate there. He built a sawmill on Oil Creek at Newton- town, and then returned to Fayette County to secure the necessary iron work for the mill, leaving William Kerr in charge, with directions to build a cabin. During the absence of Ridgway, John Reynolds, a settler of Scotch-Irish descent, commenced the erection of a cabin on the same tract. Kerr, soon learning of this, zealous to protect the interests of his employer by disposing of the conflicting claim at a single blow, felled a tree across the half finished cabin of Reynolds one evening and crushed it. Reynolds made no com- plaint, but when Kerr had finished the cabin which he was building for Ridgway, he waited until Kerr was absent and then took possession of the place. Kerr, in his turn, again recovered possession of the cabin, and placed a lock on the door, and thus things went on for some time. The matter was, however, finally settled in a friendly manner. Ridgway remained on the tract three years, operating his mill, and afterward removed to Hydetown. The permanent settlement of the township was commenced by James Luce, who came from Essex County, New Jersey, about 1795 and located on a tract in the southern part. His wagon is said to have been the third one which left Pittsburg for Meadville, and when he erected his cabin there was no one living within nine miles of him. In his native State he had been in the employ pf William Shotwell, who was acting as agent for Field's claim, and it was on account of the suggestion of his former employer that he came to Crawford County. His tract, which was a portion of Field's claim, was located near the eastern branch of Sugar Creek. It was on the old road made afld used by the French between Fort Le Boeuf and Fort Franklin, and Mr. Luce removed to the wilderness with the intention of keeping a tavern on this road. But he was disappointed, for the road was not improved as had been expected, and there were but few travelers on it. Instead, the pike was built through Meadville, entirely supplanting the old military road. But he remained here with his family, in the deep recesses of the forest, remote from any neighbors, surrounded only by the savage natives. He was a stone mason by trade, but he now turned his attention to agriculture, and remained on his farm during his life. For many years Luce was the only resident of the township, and in 1 8 10 not more than a dozen settlers had arrived. Joseph Armstrong came from one of the central counties of the State, and in 1805 settled in the south- ern part of Troy Township. During the first five years the family had no meat except bear meat and venison, but later pork was introduced. Mr. Arm- strong remained in the township throughout life, raising a family of fifteen children, ten of whom survived him, and his descendants still reside in the same OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 6jj locality. Daniel Ogden and Amos Messer both settled in the township early in the century, but remained for a short time only. Anson McKinsey, a Scotchman, settled at what is now Fauncetown, but after a stay of two or three years removed to Venango County. From 1810 to 1820 but few additional settlers came to Troy. William Sheffield, a retired sea captain, came from New Haven, Connecticut, in 1813, and settled at Newtontown, where he erected a sawmill, and for several years carried on an extensive business. He was afterward associated in the first store established at Titusville, and after a few years' residence there he went back to the sea, the atti*actions of a seafaring life proving too strong 'to be resisted. Jonathan Benn had in 1805 emigrated from Westmoreland County and settled in what is now the southeastern part of Mead on land be- longing to his brother-in-law. Job Colbert. Desiring to acquire a home of his own he came to Troy Township in 181 1 and settled on a tract in the southern part, which he purchased from the Holland Land Company. He was a local preacher of the Methodist faith. Andrew Proper, of Dutch descent, came from New- York State and settled in Venango County, and in 1818 removed to the southern'part of Troy. He was a member of the Bap- tist Church, and died in his eighty-ninth year. Edward Francis, a colored settler,, better known as "Black Francis," settled in 1819 near Troy Center, but afterward removed to Mercer County. ' The settlers during the next decade were not more numerous. William Williams came from Erie County in 1822 and settled on Sugar Creek. He was a Freewill Baptist, married a daughter of James Luce, and remained in the township until his death. Joseph Crecroft settled in the northern part of the township in 1826. Stephen Atwater came from Connecticut, and in 1823 contracted for five hundred acres of land in the Seventh Donation Dis- trict, on which he settled and remained until his death. He was a carpenter, and was well advanced in years when he came to the township. His son-in- law, Oliver Cowles, came about the same time, but afterward removed to the West. Several had made temporary settlements in Troy before 1830 and afterward removed from the township, and up to that date those who have been mentioned, with their descendants, constituted the entire population. By 1840 the emigration became more steady, and a large portion of the land was soon taken up. The whole valley of Sugar Creek once contained a dense Indian popu- lation, and many graves and other remains are scattered throughout its extent. Tradition says that the French, while in possession, worked a silver mine in this vicinity, and an excavation made some years since brought to light a quantity of charcoal, a furnace and a smelting vessel, at a depth of six feet below the surface. Several specimens of ore were obtained and the traces of a very deep excavation could be seen. It aroused considerable excite- 634 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. inent for a while, but as no one proceeded with the work of producing the metal, it soon died away. It is the opinion of many that valuable deposits of lead, and perhaps of the precious metals, will yet be discovered here. It is cer- tain that the Indians procured their lead somewhere in this vicinity, but as they have always been jealous of their mines accident alone has revealed them to the white men. The French were equally anxious to conceal them, as they ex- pected some day to regain possession of the empire which they had lost in America. In proof of this may be cited the various and valuable articles found in the fort at Presque Isle, and the curious iron chest and its contents concealed in the vicinity of Fort Le Boeuf. The French were undoubtedly aware of the existence of the mines, but did not reveal the secret. Xo nation ever enjoyed the confidence of the Indians so thoroughly as the French, and none used that power so kindly. The traditions of the lead procured by the Indians here, the silver ore known to have been taken from this vicinity by them to Canada and traded to British merchants, and the specimens of ore which have been found, furnish grounds for the belief, more prevalent many years ago than now, that valuable mines lie hidden, in the county. Up to 1819 there were no schools in the township. In that year, it having been decided that a school was necessary, the men of the neighborhood collected, chose a central location, and by their combined efforts completed a primitive little log cabin after two or three days of work. The chimney was built of mud and sticks and was on the outside at one end of the building. The Benn, Armstrong, Luce and Proper children attended it, as well as some from \\'ayne Township and Venango County. Peggy Johnson, of Randolph Township, was the first teacher in this building, being in charge two terms. The wages of female teachers at that time were from one dollar to one dollar and twenty-five cents per week and board. There were nine schools in the township in 1836, with a term of six months' duration. Four hundred and fi\'e pupils were in attendance. The teachers were reported as of good character, but their qualifications were con- sidered in need of improxement. Reading, writing, arithmetic and geography were the branches in which instruction was given. In 1896 thirteen schools were in operation, the school year having a length of six months. Four hun- dred and three scholars were in attendance, at an average cost per moijth to the township of one dollar and eighty-three cents for each pupil. The total amount of money expended during the year for educational purposes ex- ceeded $4,000. Troy Center, situated near the center of the township, is a postoffice, and contains six or eight houses, a store, shop, schoolhouse and church. It was made a postoffice in i860, John Stratton being the first postmaster. Almon Heath started the first store about 1858. Fauncetown is a postoffice in the western part of the township, on Sugar OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 635 Creek. Newtontown, situated on Oil Creek, is a small settlement which re- ceived its name from Edmund C. Newton, who settled there in 1847. A class of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized at the cabin of Henry Kinneer, in Venango County, in 1812, and about four years later the place of worship was removed to the cabin of Jonathan Benn, in Troy Township. Here they maintained worship for twenty years, then holding services for some time in the Armstrong schoolhouse, in the southern part of Troy, after which it was removed to Chapmanville, Venango County, thus going outside the bounds of the township. About 1850 a class was organized by Rev. T. Benn, in the Bromley schoolhouse, in the eastern part of the town- ship. In 1874, during the pastorate of Rev. J. K. Adams, a church building was erected. The Troy Center Methodist Episcopal Church was organized about 1870, and counted among its original members Austin Mills, Hamilton Bunce, William Hays, Joseph Free, Abram Banta, Edgar Melvin, Henry Melvin and George Wright. During the first years of its existence the meet- ings were held in a schoolhouse, and in 1876 a neat frame structure was erected, at a cost of $1,500. CHAPTER XXVIII. UNION TOWNSHIP. UNION is one of Ihe youngest of the town.ships of Crawford County, having. been laid out from portions of Vernon, Greenwood and Fair- field in 1867. Residents of this district applied to the Court of Quarter Sessions for the formation of a new township, and in accordance with this request a board of viewers was appointed, who, aftgr an examina- tion of the circumstances, recommended the formation of a new township, with the following boundaries : "Beginning on the bank of French Creek, on what is known as the southerly of the Kennedy tract ; thence by said tract line to the southwest corner thereof, and the northwest corner of D. Hamen ; thence south by the division line of land one hundred and ninety-five perches to the southwest corner of Amborger, also the corner of Smith, Kebort and others ; thence west by the north line of said Smith to the center of a public road ; thence south by said road and the west line of Smith to the northeast corner of James Johnson's heirs ; thence west by the division line of land to a point opposite the dividing line between tracts 405 and 406; thence south by said dividing line to the center of the channel of Conneaut Outlet ; thence 636 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. down said channel by its several meanderings to its junction with French Creek; thence up said creek by its several courses and distances to the place of beginning." The question of whether the township should be established was submitted to the voters of Vernon, from which much of the territory was taken, and also to the electors of Greenwood and Fairfield who resided within the boundaries of the proposed new township. The election was decided in the affirmative by a majority of almost two to one, and to the town- ship thus formed by uniting the corners of three former townships, the name of Union was given. Union is an interior township, lying directly south of the center of the county. It is an irregular triangle in shape, lying on the southern bank of French Creek, which separates it from Mead and East Fairfield. Con- neaut Outlet forms its southern boundary, separating it from Fairfield and Greenwood, while on the northwest it is separated from Vernon by a very irregular line. The New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio and the Meadville branch of the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie railroads pass through the northern part, but neither has a station within the township. The old Beaver canal also passed through it, following the valley of Conneaut Outlet through the southern part. Union contains 7,939 acres of valuable land. The surface of the township is rolling, especially in the southern part, the central portion being the most elevated. A strip of marshy land about one-half mile wide formerly existed along the border of Conneaut Outlet, and for years was considered worthless. By means of dredging most of it has been reclaimed, and the land thus drained has been found to possess a highly pro- ductive soil. The whole of Union is a purely agricultural region, no village or hamlet existing within its boundaries. A postoffice called Dutch Hill was once established a little north of the center of the township, but was after- ward abolished, the inhabitants relying for mail service upon the villages of the surrounding townships, Shaws' Landing in East Fairfield, Calvins' Cor- ners in Fairfield, and Geneva and Custards in Greenwood. Although Union Township was one of the last to be established, its terri- tory was among the first to be settled. The settlement of Crawford County, commenced in 1789 at Meadville by David Mead and his party, received a severe setback when the Indian war broke out, and for several years the work of colonization was interrupted. And when quiet was again restored to the frontier, by Wayne's treaty with the Indians in 1795, pioneers and speculators flocked from all directions into the territory beyond the Allegheny, and such fertile tracts as the French Creek Valley were soon dotted with settlements. But even before the suspension of Indian hostilities settlements had been made in Union. One of the first, if not the first, of the stalwart pioneers who pushed into the new country south of Meadville was John Hulings, who boldly erected a cabin on the bank of French Creek, before 1795, in the south- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Gz7 eastern corner of what is now Union Township. Others settled near him, and a temporary log fort was built on his farm, in which the scattering settlers took refuge at night. In June of 1795 a sad tragedy took place here. Two young men of the neighborhood, James Findlay and Barney McCormick, were engaged in the woods, about a mile from the mouth of Conneaut Out- let, in splitting rails for Mr. Hulings. A band of Indians suddenly Appeared from the forest and fired upon them, killing one, who' fell where he had been at work. The other was only wounded, and made his escape to an adjoining thicket, but was pursued, overtaken and killed. The Indians scalped their victims and disappeared. When the first shot was heard at Hulings' cabin it was supposed that the report issued from the rifle of Aaron Wright, a well known hunter of Fairfield, but when the second was heard the presence of Indians was suspected. Upon hearing the shots Wright, who was in the neighborhood, knew they came from strange rifles, so keen was his sense of hearing, and upon proceeding to the spot where the young men had been left at work, their mutilated bodies were found. Mr. Hulings lived upon his farm the remainder of his life, and when he died, in 1810, left three sons, Marcus, James and Ceal Hulings. David Mumford, a native of New Jersey, arrived some time before 1797. He had first settled in Washington County, and from there removed to the land which he took up in Union, near the center of the township. He had been a soldier in the Revplutionary War, and in religion was of the Methodist persuasion. He was one of the most prominent and intelligent of the pioneer settlers, and continued the work of clearing the land and tilling the soil until his death, in 18 16. His descendants still reside in the township. Robert Wilson, who came about the same time, settled in the northern part, at the mouth of Wilson's Run. • In 1799 a series of settlements was made upon the land belonging to the Holland Land Company, located along the bank of French Creek. Among them were those made by Tunis, Peter and Henry Elson, who were of Ger- man birth, and remained upon their farms throughout life. Four brothers by the name of Wensell also settled here temporarily, but later removed to Ohio. About the beginning of the present century a steady stream of immigra- tion began to flow in, and continued for several years. James Birchfield came in 1800 from the valley of the Susquehanna and settled in the western part of the township. He was a prominent citizen and held the position of associate judge of the county, and was an elder in the old Fairfield Town- ship Seceder Church. He is still represented in the township by a numerous posterity. Mrs. Nelly Beatty settled in the southern part witli her sons- John, James and Matthew. James Davis cleared a farm in the western part of Union, upon which he spent the remainder of his life. His brother Samuel- 638 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. settled upon Wilson's Run, in the northern part of the township, and was a lifelong resident. He was one of the few citizens of Crawford County who owned slaves. Samuel Kincaid, who located a farm on Conneaut Creek, taught singing school during the early days, and also filled the office of constable. John McFadden settled in the southern part of the township. Leonard Smock, who settled about a half mile north of Conneaut Creek, was a native of New Jersey, and removed here from Westmoreland County about 1805. Theodore Scowden came from the Susquehanna in 1800 and remained a lifelong resident of the township, leaving a numerous family. Robert Stitt settled near him at about the same time. James Smith, who settled in 1805, came from the valley of the Tuscarora, in Juniata County. At this time the Indians were still numerous and wild beasts abundant. The nearest mill was at Peterson's, in Greenwood, and although the distance was not great, they would defer a journey thither until the meal box had been thoroughly scraped out. It was the custom at that time for the miller to keep bread in the mill for his customers to lunch upon. Daniel Holton, a native of Rhode Island, settled at first in Meadville, but in 18 15 removed to Union. About 1832 a number of German settlers came to Union, almost with- out exception coming from Bavaria, and for thirty years constant accessions were received from the mother country. They soon outnumbered the citizens of other origin, and at present own and occupy about two-thirds of the land in the township. They took up' all the unoccupied land as they arrived, and since then have bought up whatever land has been offered for sale. As they increased in numbers, they were no longer able to provide sufficient land for the rising generations, so they have established colonies in various localities, one at Sugar Lake, and one in Missouri. They are sober, industrious farmers, frugal and well-to-do, as is attested by the fine condition of their farms and buildings. Probably the largest piece of forest still standing in Crawford County is that which covers the elevation known as Dutch Hill. It rises precip- itately from the western bank of French Creek, and its irregular outline and heavy growth of timber give it an appearance of wildness and primitive sim- plicity which makes it a favorite resort for those fond of forest scenery. Until comparatively recent years wildcats were sometimes seen here, while at the present day pheasants, squirrels and other small game attract the sportsmen of the vicinity. The bank facing on French Creek is a favorite camping ground, where, with the creek on one side and the high hill on the other, those who wish to spend a holiday away from the distractions of the outside world find an isolation as complete as could be desired. There are no villages within*the territory of Union Township. The first . sawmill is said to have been built by James Smith, who was an early justice of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 639 the peace and also carried on the trade of a blacksmith. Theodore and Hiram Power kept a store, where the old Beaver canal was crossed by the turnpike. A public house was kept at Dutch Hill by William Birchfield. A small corn- cracker was operated at an early date on Wilson's Run, in the northern part, and Gabriel Davis built a grist and saw mill in the southern part of the town- ship. The prosperous citizens of Union Township have not been negligent in educational and religious work, and they have founded churches and es- tablished schools wherever necessity has required. In 1896 seven schools were in operation within the township, one of which was under independent management. Ninety-eight scholars were enrolled in the aix township schools and twenty-eight in the independent, the school year consisting of seven months. During the year more than two thousand dollars was raised and expended in the cause of education. Soon after the year 1800 a society of Methodists was organized in the cabin of David Mumford. It at first included but three families, those of David Mumford, Andrew McFadden and John Leach, the latter from across the Mercer County line. Meetings were held for many years in Mumford's cabin and afterward in schoolhouses, but it soon went out of existence. It was succeeded in 1826 by the Mount Pleasant Methodist Episcopal Church, which was organized with twelve members by Rev. John Leach and H. Kinsly, of the Mercer circuit. For many years the services were held in cabins and- schoolhouses, but about 1858 a church edifice was erected. The Zion German Reformed Church was organized about 1840 by the Rev. Philip Zeiser, who remained its pastor during eighteen years. It in- cludes in its membership the larger number of the German citizens of the township. Francis and Frederic Stein, Andrew Kahler, John Kebort, William Hubers, Peter Stein, Peter Weber and John Weaver were among the first members. The first church building was a log structure. Services are held in both the English and German languages, and there is a large and flourishing membership. CHAPTER XXIX VENANGO TOWNSHIP. BEGINNING at the corner of a tract of land surveyed in the name of John Fries, on the Hne of a tract surveyed in the name of David Cun- ningham, about sixty perches or thereabouts west of the northeast cor- ]ier of the same ; thence north to the southwest corner of a tract in the name of James West; thence eastwardly to French Creek; thence up the different windings of the same to the northern boundary of Crawford County ; thence by the same westwardly to the northeast corner of Cussawago Township; thence southwardly to the northwest corner of a tract of land surveyed in the name of John James ; thence east to the place of beginning." These are the boundaries by which Venango Township was laid Out in 1800, when the first subdivision of the county took place. Within these boundaries was included not alone the present territory of Venango, but the northeastern part of Hay- field, the eastern part of Cussawago, and the northern part of Cambridge. In 1829 Hayfield and Cussawago received their present boundaries, and in 1852 the formation of Cambridge Township reduced Venango to its present size. Venango Township lies near the center of the northern border of the county, and contains 9,829 acres of land. Erie County bounds it on the north, Cambridge Township lies to the east, Hayfield on the south, and Cussa- wago on the west. The eastern boundary is formed by the windings of French and Conneautee creeks, the other sides being formed by straight lines. The surface, which is generally rolling, is somewhat uneven in the central and northwestern parts. The northeastern section is more • level and con- tains some very fine farms. It is abundantly watered by French and Con- neautee creeks and their tributaries, the principal of which is Stoke's Run. Along Conneautee Creek is some marshy land, formerly heavily timbered with hemlock, oak and butternut. Hickory, chestnut, maple and beech are found in the higher sections. The soil, which is easily cultivated and very pro- ductive, is a sandy and gravelly loam, except in the northwestern part, which is more elevated, where a clayey loam predominates. The township is thor- oughly settled in every part, there being but little more timber land left than is required to supply the wants of the farmer, so lumbering is an industry of the past. The farmers of the township are chiefly engaged in stock raising and dairying, large quantities of most excellent cheese being produced, while good crops of wheat and corn are also raised. 640 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 641 The name Venango is derived from an Indian word, by which the Seneca Indians, designated French Creelc, and is expressive of an indecent figure carved on the bark of a tree near its banks. Venango River is a name for- merly extensively, and even now occasionally, applied to that picturesque stream. Upon the fertile land in its valley the first settlements in Venango Township were made about 1797, the same year in which almost every part of the French Creek Valley received a sprinkling of settlers. The earliest to locate in Venango Township were Christopher Siverling, Daniel Siverling, Jehiel Terrell, William Bole, Henry Bole, Thomas Coulter, Thomas Logue and PhiHp Straw. These all came in the summer of 1797 and located claims, most of them remaining, throughout life and founding families which are still prominent in the township. Christopher Siverling is supposed to have been the first to settle in the township. He and his brother Daniel, of German birth, removed from West- moreland County and located on land just south of the present site of the village of Venango. They endured many of the hardships incident to pioneer life ; two bushels of corn, a small quantity of beef and a few turnips, which had been sown by members of the family who had visited the place in the summer, constituted the entire stock of provisions on which the family subsisted dur- ing the first winter, except such as was afforded by the streams and forest. Thomas and Robert Logue, who were of Irish nationality, settled in the northwestern part of the township. Philip Stein settled on the site of Venango borough. Henry Bole came to Crawford County from Ireland in 1793 and resided in Meadville some time, being in the employ of General Mead. In 1 797 he came to Venango Township and settled on a tract Jn the western part. He built a cabin and made a small clearing' here, then procuring a tenant, Michael Hare, to hold the land for him, he removed tO' the eastern part of the township and settled on a tract adjoining French Creek, just south of the mouth of Conneautee Creek. Charles Stewart had previously made improvements upon this claim, but after a short residence had moved away. Bole remained here several years, then traded his farm tO' Christian Blystone for a distillery about a mile further down French Creek, where he took up his residence and remained until his death, in 1848. His brother, William Bole, settled in the township at the same time, but removed to Ohio after a few years' residence. Thomas Coulter, who was born in Philadelphia, where he spent his early life, came to Venango in 1797 and settled about a mile northwest of the bor- ough. He remained a citizen of Venango Township until his death. Robert Coulter, his son, who was the first white child born in the township, relates that one evening, three or four years after his father's settlement, a bear raised the logs of their pig pen and took from it one of the pigs, with which he beat a hasty retreat. Aroused by the squeals of the captive pig, Mr. 41 642 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Coulter followed in hot pursuit with an ax. and Mrs. Coulter came after with a lighted torch. '?he progress of the bear was retarded by a brush fence, and overtaking him, she applied her torch to his shaggy hair, which readily took fire and caused him to beat a hasty retreat, leaving his booty behind, the fire meantime spreading all over his body. The rescued pig, however, had been handled so roughly that he died. At that time Pittsburg was the nearest trading post, roads had not yet been established, and the forest was full of wild animals. The wolves especially were very troublesome and made it necessary to yard the sheep at night. Later on the bounty on wolf scalps diminished their number, the organized wolf hunts affording sport to the pioneers, and at the same time ridding them of a dangerous enemy. The last wolf hunt took place about 1821, when twenty men and twenty dogs engaged in it and drove the disturbers of their flocks across the Cussawago, whence they have never returned to molest them. Other settlers soon came in, and before 1810 the work of clearing and cultivation had been well begun in every part of the township. Jacob Hogel- berger came from Westmoreland County in 1799 and settled in the western part. He served as a soldier in the War of 181 2, and was in garrison at Erie for some time. Isaac, Henry and Christian Blystone were brothers, who came from Lebanon County in 1800 and settled about two miles north of Venango borough, on the banks of French Creek. Henry went back to the East, but the others remained lifelong residents of the township. Andrew Sherred settled at the same time about a mile north of the borough, and re- mained throughout life. John Stokes came from the central portion of the State in 1804 and settled in Cussawago Township. After a short residence there he secured a farm about two miles northeast of Venango borough, where he passed the remainder of his life. James Skelton came to the township from Philadelphia in 1801, and located on a tract of land about two and a half miles north of Venango borough. His first habitation was a shelter of brush, which he hastily con- structed upon his arrival. He next built a house of such poles as two men could lay up, and in this he lived for a number of years. It afforded very little protection against the wind and rain, and his son in after years related that he remembered very distinctly of standing up while it rained, while the water trickled down his body to his feet. The kitchen cupboard consisted of the base of a hollow birch tree. During the first summer he secured work fourteen miles down French Creek. On one occasion, upon returning to his home, he bought from Mr. Van Home a bushel of wheat and had it ground at Meadville on his way back. When within five miles of his home he was overtaken by darkness, and, too tired to go any further, staid there all night in the open air. In the morning he made his way with his flour to his famish- ing family. At times they were so hard pressed for food that they searched OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 643 the forest for wild vegetables, and having found an esculent variety they used them, boiled in milk, for food. One of the first schools in the township was taught by Jehiel Terrell, beginning as early as 1810. He came to the township from New Jersey in 1797, and settled about three and one-half miles north of the borough. His schoolroom, like all those of that primitive day, was a rough log cabin, with a fireplace extending along one end and a chimney constructed of sticks and clay, while the furniture was of the rudest manufacture. After residing in the township several years he returned to New Jersey. William Gross was his successor in the Venango schoolroom. About 'iSiS William Reynolds, from Cussawago Creek, taught two summer terms in a cabin in the southeastern part. In 1836 Venango boasted of seven schools, which were maintained two and one-half months of the year. They were attended by one hundred and seventeen pupils. The progress of the scholars and the character and qualifications of the teachers were reported as good, the branches in which instruction was, given being reading, arithmetic and writing. In 1896 the number of schools was fi.ve, the separation of Venango borough from the township causing the decrease. The term was six months in duration, and one hundred and fifteen scholars were in attendance. More than $1,400 was expended during the year for purposes of education. The Venango Presbyterian Church was erected in 1853, and was dedi- cated by Rev. John Reynolds, of Meadville. It was located just north of the borough, and was originally a branch of the Woodcock borough congrega- tion. The Bole and Coulter families were prominent among its membership and contributed largely toward erecting the church edifice. The Skelton Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1843 by Revs. Scofield and Bear, with an original membership of twenty-five. The same year a church was built, at a cost of $600. William Scott, Jacob Wood, and Jacob and Christian Blystone were leading members. Many of its mem- bers removed from the vicinity, and its existence has been interrupted by periods of inactivity. , BOROUGH OF VENANGO. The borough of Venango was incorporated in 1852, when Isaac Peififer was elected the first Burgess. The first settlement in this locality was made by Philip Straw, who established himself on the site of the village in 1797. In 18 1 7 Solomon Walters and John Lasher purchased the land, and as there was at that time probability of a turnpike passing through it, they laid out a village plot. The road went another way, and the land, after changing hands several times, was purchased in 1832 by John Kleckner, together with a mill which had been built there. He repaired the sawmill and built a grist mill, operating them together many years. In 1838 he had the village plot sur- veyed and named it Klecknerville, which was fortunately changed to Venango 644 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. when incorporated. John Lasher, a farmer, John Bender, a blacksmith, and George Thomas, a shoemaker, were early residents of the village. The first store was kept by Reynolds & May, of Erie, while the first tavern was opened by Philip Kleckner in 1840. The growth of the village has been slow but steady. It now contains seventy or eighty families, with several stores, shops, factories, mills, hotels, churches and schools. The first schoolhouse was a log structure built about 1820. Charles Fletcher and John and Evan George were among the early teachers. A frame schoolhouse a mile west of the village was the next one used. In 1857 a brick building was erected at a cost of $1,350. Two schools are now operated during eight months of the year, with sixty-three pupils in attendance. Almost one thousand dollars was expended by the borough authorities during the past year for educational purposes. The Zion Evangelical Church was organized at Venango borough in 1816 by Rev. Colson, with fourteen original members. A log church was commenced the same year, but was not completed, the services in the winter being held in the schoolhouse and in the summer in the unfinished log church. In 1839 a large frame' structure was erected, and in this regular services were held for the next forty years. In 1879 a frame church was erected on the same lot, on the eastern side of Church Street, at a cost of $2,500. This is the oldest religious society in Venango borough. The First Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in 1875, by sixty- two former members of the Zion Church, who left it to form a new- society. Rev. I. J. Delo became its first pastor. M. L. Faulkner and John Mucken- houpt were the first elders, and David Good and H. J. Brookhouser the first deacons. In I1877 a handsome edifice was erected by this society on the eastern side of Meadville Street, at a cost of $3,500. The Venango Methodist Episcopal Church was organized by Rev. Ahab Keller about 1842, with twelve original members. Among them were Joseph Perkins and wife, Jacob Wood and wife, Benjamin Hays and wife, John Ter- rell and Nicholas Peiffer. The first services were held in an old schoolhouse about a mile west of the village, and later on in the Lutheran Church. In 1847 ^ large frame church building was erected on the west side of Church Street. The society is connected with the Cambridge circuit. CHAPTER XXX. VERNON TOWNSHIP. VERNON is one of the interior townships of Crawford County, and in common with all those which border on the French Creek Valley, is remarkable for fertile land and picturesque beauty. French Creek forms its eastern boundary and Conneaut Outlet a portion of its southern. Watson's Run traverses the western part of the township, flowing in a south- easterly direction and emptying into Conneaut Outlet. The central part of Vernon is drained by Van Horne Run, which flows eastward into French Creek, while the northeastern corner of the township is traversed by Cussa- wago Creek just before its junction with French Creek, immediately below Vallonia. The old Beaver canal crossed the southwest corner, while the southern portion is traversed by the Meadville branch of the Pittsburg, Bes- semer and Lake Erie Railroad. The valleys of the township possess a rich, alluvial soil, and the rolling lands are covered with a productive clay. Springs of excellent c|uality abound, "and give rise to numerous little brooks which traverse almost every farm. The land is well improved, and the many fine residences give evidence of the prosperity of the inhabitants. Almost all the land in the township is arable and there is very little marsh land. This fine agricultural region was formerly included in Mead and Sads- bury townships, and was organized as a separate township in 1829, when the divisions of Crawford County were generally rearranged. French Creek was made the dividing line from Mead, thus forming the eastern boundary. Union and Greenwood bound it on the south, Sadsbury and Summit on the west, and Hayfield on the north. Much of the early history of Crawford County was enacted within the present limits of Vernon Township. Washington traversed the eastern bor- der in 1753, while on his mission to the French authorities at Fort Le Boeuf. "We passed over much good land," says his journal, "since we left Venango, and through several extensive and very rich meadows, one of which I believe was nearly four miles in length, and considerably wide in some places." This valley, it is generally believed; is the one whereon Meadville is now built, and the portion west of French Creek is a part of Vernon Township. The first band of pioneers, which came into this region in 1788 under the leadership of David Mead, arrived on the 12th of May, after a weary march, upon the banks of French Creek, opposite the mouth of the Cussawago. They camped for the night under a wild cherry tree, on the east side of the stream, probably 645 646 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. near the present location of the Kerrtown bridge. They spent the next few days in exploring both sides of the creek, and struck by the beauty of the locality and its natural adaptability for a place of settlement, decided that they would make it their home. Cornelius Van Home, one of that hardy group, thus described its early appearance: "This lovely valley, now redolent with life and industry, was then reposing in the stillness of primeval solitude, with nought to designate it as the former residence of man save occasionally a de- serted wigwam of the aboriginal owners of the soil. They had already de- serted its shady groves and murmuring streams and retired still further into the wilderness." The majority of the explorers were evidently not so touched by the beauties of the place, the solitudes, remote from other settle- ments, must have proved uninviting, for they sooner or later returned to the East. But several remained, determined to found homes for -themselves and theii: posterity in this spot so favored by nature, and two of them, Cornelius Van Home and John Mead, settled in what is now Vernon Township. John Mead, a brother of David Mead, the founder of Meadville, was a farmer by occupation, and settled upon the tract immediately north of Vallonia. He built his first cabin close by the west bank of French Creek, between it and, the ravine, and just east of the Fair Grounds. He lived here and followed his occupation of tilling the soil until his death, in 1819. He left five sons, William, Joseph, John, Asahel and Chambers, and one daughter. Cornelius Van Home came from Sussex County, New Jersey, where he had followed the occupation of a miller. He had served as a lieutenant in the War of the Revolution, and had afterward, like the Meads, taken up lands in Wyoming under the Pennsylvania title. He proved his title in the Supreme Court and a decision was made in his favor. But the settlements on the dis- puted land were in a state of anarchy and the dispossession of the rival claim- ants would have been difficult, so, having secured a remuneration from the State, he abandoned the lands and came with the Meads in search of a new home in the West. During the spring he remained upon the island in French Creek, but in the course of the summer removed to a tract of land a mile and a half below John Mead, where he took possession of a deserted Indian cabin. This land, which consisted of four hundred and twelve acres, he afterward patented and made his home, and part of it is still known as the Van Home farm. In the fall of the same year he returned to New Jersey to visit his mother, and for several years Indian depredations rendered the occupation of his tract impracticable. His adventure with the Indians and capture by them are narrated in the chapter on Mead Township. When the Indian troubles were over he again settled on his tract in Vernon, the patent for which is dated February 27, 1800, and which states that a settlement was made upon it April 15, 1793. He lived upon his "tract until his death, in 1846, at the age of ninety-six. His' brother, Thomas Van Home, settled upon a OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 647 tract adjoining his on the south, and lived there for several years, afterward removing to Zanesville, Ohio. The first few years were fraught with danger as well as privation, for the frequent Indian attacks, threatened and actual, rendered life upon the frontier extremely perilous, and several times impelled the settlers to abandon their lands and seek refuge at Fort Venango, the nearest fortified place of any pretensions. The house of David Mead was fortified to some extent, and when suddenly or unexpectedly attacked it was there that the settlers were accustomed to take refuge. On one occasion it was necessary that Van Home should go for horses to Pittsburg. In returning he was obliged to follow a wild path through the woods, from Pittsburg to Venango, and he described his ride as lonely, desolate and disagreeable. Crossing the Slippery Rock Creek the first day, he encamped for the night at the bottom of a deep ravine. He had obtained some bread and two pounds of butter in Pittsburg, and from this he made his supper, after which he rolled himself up in his blanket to sleep, with his gun by his side. He was soon awakened by the crackling of the fire, and found to his dismay that it had spread among the dry leaves and communicated itself to the butter. In his efforts tO' extinguish the flames his hands were burned so severely that it became impossible for him to sleep any more that night. In the morning he found that his harness had been much injured by the fire and that the horses, which he had turned out to browse, had wandered away from his camp. All the morning was occu- pied in mending the harness and finding the horses, sO' that his progress was much delayed. On his route he encountered an Indian, and gained his good will by sharing with him his bottle and remaining store of bread. To the friendship of this Indian he afterward owed his life. During the first ten years of the century many families settled in Vernon Township. Alexander McEntire came from New Jersey and settled on French Creek immediately north of his brother-in-law, Cornelius Van Horne. Phineas Dunham settled near Vallonia ; William Henry, William McCall and Michael Seeley occupied land adjoining Van Home's farm. Robert An- drews, an Irishman, was an early settler in the southern part of the township. He was for many years a justice of the peace. John Johnson, another Irish- man, settled in Vernon about 1800, and is still represented by numerous de- scendants. Edward F. Randolph settled at an early date near the head of Van Horne Run. Finlaw Beatty resided in the same vicinity. The northern and western parts of the township were owned by the Holland Land Com- pany, and were by them sold to the settlers. The valley of French Creek, opposite Meadville, is the only thickly set- tled portion of Vernon Township. Kerrtown is a village of several hundred people, situated upon the banks of the creek opposite the southern part of Mead- ville, with which it is connected by an iron bridge. It was named in honor 648 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. of William Kerr, who came to this county from Philadelphia in 18 17, and purchased one hundred acres of land upon French Creek, the site of the present village of Kerrtown. He was a man of some education, having been a school teacher, and was an early instructor in the Meadville Academy. He afterward opened a store opposite the present tannery, which he kept for many years. The growth of the village has been steady, many employees of the railroad residing there. 'It is the place of voting for Vernon Township, and contains a two-story schoolhouse and several general stores. It was made a postoffice in 1884. A tannery was established here by Frank Kerr and was afterward extensively operated by Frank Schanweker, employing fifteen or twenty hands, but it has recently been closed. A large wagon and carriage factory is owned by the Rice Brothers, and extensive brickyards are operated by Andrew Stolz. A large brewery is also among the industries. Fredericksburg, or Stringtown, as it is more commonly called, is a set- tlement extending northward from Kerrtown along the bank of French Creek for more than a mile. These lots were laid out in 1863 by Frederick Huidekoper, and found a ready sale among the employees of the railroad, and the settlement now numbers several lumdred. In 1817 H. J. Huidekoper built a grist and saw mill 'on French Creek, near the Dock Street bridge, which was operated by water power from Cussawago Creek. It passed into the hands of his son, Edgar Huidekoper, by whom it was sold to the present owners, Gill & Shryock. It was by them enlarged and steam power intro- duced, and is now an extensive flouring mill. Watson's Run Postoffice is located in the noi'thwestern corner of the town- ship. There is no settlement of any importance. The Watson's Run German Reformed Church was organized in 1840 by the Rev. Philip Sicer. During the ministry of Rev. E. B. Ernst, about 1850, a church edifice was erected in the southern part of the township at a cost of $800. The Fausts, Onspaughs, Flaughs and Browns were among the prom- inent members of the early days. The present membership, of about seventy- five, is in a prosperous condition. The United Presbyterian Church of Watson's Run was organized in 1869 by the Rev. J. B. Waddle, with an original membership of thirty-two. The Johnsons, Nelsons, McKays, Beattys and Calvins were among these. Arthur Johnson and M. A. Calvin were elected the first ruling elders. The congrega- tion has steadily increased and is now in a flourishing condition. In 1870 a handsome church was erected in the northwestern part of the township at a cost of $2,200. In the School Report for 1837 no mention is made of the Vernon schools beyond the fact that they received an appropriation from the State of $201.34, but this is probably due to the failure of the proper official to send in the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 649 statistics. In 1896 there were twelve schools, attended by two hundred and fifty pupils, one hundred aqd seventy-two boys and one hundred and seventy- eight girls. The average cost for each pupil per month was $1.05, the amount of money expended for school purposes being $4,283.86. BOROUGH OF VALLONIA. The borough of Vallonia is located in the valley of French Creek, at the mouth of Cussawago Creek. It was laid out by Frederick Huidekoper in 1866 and was incorporated as a borough two years later. The first flection was held June 3, 1868, at which J. T. Colwood was elected Burgess and T. Rowen Justice of the Peace. Vallonia owes its institution and growth tO' the machine shops of the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, situated in Meadville, opposite the borough, and most of the citizens are employed there. William Hotchkiss, Theodore Koehler, H. J. West and Adam Steele were among the first inhabitants. William Hotchkiss opened a store on Wadsworth Street in 1868. In 1874 he sold it to E. H. Langford, who con- tinued the business until 1875, when the building was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt by William Hotchkiss and business was resumed by J. S. Hotch- kiss & Brother, the present proprietors, who do a large business as wholesale and retail grocers. The greatest industry of Vallonia is the distillery, whose product is widely known under the name of Meadville whiskey. In the be- ginning it was owned successively by cjuite a number of firms, and under the present management a large business has been built up. A postoffice was established in 1876, J. S. Hotchkiss being the first post- master. A frame schoolhouse was' built in 1868 on Columbia Avenue, but has been replaced within recent years by a handsome brick edifice. In 1881 a, mission chapel was erected on the banks of French Creek. It was a branch of the Christ Protestant Episcopal Church of Meadville, and was built during the rectorship of Rev. Carstensen, at a cost of $1,400. The services were not conducted regularly and after a period of inaction the property came into the possession of the Methodist denomination, under whose control it is at present. CHAPTER XXXI. WAYNE TOWNSHIP. WAYNE TOWNSHIP lies near the center of the southern border of the count)'^, and includes 19,821 acres of land. The general shape of the township is that of a right-angled triangle. The hypothe- nuse or southeastern line, which borders on Venango County, consists of a series of right-angled triangles, and produces a somewhat singular conform- ation. The township was laid out in 1809, when it included all of what is now Wayne and East Fairfield, with the southern portions of Mead, Randolph and Troy. It was given its present limits in 1829. It is bounded on the north by Randolph Township, on the east by Venango County, on the south by Venango County, and on the west by Fairfield and East Fairfield townships. The surface of Wayne is rough and hilly, with stone outcropping in some portions to such an extent as to render tillage difficult. The best land lies in the valleys of the streams which flow through the township. French Creek crosses the extreme southwestern corner, while Little Sugar Creek, which enters from East Fairfield in the northwestern corner, curves through the western portion of the township and again enters East Fairfield before uniting with French Creek. Near the center of the township Little Sugar Creek is joined by Deckard's Run, which flows in a northwesterly direction across the eastern and central parts. Sugar Lake Creek flows in a southeasterly direction across the eastern part. The township is threaded by the numerous tributaries of these streams, and in every part may be found copious springs of excellent water. The valley of Sugar Lake Creek broadens in some parts to almost a mile and contains much good land, though some is low and marshy. Before the sawmills had done their work of ridding the land of timber this valley contained large quantities of pine and hemlock, which also grew profusely along Little Sugar Creek and the other streams of the town- ship. Oak, beech, maple, chestnut and poplar were found on the higher land. A branch of the Seneca Indians occupied much of the territory in this vicinity prior to its settlement by the whites. No more appropriate region could be selected for the residence of an Indian tribe. The rugged hills, clothed with forests and abounding in game ; the pure sparkling streams flowing among these hills, furnishing both excellent fishing grounds and the means of communication, bordered here and there with fertile bottom lands as sites for their villages and cornfields, and overlooked by remarkable headlands, and high hills for their graves and places of worship, — some of these hills con- 650 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 651 taining lead, and perhaps, too, other metals greatly prized by them, — these were strong attractions for the red natives of the forest. And accordingly in many places we find traces of a numerous Indian population which once inhabited this region. The branch of the Senecas residing in this locality was known as the Moncey, and of two of their chiefs, Ross and Locke, the following story is related : "They were employed by the British during the war of the Revolu- tion to massacre the American settlers, and together they crossed the moun- tains on a trip for blood and booty. Somewhere on the borders of Hunting- ton or Franklin County they murdered, in cold blood, a schoolmaster and twenty-five or thirty children. Taking the scalps they proceeded with them to Niagara, disposed of them, and received the "bounty" given for American scalps by the British Government. Locke was somewhat of a bravado, and 011 their return exhibited himself as the princinal hero of the scene. Ross was mortified and determined on revenge. In true Indian style he waited years for a suitable opportunity, and at last, in a drunken war dance, murdered Locke. He appeared before a council of the Senecas and was sentenced by them to support Locke's widow for twenty years. At the end ol that time he was to be slain by the nearest relative of Locke then living. This mild sen- tence was passed on account of his great bravery. At the end of the twenty }'ears he surrendered himself to the council of the tribe assembled near Buffalo. In the meantime the only son of Locke had married the daughter of Ross. His son-in-law was unwilling to slay him, for time had long since worn off the edge of his revenge, and so the sentence was never executed. He lived to a great age, and died on the banks of his native stream, the noble Allegheny." In the northeastern part of the township lies Sugar Lake, a beautiful sheet of water with a surface of more than one hundred acres. It is surrounded by low hills, which rise upon all sides in the form of an amphitheater, broken on the north by the inlet, Sugar Lake Creek, which again breaks through the hills to flow southeast into Venango County. The lake has an elevation above Lake Erie of 704 feet, and has a depth in some places of from twenty to thirty feet. In the early time the lake and its vicinity. was a famous place for hunting and fishing, and pickerel, bass, perch and sun fish were taken from its waters ' in large numbers. Wild ducks and geese also abounded, and the forests which covered the surrounding hills were full of game. A band of Indians en- camped at the foot of the hill near the outlet for many years after the white men came, and they lived in peace and friendship with the settlers, never molesting them in any way. They accjuired a fondness for the corn, potatoes and cultivated grain of the pioneers, and although they never helped them- selves from the fields or patches of the settlers, they frequently asked for some of the grain or vegetables. This was rarely refused, and many a pumpkin and measure of grain went to embellish the cuisine of the dusky natives. These 652 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. kindnesses were always repaid by generous gifts of bear meat, venison and other wild game. The game was at first so numerous in this vicinity as to prove trouble- some, the deer very often destroying fields of grain, which had to be enclosed by high fences to keep them out. They were killed in large numbers along the lake and creek by hunting them at night, the hunter approaching the unsus- pecting animal by means of a canoe. A lantern was fastened to the prow of the boat in such a manner as -to throw the light in advance and leave the canoe and^its occupants obscured in the darkness, and in this way the game could be approached until within easy range, and it was either an unfortunate or an unskillful hunter who failed to secure five or six deer in one evening. It is related that James Ferry killed eighteen bears and eight hundred deer of which he kept a record, during his residence there. The wolves were ravenous, and could scarcely be restrained from attacking the stock before the very eyes of the settlers. Panthers, too, were not unusual, and many a bear shot in the neighborhood has formed the subject of an oft-repeated tale. During the early times rattlesnakes were numerous in the vicinity, and were a dangerous pest. A den of them was found on the western bank of the lake in a clump of young hemlocks near a spring, and for many years the farmers were unable to exterminate them. Horses were very often bitten, usually on the nose, the result being fatal. The ground was covered with pea vines, on which the horses fed, and the poisonous reptiles lurking beneath repaid, with their deadly fangs, any intrusion into the foliage. The whole of Wayne Township is included within the Eighth Donation District. It was settled slowly, like all the lands in Crawford County which were distributed by the State in reward for military services. Many of the lots drawn by the soldiers were never occupied by them, but were transferred to other settlers or to land speculators, while only the lands left undrawn by the soldiers were open to general settlement. Those who wished to locate together in one neighborhood could not do so here, as in other townships, as the unoccupied lots were separated by those taken by the soldiers, and there was not the opportunity for selection that was offered by the land companies and the individual tracts. As no concerted effort could be made it resulted that Wayne Township remained a wilderness long after Mead, Randolph, Fair- field and East Fairfield were covered with productive farms. Before 1820 very few of the tracts had been improved, and it was many years later before anything like a general settlement took place. It is impossible to tell in just what year, or by whom, the settlement of the township was commenced. It is certain, however, that the first clearings were made in the western part, near French Creek. One of the earliest -pioneers, Thomas Cochran, came from Adams County and located about a mile east of Cochranton, where he remained throughout life. He left a large family, which OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 65,3 IS still represented in the township by numerous descendants. Before 1810, and possibly as early as 1805, David Blair came to the township from Milton, Northumberland County, and settled near French Creek, in the extreme southwestern part of the township. Others came at about the same time, among- them Isaac and Samuel Bonnell, Nicholas Bailey, Edward Ferry, John Greer, Michael Kightlinger, Hugh McDill, William Wheeling, Joseph Wood- worth, Louis Woodworth and Jacob Waggoner. All but three of these set- tled in the western part, in the vicinity of French Creek. The first house built near the lake was the log cabin constructed by Michael Dill, who had previously settled near French Creek. On the occasion of the house raising he invited his friends to assist him in the important ceremony, and they came from a distance of several miles. Dill did not remain in this cabin, however. Edward Ferry, who had come from Lancaster County with his family, and intended settling on the hill above the lake, was induced by Dill to occupy the cabin and continue the work of improvement, in considera- tion of some live stock which Dill possessed. Ferry afterward bought the land, and remained its occupant throughout life. Hugh McDill, from Ireland, settled in the extreme eastern part and remained there until his death. The first settlement on Deckard's Run was made by Jacob Waggoner. Between 1 8 10 and 1820 other pioneers came in and settled in the eastern part, among them Samuel Beers, David McKnight, Daniel McDaniels and John Allen. No villages of any size are found in Wayne Township. Wilson's Mills Postofiice is located in the northeastern part, near 'Sugar Lake. Kastor's Cor- ners is a postoffice near the center of the township. Deckard's Postofiice, or Deckardville, as it was formerly called, is a hamlet in the eastern part. It was first settled in 1829 by Jacob Rees, who came from Philadelphia. It was then covered by a dense forest, through which he was obliged to cut his way to his place of settlement. It now contains a store, blacksmith shop, two churches and several dwellings. A grist mill was erected on Little Sugar Creek in 1800, by Holmes & Herriot, and several years later they sold it to Isaac Bonnell, who also operated a distillery. It was an important industry in the early times, and has changed hands frequently since its erection. Henry Heath operated a powder mill in the southern part early in the century. Several saw mills have been built in various parts of the township and lumbering is still an important industry. James Douglas taught school in a log cabin in the western part of the township at an early date; A frame schoolhouse was afterward built in the same place, but later was removed to Cochranton. The children in the ex- treme eastern part of Wayne attended school in Randolph Township for sev- eral years. The first school in the eastern part was taught by John Kane, in a little shanty on the eastern bank of Sugar Lake Creek, and John Moreland afterward taught in the same building. In 1896 fourteen schools were mam- 654 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. tained in Wayne Township during six months of the year. They were at- tended by three hundred and eighty pupils, while the amount expended by the township for the support of the schools exceeded four thousand dollars. A congregation of Free Will Baptists was organized in 1865 by Elder Chase. It had a prosperous existence for some time, erecting a church build- ing at Deckardville at a cost of $1,500, but the membership decreased and the society soon went out of existence. The United Brethren Church at Deckardville was organized about 1848. At first quarterly meetings were held in barns, and afterward in the log school- house of the village. In 1855 a church edifice was erected at a cost of $1,100. Prominent among the early members were Jefferson Cousins, James Tingley, William Houtz, Joseph Shaffer and William Wheeland. The society is in- cluded in the Deckard Run circuit, which was formed in 1880. A society of Wesleyans existed many years ago in the eastern part of the township, and in 1843 erected a log church on the eastern side of Sugar Lake. Among the more prominent of the society were Benjamin Beers, James Dye, Henry Sparling and David Holton. The membership, which was never large, decreased as time rolled on, until about i860 the society ceased to exist, and the old log church was all that remained to testify of the past. About 1869 Revs. Muncie and Bedow, of the United Brethren Church, visited this vicinity and organized a society of their denomination, of which Simeon Brink, Andrew Wygant and David Sweet were early members. They worshiped for man)' years in the old log house of the Wesleyans, until in 1882 they erected a modest frame structure on the same site at a cost of $1,500. The St. John's Reformed Church at Deckardville was organized in 1846. Services were held for several years in the schoolhouse, until in i860 a church building was erected, at a cost of $1,000, as the joint property of the Luther- ans and German Reformed. In 1877 the Lutherans, who had decreased in numbers, withdrew from further support of the church property and soon afterward disbanded. The Reformed Congregation in 1883 extended and repaired the property and now have a large and flourishing society. The Zion Reformed Church was organized in 1870 by Rev. Kretzing. Among the early members were Francis McDaniel and wife, William Mc- Daniel and wife, James Record and wife, and William McElroy. A neat frame church was erected in 1872 at a cost of $1,800, the previous meetings having been held in a schoolhouse. The lot upon which the church was built was giveii by Francis McDaniel, and is in the extreme northern part of the township. Rev. John Kretzing was the first pastor. CHAPTER XXXII. WEST FALLOWFIELD. THE WHOLE of the land of West Fallowfield Township was included within the domains of the Pennsylvania Population Company. This was an association of wealthy gentlemen, organized in May, 1792, of which the great land speculator, John Nicholson„was president, and Cazenove, Irvine, Mead, Leet, Hoge and Stewart, managers. Their stock consisted of 2,500 shares, which, as each share represented 200 acres, was vested iii 500,- 000 acres of land. Anyone transferring to the company a donation tract of 200 acres was entitled to a share of stock. The title to their lands was vested in trustees, to be held in common, and the proceeds divided pro ram among the stockholders. John Nicholson, individually, soon after the passage of the law of 1792, had made application at the land office for 390 warrants, to be located in the "triangle," then known as the Lake Erie Territory, and for 250 warrants more on the waters of Beaver Creek, amounting in all to about 260,- 000 acres. But before paying the purchase money on these tracts he trans- ferred his application to the company, which paid fpr them and perfected the title. They also took up about 500 warrants more in Erie and Crawford counties. In 1829 the original Fallowfield Township was shorn of much of its ter- ritory on the north and east, being reduced almost to the form of a square, six miles each way. This was the area it was intended to give to each town- ship, and is still retained by Conneaut, Beaver and several pthers. But in thus dividing the county like a checker board the natural boundaries had been ignored, and it was soon seen that Crooked Creek, flowing from north to south through the township, divided it naturally into two portions. As communi- cation was sometimes rendered extremely difficult between the two parts, Fallowship Township was divided, in 1841, into two separate townships, and the portion lying to the west of Crooked Creek received the name of West Fallowfield. The township thus formed has an irregular outline, and contains 6,885 acres. It has an average width of one and one-half to two miles, and is about seven miles in length. Crooked Creek, which forms the eastern boun- dary line, is the principal stream, and the land is watered by it and its tribu- taries. Much of the land lies within the valley of Crooked Creek, the surface being rolling and the soil a clayey loam. Pine, oak and chestnut timber cov- ered the land in the early days, but little remains at present. The Beaver 6SS 656 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. and Erie Canal passed through this valley and above Hartstown broadened into a large canal basin with an area of several hundred acres. The waters thus pent up on the low land engendered malaria, and this for a long time proved a serious obstacle to the development of the adjoining country. After the abandonment of the canal the sickness decreased, and the locality has since pi^oved to be a very healthful one. " Hugh Fletcher, in the latter part of the last century, began the settle- ment of West P'allowfield Township. He was a native of Ireland, and located in the northern part in 1797. Hugh and Henry Blair, also from Ireland, were pioneer settlers. Hugh came in 1802 and settled upon a tract of one hundred acres about one mile north of Hartstown. William Henry, in 1800, came on foot through the woods from Fayette County and took up land just west of Hartstown. His first shelter was a frail hut, supported by sticks for rafters and covered with bark, somewhat after the fashion of an Indian wig- wam. He next built a pole hut, and as his skill as a carpenter did not extend to making a door, he cut a hole in a log near the top, and through this orifice crawled in and out. It is claimed that he was the first tanner in the county west of Meadville. He first operated upon a horse skin and the skin of a calf IDartly eaten by wolves, tanning them in a dug-out trough. The next season he built vats lined with puncheon. A tannery was built in 1806, but was burned down in 1 8 18. It was rebjiilt, however, the following year, and work was con- tinued in it as late as 1872. Adam Owry, a Revolutionary soldier, came in 1797, or even earlier, accompanied by his -brother John. The reason of the latter was unsettled, owing to injuries sustained while running an Indian gauntlet. William Campbell was an early settler and built the first grist mill, about a mile south of Adamsville., Andrew McQuiston, another pioneer, operated a distillery. Within a few years after the beginning of the settlement a large number of tracts had been taken up, as the records of the Pennsylvania Population Com- pany show. Some were settled by the persons who contracted for the land, while others perfected the title by a tenant, or by sending some member of the family to reside upon the tract. A large majority of the settlers here were Irish, or of Irish descent. There was, at an early period of our settlements, an inferior sort of a land title, denominated a "tomahawk right," which was made by deadening a few trees near the head of a spring and marking the bark of some one or more of them with the initials of the name of the person who made the im- provement. It is doubtful if this tomahawk improvement conferred any right whatsoever, unless followed by an actual settlement, but for a long time many of them bore the names of those who made them. These rights, how- ever, were often bought and sold. Those who had selected favorite tracts of land on which they desired to make improvements bought up the tomahawk OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 65? rights rather than enter into quarrels with those who had made them. Other improvers of the land, with a view to actual settlement, and who happened to be stout, veteran fellows, took a very different course from that of buying out the "tomahawk rights." When annoyed by the claimants under those titles they deliberately cut a few good hickories and gave them what was in those days called a "laced jacket," that is, a sound whipping. Ezra Buell, an old and very able teacher, taught a school in 1820 on the William Henry farm, within the present limits of Hartstown. Hugh Andrews, Calvin Leonard and Thomas Guthrie were other capable and well- known teachers during the early days. A school at Adamsville was estab- lished in 1825, and was organized with two grades in 1861. In 1834 there were four schools in the township, the houses all being of logs. This number has of necessity decreased since the establishment of Hartstown as an inde- pendent borough and the separation of the schools. In 1896 there were two schools in West Fallowfield, the school year averaging eight months. Forty- nine pupils were enrolled, and nearly one thousand dollars was devoted to school purposes by the township. Adamsville is a busy little village, situated in the southern part of the township, in the valley of Crooked Creek. The Owrys were the first settlers, and it was here that Adam Owry followed his trade as a blacksmith. A blacksmith shop is usually looked upon as a center in a rural district, and a little hamlet soon sprang up, while the construction of the Beaver and Erie Canal later, on gave it shape and position. The settlement was christened Owrytown and was generally known under that name during the early years, but subsequently it acquired the title of Adamsville, both names being de- rived from that of Adam Owry, the original settler. Adamsville was laid out as a village in 1841, by Henry Owry, the original plan containing sixty- four lots. Main Street, sixty feet in width, runs north and south, and First, Second, Third, Liberty and South, each fifty feet wide, cross the village from east to west. George Owry kept the first tavern, and Frank Owry built a sawmill. The village now contains several stores and shops, a hotel, schools, churches, and thirty or forty families. A post-office is located there, and it is a station on the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, which traverses West Fallowfield Township from north to south. A Covenanter or Reformed Presbyterian congregation was organized at Adamsville in 1805. There were fifteen original members. Dr. John Black, of Pittsburg, who had been the moving spirit in the organization, visited them every fifth Sabbath, the members in the meantime holding services without a pastor. Their meeting place was at first a rough log cabin, afterward a frame church, located on a hill about a mile southwest from Adamsville. Samuel Hays was the first elder, and in 18 13 Samuel Rogers and John Mc- Master were added to the session. It was during the same year that Rev. 42 658 OUR COUNTY AND ITS' PEOPLE. Robert Gibson became pastor, who remained thirteen years. A. W. Black, David Herron and John Nevin were his successors, and when, in 1866, the latter left, the society was broken up, most of the members joining the Adams- ville United Presbyterian Church. The United Presbyterian Church of Adamsville was organized about 185 1, and two years later a church building was finished at a cost of $2,000, since much improved and repaired. James M. Blair and Thomas McCurdy were the first elders. Upon the disbanding of the Covenanter congregation the membership was largely increased and the church much strengthened. It now has a large and flourishing membership. The Free Will Baptist Church of Adamsville was another early religious organization, starting with twenty-one members, in 1852, with Rev. J. S. Manning as the first pastor. In 1853 a church building was erected. The membership was much reduced by removals and deaths, and as there were no compensating accessions, the organization disbanded about 1876. The Adamsville Reformed Presbyterian Church was originally located at Greenville, where it was a branch of the Springfield congregation, and was removed to Adamsville about 1873, during the pastorate of Rev. J. J. Mc- Clurken. He remained but a short time, and after a series of supplies Rev. J. R. Wylie was installed in 1877. When the Baptist Church was disbanded their building was purchased by the Reformed Presbyterians. BOROUGH OF HARTSTOWN. The borough of Hartstown is located in the northern part of West Fallowfield Township, upon the line of the Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad. The village was named from James and William Hart, two broth- ers, who settled in this locality at an early date and owned the land on which the town was built. Dr. Steen built the second cabin erected in the place, and a blacksmith named Thomas Rogers, the third. A tavern was built by Mr. Hart and was for some time kept by a Mr. LeFevre, while John McFaron was the first merchant. The construction of the canal contributed much to the growth of Hartstown, and since that waterway has been abandoned the vil- lage has not increased in population. Hartstown was incorporated as a borough in 1850, and B. Ewing was elected to serve as the first Burgess. It has a population of thirty or forty families, and contains several stores, shops, schools and churches. Its two schools are maintained during seven months, at a cost to the borough of about six hundred dollars. During the year 1896 sixty-nine pupils were in attendance. Several church edifices have been erected at Hartstown at various periods. The United Presbyterian Church was organized in 1830 as an Associate Re- formed congregation. Rev. S. F. Smith was the first pastor. The first church OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 659 building was erected in 1830, and was replaced by another in 1856 at a cost of $2,500. A Covenanters or Reformed Presbyterian congregation was formed in 1852, but soon afterward united with the United Presbyterian Church, and their building was purchased by a congregation of the German Reformed persuasion. This society went out of existence, and the building came into the possession of a Zion society. This in turn also ceased to exist. The Metho- dist Episcopal Church was organized with fifteen members about 1840, and the same year a church building was erected near the village. This has since been replaced by a larger and more elaborate building. The class is connected with the Espyville circuit. CHAPTER XXXIII. WEST SHENANGO TOWNSHIP. SHENANGO was one of the townships into which Crawford County was divided in 1800, and its boundaries were described as follows : "Be- ginning at the southwest corner of Crawford County; thence north- wardly the breadth of a certain fraction of a tract, distance unknown, together with the breadth of elevai full tracts; thence eastwardly the breadth of one tract adjoining the State line, together with the length of eight tracts ; thence southwardly to the southern boundary of Crawford County; thence by the same to the place of beginning." As thus constituted it occupied the whole of the southwestern corner of the county,, a tract eight by nine miles in size. In 1830 the boundaries were changed and Shenango was divided into North and South Shenango, the latter including what is now West Shenango. But in the course of time it was found that the divisions had nbt been m^ade so as to best suit the convenience of the citizens. The boundaries were mere geographical lines, and natural boundaries were ignored. But Shenango Creek, which runs from the northwest corner toward the southeast, becomes in rainy weather a 'very turbulent stream, and there was frequently great difficulty in maintaining communication between the two sides. Sometimes the children were thus prevented from attending school, apd the citizens could not always reach the polling place on days of election. It was therefore thought best by all concerned that a still further division should take place, using as a line of division the turbulent stream which seemed to form a natural boundary. Upon the petition of the citizens of South Shenango Township to the Court of Quarter Sessions to divide the township, James Espy was 66o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. appointed surveyor, and Eliphalet Allen and R. S. McKay, viewers. On April 2, 1863, they reported favorably, with a slight alteration of the boundaries, and the report was approved and confirmed by the court Augxist 14, 1863. It was" decided that the new township should be called West Shenango, and an election was ordered to be held in the Turnersville schoolhouse, where John Custard and Francis Royal were appointed inspectors, and Samuel Kel- log, judge of the first election. The township is the smallest in the county, containing but 4,947 acres. The surface is level and the soil well adapted to the cultivation of fruit and grain. The township is traversed from northwest to southeast by the Franklin division of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. But although West Shenango has been organized as a political division since 1863 only, it was settled, as were the neighboring townships, during the latter part of the eighteenth century. Samuel Scott and John White, from Perry County, were early settlers, and Andrew and John Betts made settle- ments about the same time. They came from Fayette County, and Andrew followed hunting as an occupation for several years. It is related that he killed deer to the number of one hundred and seventy-five in a single season. John Betts afterward became a Methodist preacher. Jeremiah Yoke, an old bachelor, was one of the township's earliest pioneers, and came from Fayette County. In the early days he was a large land holder, but he lost his possessions later in life and died in reduced circumstances. His brother George was also a pioneer, and his descendants still reside in the township. Many others came about 1800, and the land was rapidly taken up. Far removed, as they were, from any center of civilization, they were forced to depend upon themselves for almost everything, and every native mechanical genius was called into action. There was in almost every neigh- borhood some one whose natural ingenuity enabled him to do many things for himself and his neighbors far above what would have been expected. Many families included in their number their own tailors and shoemakers. Many who could not make shoes could make shoe packs, a contrivance much like a moccasin. With the few tools that they brought with them into the country they certainly performed wonders. Their ploughs, harrows with wooden teeth, and sleds were in many instances well made. Their cooper ware, which included all sorts of vessels for holding milk and water, was generally well executed. The cedar ware, in particular, by having alternately a white and red stave, was thought beautiful. Many of the puncheon floors were very neat, the joints close, and the top smooth and even. Their looms, though heavy, did very well. Those who could not exercise these mechanic arts were under the necessity of giving labor or barter to their neighbors -in exchange for the use of them, so far as their necessities required. A machine, still more simple than the mortar and pestle, was used for OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 66i making meal when the corn was too soft to be pounded. It was called a grater, and consisted of a half circular piece of tin perforated with a punch from the concave side, and nailed by its edges to a block of wood. The. ears of corn were rubbed on the rough edges of the holes, while the meal fell through them upon the board or block to which the grater was nailed, which, being in a slanting position, discharged the meal into a cloth or bowl placed there to receive it. This, to be sure, was a slow way of making meal, but, as was remarked by the person who thus described it, necessity knows no law. As early as 1810, however, Andrew Betts operated a grist mill upon his farm, and it was no longer necessary to grate the com. His mill was fed by a strong spring and did the grinding for that neighborhood for a number of years. He also owned a distillery in 1810, and later on built a sawmill. Schools were rare in the early times and the children were often forced to cross Shenango Creek to the schools in what is now South Shenango. Edward Hatton was one of the earliest school teachers. Polly Moss, from Ohio, taught school about 1820 in the southwest part of the township. After the division of the township a system of schools was established and put in successful operation. The number of schools in 1.896 was four, with a session of six-months duration. They were attended by seventy-four pupils, and were maintained at a cost of about eleven hundred dollars for the year. The average cost of instruction per month for each scholar was one dollar and sixty-nine cents. Turnersville is a small village of about twenty families, situated in the eastern part of the township. It was laid out by David Turner, and he entertained high hopes of soon making it a place of great importance. He set a day of public sale on which to sell the town lots at auction, and in order to conciliate those in attendance and stimulate the bidding he procured a barrel of sugar and a keg of whisky and placed them at the disposal of the attending crowd. The whisky was readily consumed, but the lots were not sold, and in a year or two the disappointed proprietor disposed of his interests to Peter Doty and Israel Kuder and removed from the vicinity. Charles Davis started the first store here, and the first tavern was kept by Jesse Webb. An ashery was owned by Anthony HoUister, while James White and Peter Doty were among the early settlers. The village now contains a hotel,- a store, one or two shops, a ^church, a school and the town- ship postoffice. The Methodist Protestant Class was organized in 1877 by Rev. Still- wagon. There were about thirteen original members, and the first meetings were held in the schoolhouse. In 1878 a fine church edifice was erected, at a cost of about $4,000, and was dedicated by Rev. Alexander Clark, of Pitts- burg. It was at first connected with the Trumbull circuit, but since 1880 has been a station. 662 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The State Line Methodist Episcopal Society was organized in 1819, with fourteen members, by Rev. E. Morse, who becarrie the first pastor. The meetings were for many years held in the schoolhouse, but in 1851 the church edifice was erected in the southwestern corner of the township and of the county, at a cost of $1,100. Peter Royal, William Yoke, Henry Royal, John Betts and Mr. Edwards and wife were among the first member?. The congregation, which is a large one and forms part of the Jamestown circuit, includes many members in Amercer County and across the Ohio line. CHAPTER XXXIV WOODCOCK TOWNSHIP. TO ONE who has spent his life amidst the picturesque scenery of Craw- ford County, the famous landscapes of the Old World seem to have been given an exaggerated importance, and he wonders why they are so besieged by tourists, while the marvelous beauties of our western continent are so little known and appreciated. And it is not because they excel, in any degree, the scenery of many parts of the United States. The fertile meadov>'5 of England, the romantic sights of the Rhine, and the green hills of Nor- mandy have for us a double attraction, for they possess, in addition to their intrinsic beauty, the value of a well known history. On this field was decided the fate of an empire ; behind that hill was fought a battle which changed the history of the world. Here the Franks drove back the Saracens to the fast- nesses of the Pyrenees ; and there Caesar won the battle which added Gaul to the Roman Empire. And so these spots become hallowed to us through the events of the past, and we look with a doubled interest upon the places made famous in the world's history. But we shall fail to find, in any country, scenery whith can excel in picturesque beauty the hills and valleys of north- western Pennsylvania. As we follow the valley of French Creek in its windings through Crawford County, we are struck by the beauty of the landscapes and the diversity of the scenes, the placid blue of the waters, the green valley through which it takes its course, and the long vision of low hills on either side, rising and receding into a rich upland country. It is a valley of unusual beauty, one of the garden spots of the world, with every element necessary to render it attractive. Woodcock Township, lying upon the eastern bank of French Creek, a little to the north of the center of the county, contains some of the finest OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 663 of this picturesque scenery. The surface is pleasantly diversified by upland and valley, and is well watered by streams flowing into French Creek. The principal one of these is Woodcock Creek, which enters the township in the southeast corner and flows in a northwesterly direction to the southern limits of Saegertown. Its northern branch, rising in the northeast corner, extends through the eastern part of the township. Bussard Run is a smaller tribu- tary to Woodcock Creek in the central part. The northern and north- western parts of the township are drained by Gravel Run and its tributaries, its southern branch uniting with its recipient near the confluence of the latter with French Creek, in the northwestern corner of the township. The southern part of the township has a slight declination toward Woodcock Creek, which receives the wafers of several small streams from the south. The surface has a gentle ascent as it recedes from French Creek, varied by chains of hills and stretches of high tableland. Between Gravel Run and Woodcock Creek a beautiful valley of great fertility extends in a southerly and westerly direction, through the central part, to French Creek. The soil of this valley consists of a rich alluvial loam, the most elevated portions containing the most loam. It is marked by many fine farms, especially in the vicinity of Saeger- town and along Woodcock Creek. The soil of the township is generally of a fine quality, and produces good crops of corn, wheat, oats and grass. Dairying is an important branch of agriculture, large quantities of the celebrated "Craw- ford County cheese" being produced. Woodcock Township, with an area of 19,328 acres, was erected in 1829 from Mead and Rockdale townships, which had formerly adjoined. Wood- cock Creek forming the boundary. It is bounded on the north by Cam- bridge, on the east by Richmond, on the south by Mead, and on the west by Hayfield. French Creek forms the western boundary, and the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad passes through its valley. Three boroughs, Saegertown, Blooming Valley and Woodcock, have been taken from its ter- ritory, but beyond these there are no villages in the township. Some of the earliest settlements of the county were made in Woodcock Township, in the valley of French Crepk and not far north of Meadville. This fertile region attracted settlers even before the end of the Indian hos- tilities. Savages lurked in the forest and passed from farm to farm, and the frontiersmen were forced to band together to guard against attacks. So, while some cleared the land, or cultivated a few patches of corn or potatoes, their neighbors were stationed near by, rifle in hand, to protect them from sudden attacks, or else patrolled the neighboring forests in search of hidden or approaching foes. The first settlement of which we have any inforrna- tion was made in 1791, by James Humes, who occupied a tract of land one mile west of the present location of Woodcock borough. William Jones was another early pioneer. He came to Meadville in 1793 or 1794, and for some 664 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. time tilled the soil in company with James Dickson and others. Two years later he settled in the southwestern corner of Woodcock Township, on what was afterward known as the Cole farm, and remained there throughout his life. Isaac Berlin l\ad been a soldier during the Revolution, and was one of the few who escaped starvation on board a British prison ship in 1777. He received a warrant for a tract of land in northwestern Pennsylvania as a reward for his services, and with his gun over his shoulder he came out on foot through the wilderness to locate it. He returned to the East, and'the next year brought his wife and family out to live on his property in the wilds of the West. But his land proved to be wet and uninhabitable, so he removed to the banks of French Creek, about two miles below Saegertown, where he purchased a farm. He was a gunsmith by trade, and lived in Woodcock Township until his death, in 1830. His services were often brought into requisition to repair the arms of the settlers, for after the Indians had been driven off there were still other foes to be exterminated. The animals which infested the forests, although they furnished the settlers with an ample supply of meat, were very troublesome to their flocks. Wolves and bears were especi- ally destructive. For a long time it was necessary to keep the sheep well guarded at night, and they were frequently attacked in the daytime. The bears tore down the pig pens and carried away the pigs, and not unfrequently the cows were set upon by wolves. George Peiffer, who had settled in Bloomfield Township among the earliest, removed in 18 10 to Woodcock, and located with his son George about two miles south of Saegertown, where he remained until his death, in 18 18. He built a large frame house soon after his arrival, and used it as a tavern. This locality was called Peiffertown, in honor of him, although it was never an extensive settlement. A log schoolhouse stood near the tavern, and was used by several different denominations for religious services. Henry Minium came with the Peiffers, and later on was engaged in the milling business at Saegertown. Patrick and Arthur McGill were two brothers who' came tO' the town- ship in 1795. Arthur took up 800 acres in the French Creek Valley, and Patrick afterward settled upon the south half of this tract. They were hardy, industrious farmers and both lived to a ripe old age, leaving a posterity which is still represented in the township. James Long came from Lancaster County in 1794 and settled in Woodcock, where he lived until his death, at the advanced age of ninety-three. Samuel Blair, an Irishman by birth, removed to this township from Susquehanna County in 1797. With the exception of the tracts located along French Creek by individ- uals, almost all of the land of Woodcock Township belonged originally to the Holland Land Company. It was by them parcelled out in farms of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 665 from one to two hundred acres, a very large proportion being transferred to various settlers between the years 1796 and 1805. Some only remained on their purchases for a short time, either because they were unable to carry out the terms of their contracts or that they became tired of pioneer life and returned to the borders of civilization. But many remained on the land thus acquired and became the founders of families still living in the township, and in some cases still cultivating the same land which was deeded to their ancestors by the land company. During 1796 and 1797 a scattering settle- ment had spread over the township. Upon the completion of a residence of five )rears and the making of some stipulated improvements, a gratuity of one hundred acres was usually granted toi the settlers, who' often agreed in addition to purchase fifty or one hundred acres more, so that those who re- mained and complied with the conditions found themgelves owners of fine large farms. In cases where the settler abandoned his farm before the term of settlement was completed, the land reverted to the company. A great deal of confusion was caused by the uncertainty of the State law in determin- ing the proprietorship of the abandoned settlements, and the land company usually maintained its title, although compromises were sometimes effected. Among those who thus took up land was Archibald Humes, who^ was granted one hundred and fifty acres in 1796. He was of Irish birth and had relatives who settled at the same time in Cambridge Township. William Hammond, who took up four hundred acres in 1799, was one of the earliest justices of the peace. John and William Greenlee came in 1796 from the eastern part of the State. William took up four hundred acres, and his descendants still reside in the township. Henry Rust, a German, came from Westmoreland County in 1796 and took up a farm of two hundred acres. Mathias Flaugh, also a German, came West with his four sons and settled upon two hundred acres in Tract No. 159. He was a fervent Lutheran, and it is related that he used to conduct the services at burials when no minister was present. Rev. John Matthews was a minister of the Presbyterian Church who re- sided for several years near Gravel Run, preaching the Gospel and teaching school. William McGredy was a jovial Irishman who took up six hundred acres of land in Woodcock Township in 1796. He probably found that six hundred acres of land was more than he could take care of, for he afterward removed to Meadville, married a widow and kept a boarding house. Henry Bossard, who came out from Greensburg in 1797, did not attempt so much. He took one hundred acres, and during the summer cleared a patch of ground and planted and raised a fine crop of potatoes. He returned to Greensburg for his wife and child, and they started out on foot for their new home, he carrying the baby and the rifle, while she conveyed on her shoulders a few articles of domestic use. But when they reached the cabin which Bossard had 666 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. built they made the sad discovery that the Indians had broken in and stolen all the store of potatoes which he had left there the previous autumn, and on wliich they had depended for sustenance while raising other crops. John Limber, from Northumberland County, at first settled near Harmonsburgh, but in 1796 he removed to Woodcock, where he took up a tract of two hundred acres. In 1816 he sold his farm and purchased land near Mansfield, Ohio, with the intention of removing there. But his wife dying he remained in Crawford County, where he was engaged for many years in teaching school. He was a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and as the nearest organization of that body was at Cochranton, he used to go there each Sabbath to attend service. The closing years of his life were spent in Meadville, where he died in 1852. Pember Waid came from Connecticut early in the century and settled with his son Ira upon a tract in the southeastern corner. The same land is still held by his descendants, a prominent family of Woodcock Township. James Long was born in Lancaster County and came to Woodcock in 1797. He died in 1830, at the advanced age of ninety-two, leaving a large family, which is still represented in the township by numerous descendants. In fact, a very large proportion of the present inhabitants of Woodcock are descend- ants of tlie early pioneers. They were for the most part of Irish and German origin, and many of them came from the Susquehanna Valley. It has been remarked that a settlement was hardly established before a schoolhouse and a church made their appearance, and Woodcock Town- ship was no exception to this. When George Peiffer built his large new tavern, about two miles south of Saegertown, the old log cabin was taken possession of by Betsy Peiffer, who taught a German school here as early as 1812. In 1816 a school building was erected in the same vicinity and school was held in it for many years, Sarah Dewey, Manda Dewey and Mr. Alden, a brother to Major Roger Alden, being among the first teachers. The earliest school taught within the present limits of the borough of Saegertown was about 18 15. John Johnson taught about the same time in an abandoned log cabin upon the farm now owned by William Long. It was deep in the woods, and the small clearing which had been made around it was overgrown with bushes. In 1837, when the first official statistics were compiled, we find Woodcock Township credited with seven schools, presided over by fifteen teachers, and attended by four hundred and thirty-three pupils, the largest attendance of any township in the county. The total amount of money re- ceived for the use of the schools was less than five hundred dollars, a re- markably small sum with which to operate seven schools and pay fifteen teachers during the five and one-half months which constituted the school year. The teachers were reported as being of good character and well quali- fied to teach reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic and geography. The OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 667 progress of the scholars is noted as "encouraging to the directors," and as usual, the complaint as to the defects of the system was the lack of funds with which to build schoolhouses. There are no churches in the township outside of the boroughs. Sev- eral private burying grounds are used, besides two public ones in the south- ern part of the township. One of these, the Blair cemetery, was set apart for this purpose in pioneer days. Archibald Humes built the first sawmill in the township, on Gravel Run. He soon afterward added a grist mill, which is still in operation in the same locality. The first grist mill of the township, however, was built by James Dickson on Woodcock Creek. The stones were of ordinary rock and were brought from Pittsburg. William Magaw erected a paper mill at Ma- goffin's Falls, in the southwest part, about 1840, which was operated until 1845. He had formerly constructed a mill on Woodcock Run, near Saeger- town, and it was there that the first straw paper ever manufactured in the United States was made. H. H. Fuller built a paper mill at Magoffin's Falls in 1880, upon the site of the old mill. Like its predecessor it was run by water power from French Creek, but was only continued a few years. Long's Stand Postoffice is located about two miles east of Saegertown, on the main road to Blooming Valley. Daniel Grubb and Daniel Wise kept public houses near here in the early days of the colony. More recently the Fountain House was built by James McGill in the same vicinity. If was at first used as a storeroom, but was afterward sold and converted into a hotel. It was located on the old pike road, and in the days of stage coaches was one of the stations between, Erie and Meadville. BOROUGH OF SAEGERTOWN. The borough of Saegertown is located in the western part of Wood- cock Township, where the French Creek Valley broadens out into a level tract of a mile in width and two miles in length. It is pleasantly situated on the east side of the creek, and is one of the handsomest villages in Crawford County. The settlement of Saegertown was commenced as early as 1796. About 1800 Major Alden built a sawmill on the site of the present mills, and for several years the place was known as Alden's Mills. Henry Minium, the miller, resided in a log cabin near by, and John McGill owned and occu- pied land some distance to the south of the mill. In 1824 Daniel Saeger purchased the mill, and it was for many years operated by him or members of his family. He was the founder of the village, and having purchased large tracts of land in the vicinity of the mill, laid out the town under its present name. Mr. Saeger came from Lehigh County, and was possessed of more than ordinary energy and business capacity. Being a native Pennsylvanian, of German descent, he attracted to this vicinity a large number of the hardy, 668 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. honest yeomanry of Lehigh and other eastern counties, and it soon possessed all the characteristics of a Pennsylvania Dutch settlement. About 1829 Daniel Saeger built a store and filled it with general merchandise, and the village store has been kept by the Saegers ever since. Mr. Freeman opened a small store in 1826, and Peter Shaffer kept the first tavern. The village was incorporated by act of Assembly in 1838. The early records are not known to exist, hence much of its history is to a great extent a matter of tradition. A. Saeger was elected Burgess in 1865, and since then J. Saeger, Oliver Saeger and Amos Saeger have at various times held the office. Among the early settlers were Adam Brookhouser, and his two sons, Adam and Jacob, Adam Newhouser, Henry Renner and George Wooding. The postoffice of Saegertown was established in 1833, the mail being carried from Meadville to Girard once a week, and when the postman, David Yarrick, rode into the village on his small black horse, blowing his horn, no little sen- sation was produced. The first school in the borough was taught by Jonathan G. David in a deserted log cabin situated a little north of the mill. In 1834 a frame school- house was built near the Reformed Church. It was a low building, divided into two rooms, it being designed that English might be taught in one side and German in the other. Jane McCaul taught here early in the century. The present school building contains four schools, conducted by one male and three female teachers. The attendance of pupils for 1897 was one hundred and seventy- four, and the amount of money raised for school purposes, includ- ing the State appropriation, was more than $1,800. The early settlers of Saegertown, foreseeing that the place would eventu- ally become of some importance, laid out the town with a great deal of care, fixing the streets at regular intervals, and in consequence it presents a much more attractive appearance than the average country town. The streets are wide and well kept, the residences neat and attractive, while many business blocks hav€ been erected upon the main streets. There are several general stores, besides hardware, furniture, milliiiery and drug stores, jewelry and shoe stores, a meat market, blacksmiths, 'barbers and tailors. There are saw- mills, grist mills, a planing mill, printing office and hotels, and these and other industries- furnish employment to the citizens. The Saegertown Band, or- ganized in 1876, is well known throughout northwestern Pennsylvania. The German Reformed Congregation was organized early in the cen- tury, but the history is obscure, as the records have been lost and none of the first members now live. It is known, however, that the society held its early meetings in Peiffer's schoolhouse, that Rev. Zeiser and Daniel Rau- haliser were among the early pastors, and that Philip and Henry Renner, Solomon Graff and Conrad Baughman were among the first members. In 1829 the congregation obtained a part interest in the old church, which stood OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 669 in the same place as the present edifice, and afterward by purchase obtained sole conti-ol, and for many years the meetings were held there. In 1872 the present handsome meeting house was erected, at a cost of $4,000, and the church, with a large membership, is in a flourishing condition. The Lutheran Church of Saegertown was organized by members of the Venango congregation in 1828. Before this, for the convenience of the Lutherans in that vicinity, services were sometimes held in Peiffer's school- house, two miles south of Saegertown. As the number increased a separate organization was formed and a frame church was erected in Saegertown, in 1829, on the lot now occupied by the German Reformed Church. It was built by a united effort of all the settlers, and all the religious bodies of the vicinity worshipped in it. It was used bythe Lutherans until 1868, when the present h.andsome edifice was built on the corner of Erie and Commercial streets, at a cost of $7,000. George Peiffer, Samuel Peiffer, Jacob Flaugh and Daniel Saeger were,among the early Lutherans, and Rev. Shultz and his son, Augustus Shtiltz, were the first ministers. Many of the first settlers were German and did not understand English, so while the father preached in German, his son conducted services in English. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Saegertown was formed about 1839. Like the Lutheran Church, it was organized from members of another con- gregation, most of them coming from the Seavey class, which met upon the other side of the creek. Among the early members were Andrew Ryan and wife, Isaac Blyston'e, John Flaugh and wife, John McGill and wife, Harve} Sackett and wife, Jacob Brookhouser and wife, and Joseph Housel. For many years the Saegertown Methodists met in the Lutheran Church, but in 1841 they built a church upon the northwestern corner of North and Commercial streets. This was used until, in 1875, the present edifice was erected upon the same lot, at a cost of $6,000. The society is numerous and in a flourishing condition, and forms a part of the Saegertown circuit. Within the past ten years Saegertown has become widely and favorably known as a health resort, owing to the discovery o'f rare medicinal qualities in the mineral springs of the place. Large hotels have been built and ini- provements made, and now it is the resort of hundreds each year who seek a quiet place for rest and recuperation. The large summer hotels are fitted up with all the newest conveniences and supplied with various means of amusement, while the river furnishes fine facilities for boating, and the country roads in all directions are drives of exceptional beauty. The amuse- ments in the winter are no less varied and bring crowds of visitors during the cold m.onths. Thus it is seen that the mineral springs have done much for Saegertown. Enormous quantities of carbonated water and ginger ale are manufactured each year and shipped in carload quantities to various points 670 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. of distribution, where the carefulness of its preparation and its natural ex- cellence command for it a wide sale. BOROUGH OF WOODCOCK. ^Voodcock borough is located in the northern part of Woodcock Town- ship, in the valley of Gravel Run. In the year 1818 the Meadville aijd Erie Turnpike was constructed, and as it passed through the land owned by Henry Minium in the valley of Gravel Run, he conceived the idea of founding a village there. In 18 19 he laid out the town and christened it Rockville, thus making it one of the oldest villages of Crawford County. Minium was not living on his land at this time, being employed in the milling business at Alden's Mills. He had, in 1818, sold a lot to Jacob Keplar, and he was the only inhabitant of the. new village when it was laid out in 18 19. Minium was determined to boom the town, so he employed. a Dutch auctioneer, Derk Jan Newhausen, familiarly known in the neighborhood as "Dutch John," and under his persuasive accents rnost of the lots were disposed of at a good figure, as land sold at that time. There was then a great amount of travel on the turnpike, as it was the direct route from Erie to Meadville, and was the thoroughfare pursued by hundreds of incoming settlers seeking homes in the West. Jacob Keplar, the original settler, was a cobbler by trade, and made shoes for the pioneers of that vicinity. After Rockville was establishtd he erected the first hotel, and kept the postoffice, and on account of his local prominence the place was widely known as Keplartown. John Scott and Mr. Whitely opened small stores, and Daniel Shaffer established a blacksmith shop. The village prospered until the plank road was constructed on the other side of French Creek, when the travel left the turnpike and it received - a severe check to its growth. It was expected that the construction of the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad within a mile of the village would aid its development, but it has proved of little assistance. In 1844 Rockville was incorporated as a borough and the name changed to Woodcock. George Pond was elected the first Burgess. The village now contains several stores, a sawmill, hotel, three churches and a public school, attended by twenty scholars. Several agricultural fairs have been held here with good success. The Rockville Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1810 by Rev. Joshua Monroe. It was at first known as the Gravel Run Church, and the early meetings were held in the dwelling house of John Shearer, in the southwest corner of Cambridge Township. The first meeting house was built in 1817, immediately north of the Woodcock borough limits. This continued in use until 1839, when a brick edifice was erected within the bor- ough. A parsonage was built in the early days of the church, but was not used after 1870, and in 1879 ^ "^^'^ one was erected, at a cost of $700. The OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 671 society numbers more than one hundred and forms part of the Rockville cir- cuit. The Gravel Run Presbyterian Church was organized about 1809 by Rev. John Matthews, who became the first pastor, continuing his labors until 1814. In 1838 the division of the Presbyterian Church caused a disruption of the Gravel Run congregation, and it was divided into the old school and new school branches. Each branch erected a house of worship, the new school a frame structure, the old school a substantial brick building. In 1879 the differences were adjusted and the two divisions reunited into one congre- gation, using as a place of meeting the brick structure erected by the old school. The building of the new school is r\ow used by the Protestant Epis- copal congregation. The St. James Mission of the Protestant Episcopal Church was organized in 1 88 1 by Rev. E. G. Carstensen, of Meadville, who supplied the pulpit until 1882. After him the services were conducted by the rectors of the Mead- ville church until 1893, when the mission was closed. In July, 1897, the services were again taken up, being conducted by Rev. G. S. Richards, of Meadville. The membership is about twenty. BOROUGH OF BLOOMING VALLEY. The borough of Blooming Valley is situated in the southeastern corner of Woodcock Township, on a branch of Woodcock Creek. In the early days this fertile valley was bedecked with a rich and luxuriant growth of wild flowers, and the variegated appearance which it presented caused the early pioneers to give it the name of the Blooming Valley, which it has always re- tained. The borough contains about twelve hundred acres of land, and the village extends for a half mile along the State Road. The postoffice of Blooming Valley was established several years before the borough was in- corporated. The village was founded by Jeremiah Smith, a farmer owning land here, who in 1845 laid out twenty-eight lots on the south side of the State Road. While the lots did not sell as rapidly as had been anticipated, there were nevertheless several accessions to the settlement, and as it is in the center of a rich farming country, there were soon several stores estab- lished. George Roudebush and James Williams were already residing in this locality when the village was laid out. George Roudebush was a carpenter and the proprietor of a sash factory, and he and James Wygant opened small stores and were the first merchants. Others soon afterward moved in, George Fleck, a blacksmith, and Henry Marker, a carpenter, being among the earliest. It now contains several stores, two hotels, blacksmiths' shops, and other in- dustries. The borough of Blooming Valley was incorporated in 1867, by order of the Court of Quarter Sessions, and at the first election S. L. Thompson 672 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. was elected Burgess. In 1869 a fine large school building was erected, at a cost of $3,700, and is used by the three schools now maintained. Three teachers are employed, and in 1897 one hundred and one children were in attendance. The amount raised for school purposes in 1896 was $279.09, in addition to the State appropriation of $280.61. School is taught during seven months of the year, and a high degree of excellence is maintained. An Advent society, with a large membership, was formed by Rev. Wen- dell in 1849. The early services were held in the Cowen schoolhouse, some distance north of the village. In 1854 the people of the vicinity decided to unite to build a place of worship, which should be entirely undenominational and free to all religious bodies. A lot was donated by Mrs. Knapp and the subscriptions of the neighboring farmers enabled them to erect a large and commodious frame building, at a cost of $2,000. This was used by the Advent society for many years, but the class declined in number and the services were finally discontinued. The Methodist society was also organized in a schoolhouse north of the village, and it was there that the meetings were held for many years. It was formed soon after the village was laid out, and among its early members were James Wygant and wife, Andrew Floyd and wife, Miss Sarah Armstrong, Mrs. John Roudebush and Mrs. John Robbins. .Services were held in the Union Church until the present edifice was erected in 1874. It cost $4,500, and is surmounted by a bell which cost an additional $300. The society has a flourishing membership and is attached to the Saegertown circuit. part iriD, ♦-♦♦♦^ BtoGtapbtcal SF^etcbes* 4^ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Harm Jan Huidekoper was a native of Holland, born in Hoogeveen, in the district of Drenthe, April 3, 1776. His father was Anne Huidekoper, and the maiden name of his mother was Gesiena Frederica Wolters. His mother's family was one of considerable standing in Drenthe. It had long resided there, and one branch of it had attained distinction in the military service of the country. Our subject's mother was a woman of amiable disposition and sound judgment — and to her influence should be attributed much of the success which he afterward attained. Mr. Huidekoper acquired his early education in his native village. When he was ten years of age he was sent to a boarding school at Hasselt, in the province of Overyssel, where, excepting one year, — which was spent for the most part at home, — he remained until he was seventeen. The two years fol- lowing were spent in the Institute at Crefeld, Germany. Now, for the first time, he had the advantages not only of good instruction, but also of a large and well chosen library. He made good use of his opportunities. In a little time, his diligence and abilities enabled him to take high rank in the Institute as a scholar ; and his exemplary conduct gave him the esteem and friendship of both his instructors and fellow students. This period of his life was indeed a most happy one, and he always looked back upon it with the greatest pleasure. On his return to Holland he was offered, by his older brother John, a situation in a commercial house he was then about to establish, or, if he pre- ferred, the means to go to America. At this time no very inviting induce- ments were offered in Holland to young men of decided ability tO' enter upon a commercial career. A year before, the country had been conquered by a French army, under Pichegru ; and the Thermidonians, who now ruled France, were drawing upon the wealth of the country to relieve the financial distresses of the French Republic. At this very time, too, Holland was engaged in a war with England. On the other hand, in America, ability, character and in- dustry counted for more than money and family connections ; and in this land, too, there was ample scope for individual exertion. Consequently the young Hollander, fresh from his books and wanting none of the prerequisites of suc- cess, sailed for New York. The voyage was begun August 12, 1796, and occupied sixty-three days. He spent this time in the study of the English lan- 67s 676 OUR COUNTY .AND ITS PEOPLE. guage, and so great was his ad\'ancenient that when the voyage had ended he was able to express himself quite intelligibly. He spent the following winter^ and also' a part of the summer of 1797, at Cazenovia, New York. Then he went to Oldenbarneveldt (Trenton), where he remained until he removed to Philadelphia, in 1802, to accept the position of bookkeeper to Mr. Busti, the general agent of the Holland Land Company. At about the same time, too, he was appointed secretary and bookkeeper of the Pennsylvania Population Company. From the very first, because of his abilities and indihstry, he had the confidence of the company, and in a little time was looked upon as the successor of Mr. Busti in the general agency. During his first year's residence in Philadelphia, an opportunity pre- sented itself whereby he was further able to demonstrate his business talent, and at the same time gratify his love of travel. Major Roger Alden was then the general agent of the Holland Land Company for its lands west of the Allegheny river. Both Major Alden and his assistant were incompetent as bookkeepers, and as a result great confusion was produced in the agency's accounts. To adjust these, Mr. Huidekoper was asked to go to- Meadville. The trip was made on horseback, in company with Mr. Jabez Colt, the ager.t of the Pennsylvania Population Company for tlieir lands in Crawford county. He remained in Meadville about four weeks, and then returned, by way of Buffalo, Niagara Falls and New York. He describes Meadville, at this time, as "a small village, containing twenty-five or thirty houses, chiefly log ones, and a population of about one hundred and fifty." He also says, in describing his journey home, that "from the Pennsylvania line to Buffalo there were but three small cabins, two near Westfield and one on the Cattaraugus creek, and Buffalo had perhaps a dozen and a half cabins." Major Alden resigned his position in 1804, and. immediately Mr. Huide- koper was appointed his successor. In the following November he removed to Meadville and entered upon his duties at the beginning of the new year. The condition of the agency was most unsatisfactory. The lands north of the Ohio and west oi the Allegheny river had been sold to the company by the state of Pennsylvania, under a law of June 3, 1792, which required that within two years after the issue of a warrant for any tract of four hundred acres, a family should reside thereon; and further, that this residence should continue for five years "unless prevented by the enemies of the United States." From the beginning, the company had faithfully endeavored to comply with the law, but failed, however, because of an Indian war that had begun in 1791, and which continued until the decisive victory of General Anthony Wayne, late in the summer of 1794. The company then renewed its efforts for the settlement of the lands, but now it was claimed by some persons that it had legally forfeited its title by its failure tO' make the settlements within the re- quired time. When Mr. Huidekoper assumed the management oi the agency. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 677 "a local rebellion had sprung up." Squatters had settled on the lands, and not a few persons who had gone into possession under written agreements re- pudiated their contracts. Shrewd speculators, too, endeavored to so deter- mine events as to make it possible for them to have a share in the spoils. Bitter antagonisms were created, which were intensified by numerous anonymous let- ters. Confronted by such difficulties, ordinary men would have shrunk from the responsibilities which Mr. Huidekoper now assumed. It was his work, however, that brought order out of chaos. One of his first steps was to have the company's title judicially established. This was done by a decision of the United States supreme court in 1805, in the case of Huide- koper versus Douglas. The decision, which was delivered by Qiief Justice John Marshall, held that a faithful attempt had been made to comply with the law within the required time; and that after the close of the "interrupting invasions," the warrantees were excused "from further and subsequent efforts at settlement." (Dallas' Reports, volume 4, page 392.) Perfect fairness characterized all of Mr. Huidekoper's dealings with the settlers. Where patience would do good, he was patient, even to indulgence. There are many instances where fifteen or twenty years elapsed before settlers found it con- venient to pay for their lands ; and in some cases they were not paid for until after twenty-five and thirty years. On the other hand, if firmness was needed, he was not wanting in that quality. The decision of the United States supreme court helped very materially to improve matters ; but the angry feelings which the contest had engendered continued for a long time, and more than once the life of Mr. Huidekoper was in danger. On one occasion, when returning home alone over a wilderness road in Warren county, he was fired upon by a would-be assassin. Fortunately he escaped injury, but his horse was severely wounded. An attempt was made to bring the perpetrator of the outrage to justice. The evidence against him was strong, but it was purely circumstantial, and the jury failed tO' convict. Years afterward the accused, when he was on his death-bed, admitted the shooting, but denied that he had intended murder. The last legal controversy about warrant titles connected with the office at Meadville was decided by the Pennsylvania supreme court nearly forty years after the decision of the United States supreme court. (Barr's Reports, volume I, page 463.) In 1836 the company decided to close out its interests in New York and Pennsylvania. Mr. Huidekoper now purchased all its lands in Erie, Crawford, Warren and Venango counties, paying for them the sum of one hundred and seventy-eight thousand dollars. Earlier than this he had made some purchases of considerable magnitude from the Pennsylvania Pop- ulation Company. The purchase of 1836, however, was his most important one, and was the last one that he made. It should be said also that he had other interests besides his land business. In 181 7, in co-operation with Judge 678 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Griffith, of New Jersey, who was later clerk of the United States supreme court, he was engaged in the introduction of merino sheep into the country. In the following year he erected west of French creek a grist and saw mill, which was of the greatest benefit to the farmers of the surrounding country, though it was never very remunerative to its owner. On September i, 1806, nearly two years after his arrival in Meadville, Mr. Huidekoper was married to Miss Rebecca Colhoon, of Carlisle, Penn- sylvania. A year earlier he had purchased thirty acres of ground adjacent to the town, and had erected a house. Miss Colhoon was of Scotch-Irish descent. She was of pleasing personal appearance, amiable disposition and a thorough- going housekeeper. Their married life was a most happy one, and extended through a period of thirty-three years. Seven children were born to them, two of whom died in childhood; the other five survived both parents. Mrs. Huidekoper died October 22, 1839. Throughout the whole period of his life, Mr. Huidekoper was a diligent student. The employment of the larger part of his leisure in reading gave him an extensive general information. He was especially fond of history and biog- raphy. It has been said, by one who knew him well,, that "to^ converse with him on our colonial connection with European history" one would find him "as familiar with it as though he had made it the study of his life." Probably his knowledge of the Scriptures and ecclesiastical history was still more profound. Very early in life he had become a faithful student of the New Testament. It was his habit, in the study of mooted theological questions, to examine all of the evidences of the Scriptures before coming to a conclusion. In this way he reached definite opinions, which he was always ready to explain and de- fend. Early in life he had united with the Dutch Reformed church; but even before his student days had ended at Crefeld he felt the need of a more liberal creed. Eventually his daily study of the Scriptures caused him to "renounce Calvinism and accept the doctrine of the unity of God as opposed to that of the trinity. Mainly through his efforts, the Independent Congre- gational Church of Meadville was organized. At first the society worshiped in the courthouse, but after a few years a church building was erected, by money he generously furnished. The attacks which were now made upon the Unitarians caused Mr. Huide- koper to engage in written controversies in the local papers. During the years 183 1 and 1832 he himself edited a periodical called The Unitarian Essayist. He states the purpose of its publication as follows : "These infringements not of Christian charity merely, but of our Christian rights, forbid our silence. We are forced to come forward in defense of ourselves and of what we believe to be the truth. We desire discussion not for the sake of controversy, but that the public may have an opportunity of judging which of our opposing sys- tems accords best with the teachings of our Saviour. The time must come m •o _c 'o 3 J c e •o o o Id O O « OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 679 when this question must be decided by evidence ; and for the sake of Christian peace and charity we hope it may come quickly." Nearly all of the papers in the Essayist were written by Mr. . Huidekoper. Between the years 1836 and 1842 he contributed twenty-eight articles, mostly on religious subjects, to the Western Messenger published by the Unitarian Association in Louisville, Kentucky. In all of the articles he contributed to these periodicals, is evi- dence of most thorough preparation. He wrote frankly and honestly, and in a directness and clearness of style that is seldom excelled. Mr. Huidekoper was the founder of the Meadville Theological School, which went into operation October i, 1844. It was not incorporated, however, until February 24, 1847. From the date of its organization until his death, Mr. Huidekoper stood toward it in a paternal relation. He was the first presi- dent of its board of trustees. Faithful to all its interests, he labored assidu- ously to place it on a permanent foundation. Fie husbanded its resources, wisely invested its funds and contributed largely to its endowment. As a business man, Mr. Huidekoper was prudent and practical. He was prompt in all business engagements and scrupulously honest. As a citizen he was most exemplary. His influence was always for the right, and the impress he made upon the community where he lived so- many years is still felt. In politics, he sympathized with the doctrines of Alexander Hamilton, and favored the protective, or as it was called by Henry Clay, the American, system. He loved children, which, together with his religious affections, made him "for years, a constant and faithful teacher in the Sunday-schools, both in the town and country, connected with the Unitarian Society. Always interested and interesting, he continued till the end of life in this work, and was with his class on the Sunday before his death." He was benevolent to the poor. A conteniporary journal has said that "he expended the fortune which he amassed largely in administering to the comfort of the indigent, and especially during the latter part of his life he seemed to take peculiar interest not only in replying with liberal hand tO' the frequent calls made upon his benevolence, but also in searching out objects worthy of his notice." The biography of few men will exhibit greater rewards of ability, in- dustry and integrity than does that of Harm Jan Huidekoper. In business circles, in his home relations, in the church and the town, his life was exem- plary. In all that he did, he was actuated by the great principles that should govern humanity. He died at his residence in Meadville, May 22, 1854. A portrait of the subject of this memoir appears as the frontispiece of this volume. Michael Greeiilee. — One of the oldest settlers of Crawford county was Michael Greenlee, who with his wife and son Robert came from Fayette county to Pittsburg in 1795. His father was a Covenanter who fled from 68o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Scotland to the north of Ireland to escape persecution, and from there came to this country, settling in Delaware. He married twice. By his first wife he had two sons, David and William. The former moved to Georgia and the latter is thought to have gone up the James or the Red river. He was mar- ried the second time at the age of sixty, his wife being but nineteen. He had three children by his second wife, as follows : Michael, Allen and Elizabeth. Michael was born in 1759, in Delaware, near the Maryland line, and was married in 1792 to Bethiah Maxson, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he lived for a period of two years, and where his son Robert was born. He then moved to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained one year, and then, in company with his family and a small colony of settlers, came up the Allegheny river and French creek on a flat-bottom boat or raft, which was pushed up the streams with setting poles, to Meadville, where there was a small settlement. He brought with him eighteen barrels of flour, two barrels of side pork, a lot of flax, one and one-half bushels of salt, one yoke of oxen, one cow, two t\yo-year-old heifers, one mare, one large black-walnut chest and other household goods. There was nothing but an Indian trail through the woods from Pittsburg to Meadville at that time, and the only stopping place in the whole distance was where James and Philip Dunn had settled. Here they stopped for a rest. During their trip up the -river it rained so that their beds were getting wet, and he put boards on barrels for covering for his wife and little Robert. On this journey the live stock was driven to the new home along this primitive trail through the forest, and on this trip Mr. Greenlee injured his back pushing the boat, from the effect of which he never recov- ered. He remained one year on French Creek Flats, near Meadville, where he raised a patch of corn. When the crop was ready to harvest, being unable to walk, he took a chain and rode one of the oxen into the field, where he hitched the chain around shocks of corn and drew them to a shed, thus saving his corn, while his neighbors left theirs in the field and it was swept down the creek in a freshet and was lost. The spring following, in March, 1797, he went on horseback to Venango township, now Cussawago township, and secured four hundred acres of land and built a small log cabin. When he thus went to look for land, a man had agreed tO' come out from Meadville and bring him a gun and fire tools, but disappointed him, and the consequence was that he was obliged to stay in the woods all night with his horse and dog, without fire or gun, there being four inches of snow on the ground. He made his bed beside a fallen tree, against which he stood pieces of bark for covering. His dog barked continually, thus keeping the wild animals away; otherwise it seemed to him as though he must have been killed by them, as all through the long, weary night these denizens of the forest gave distinct evidence of their presence. In order to get supplies for their families, the men had to go through h3 feJ s> B c p. o 5 ■rt p. CO c 3 o •5' o o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 68r the woods on horseback along an Indian trail to Pittsburg. During his ab- sence on one of these trips, which took several days, Mr. Greenlee's wife was very much annoyed by wolves, bears and panthers, which came alarmingly near. She took lighted pine torches and threw them at the animals, which were afraid of fire, thus keeping them away. A blanket was used to cover the entrance tp the little cabin and served in lieu of a door. That fall Mr. Greenlee hired the underbrush dug out and the large trees girdled on one acre of ground, for which service he paid five dollars, and the ground was prepared for seed in as effective a way as possible. He bought one bushel of seed wheat, costing four dollars, and sowed it on this acre of ground, which produced thirty bushels. There was a brush fence around this acre, somewhat protecting it from wild animals, but nevertheless it was necessary to guard it both day and night until the crop was harvested. That one bushel was all the wheat he ever bought for the use of his family. Being an invalid, as stated above, he was unable personally to do much farm work, sO' he took up the manufacture of reeds for weaving, and other similar work. He .always kept a yoke of oxen, and changed work with his neighbors by letting them use his ox team, and thus managed to get his heavy farm work done, — work which hfs boys were unable to do by reason of their youth. It is said of him that he never gave a note in his life and never had a lawsuit. A notable character- istic of the Greenlee family has been equability of temperament. Each suc- cessive generation has shown the same mildness of disposition, the same gentle and kindly nature, and the deepest sympathy and regard for all men. Sterling integrity of character, strong mentality and excellent business abilitv have also been typified in the various representatives of the name. The family has ever stood for the highest order of citizenship, and has rendered strong allegiance to religious, educational and all other good work. Mr. Greenlee was a First-day Baptist and his wife a Seventh-day Bap- tist, and accordingly they kept both days holy. Their home was always open to the itinerant clergymen of both denominations, and was to these noble pioneer workers in the Master's vineyard a home indeed. Mrs. Greenlee, in the meantime, lost her health and did most of her work in bed, such as sewing, knitting, mending, and sometimes spinning, the last work being accomplished by having one of the children turn the wheel for her. She was also quite a poet. She died in 1819, and Michael died in 1827, near Mosiertown, in Cus- sawago township, where they were buried. Michael and Bethiah Greenlee had a large family, of eleven children, namely: Robert, Elizabeth, John, Esther, Jacob, Lucinda, Maxson, James, Mary, Experience, and Edmund. All are deceased, and all, with the excep- tion of Robert, were born, and all, with the exception of Jacob and Maxson, spent their lives in Crawford county. Jacob went to Conneaut, Ohio, Maxson to Minnesota. Edmund, the youngest child, was married in 1833 to Mary 682 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Wright Stebbins, born September 13, 1805, in Springfield, Massachusetts, whence the family moved to Crawford county, where she met Edmund Greenlee. Their children were Emeline, Robert, Ralph, Michael, Rachel, and Mary. Mr. Greenlee was a man of considerable inventive genius, and he devised and manufactured machinery for making all of his own cheese boxes and butter kegs at the time he was conducting an extensive dairy business. He was also a strong man, physically and mentally. His first child, Emeline Blodgett, was married to Samuel Julius Wells, in Rundell, Crawford county, Pennsylvania ; Michael ■ lived in Summerhill township, near Rundellstown, on the old farm which his father purchased and cleared, and where the family still reside. The old homestead is now owned by the twO' brothers, Robert L. and Ralph S. Greenlee, of Chicago. Rachel and Mary went to Denver, Colorado, where they still reside. From earliest infancy there was great difficulty in distinguishing the twins, Ralph and Robert, from each other, so much were they alike in looks, form and manner. They were sent tO' school and given the best educational advantages afforded in the common schools of the district, pursuing their studies until nineteen years of age, also assisting their father in the dairy business. It is unmistakably true that none of the "Crawford county boys" have attained a greater measure of success in life than have Ralph S. and Robert L. Greenlee, the representa- tive business men of Chicago-, and it will certainly be of interest to the read- ers of this work to note the more salient points in their career since they have left their native county. In 1863, at the age of twenty-five, they left the farm and moved to Chicago to start in business on their own account. Making use of their me- chanical skill acquired while working for their father, they opened a cooper shop, employing machinery in their work. This aroused the ire and con- certed opposition of the western coopers, for they objected to any departure from the methods of their forefathers. The opposition was met boldly and firmly, and finally overcome, and the firm of Greenlee Brothers was duly prosperous. From this beginning they drifted into the manufactui-e of wood- working machinery, making a specialty of the highest grades known, and constantly adding new inventions and methods until the Greenlee machines have become famous 'with manufacturers in wood throughout the world. Im- mediately after the great fire of 1871 they removed to their present quarters in West Twelfth street, where, in addition to ^ the manufacture of wood- working machinery, they established, in 1883, the Northwestern Stove Re- pair Company, the largest concern of the kind in the world. Here, also, in 1886 they established two large foundries, under the corporation name of the Greenlee Foundry Company. Mr. Ralph S. Greenlee married Miss Elizabeth Brooks of Chicago, who w m IP i-i (» o « p. > ni a I:! IT o 5' a? o o Id o s IS V > < o (A a Id w ■a S3 Id Id ' Jacob Schwartz, proprietor of the Central Avenue Hotel, Titusville, was born in Germany in 1846, a son of Adam and Catharine (Hessler) Schwartz, who first located in Buffalo after coming to this country. The former died 756 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. in Titusville, December, 1897, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. Schwartz located in Titusville in 1867 and was employed in a brewery until 1887, when he purchased the Central Avenue Hotel, which he still con- tinues to conduct. Mr. Schwartz is the oldest of a family of five children, three of whom are living, as follows : Jacob ; Charles, of Warren, Pennsylvania ; and Fritz, in New York. He was first married in 1874 to Anna Linter, who died in 1892. Their children are John, Lottie, Ella, Aleen, and George. His second marriage was in 1895, when he wedded Bertha Wege of Pleasantville, and they have two children, — Harold and Edward. Mr. Schwartz is a member of the K. of P. and D. O. H. George Lovell Gary, president of the Unitarian Theological School at Meadville, was born in Medway, Massachusetts, on May 10, 1830. He re- ceived a common and high school education in Medway, and fitted for college at the Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Massachusetts, and the Leicester Academy at Leicester, that state. Li 1848 he entered Harvard University, where he was graduated in 1852. In order to secure a needed respite from study he engaged thereafter in manufacturing and mercantile pursuits until 1856, during a part of which year he resided in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the autumn of this year he was appointed acting professor of Greek in Antioch College. Upon the reorgani- zation of the faculty, in 1857, he was appointed professor of Greek and Latin. Pie held this position until 1862, when he received an appointment to the chair of New Testament literature in the Meadville Theological School, with which institution he has ever since been connected. Upon the death of Dr. Livermore, in 1890, he was made president of the Theological School, which position he still holds. He is the author of "An Introduction to the Greek of the New Testament," published in 1879, and also of a work on "The Synoptic Gospels," soon to be published. President Gary was married March 12, 1854, to Mary Isabella Harding of Springfield, Massachusetts. John Joyce Garter, the son of John and Cecelia (Joyce) Carter, was born in the city of Westport, Ireland, June 16, 1842. The paternal great- grandfather, the grandfather, the father and the subject of this sketch — four generations — were each named John Carter. The Carters, on the one side, and the Joyces, on the other, were both ancient Irish families, and in the union the blood of Clan Carty and that of the Joyces of Connamara mingle and pass through the veins of John J. Carter of to-day. The lineage on both sides was of grand old Irish stock. The father of the subject of this sketch was a merchant in the city of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 757 Westport during many years of its prosperity, when the merchantmen from many lands visited and frequented the western shores of Ireland, andClewbay in^ particular, to exchange their wares for the woolens, linens and laces of Irish handicraft ; and from the trade in these exchanges he secured what in those days was a good competence for himself and family, so that he was accounted a wealthy man. But when fortune was smiling upon him, in the happiest days of his life, death took from him his beloved wife, leaving to his care two children, — a daughter approaching womanhood, and the infant, John J., then eighteen months old, the sad misfortune to be followed about a year and a half later by a bereavement, like a tragedy, of the surviving parent. To John J. Carter memory does not recall even the face of his father.. The yearning all his life to remember the slightest trace of a mother's loving embrace, or a father's blessing, has passed unsatisfied ! He has grown from childhood to youth, to middle life and to the beginning of declining years ; he has slept on the tented field, made long and weary marches, bivouacked many nights under the open sky and charged upon the cannon's mouth ; he has returned in triumph, loaded with honors, after years of military service under his country's flag; he has toiled early and late in amassing a fortune, and his efforts in acquiring wealth have been crowned with success; the little boy tripping his way alone in a careless world, buffeting many obstacles, has grown to strong manhood and become a power in society; but the longing of his heart to awaken recollec- tion of his mother's face and gentle voice, though unavailing, has never ceased. After his mother's death a grand-aunt, with excellent management, took charge of his father's household and with fidelity cared for the children. In the mighty struggle for Catholic emancipation, led by Daniel O'Connell, his father was one of the strongest supporters of that patriot; but in the midst of the rejoicing over O'Connell's final victory his father met with an accident which proved fatal. After his death the little boy John and his sister were removed to the home of their maternal grandfather, where they remained until the sister's marriage, in the winter of 1845. The father left a compe- tence for his children. The marriage contract provided for an early depart- ure of the young couple to America. The sister undertook the care of her little brother, as the three — herself, husband, and young John J. — started for the United States. They landed in New York in the early spring of 1846, then went to Troy Center, New York, where they lived for some time, and in that city was the dawn of Mr. Carter's recollections. The next home was in Buffalo', that state, some tyne in 1848. From Buffalo they moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and from that city to Portageville, Wyoming county. New York, arriving there in the summer of 1850. Soon afterward the sister's husband died, a sad loss to the two remaining ones. 758 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Soon after her husband's death the sister placed her young brother under the charge of Rev. John Sheridan of Portageville, who took upon himself the responsibility of his education. Concerning this home Mr. Carter has many pleasing recollections. Here his mind began to expand and life opened to him amid agreeable associations. The relations lasted only one year, when the lad was placed under the care of a younger man, Rev. Dollan. Mr. Carter thinks the change was not fortunate, however good the intention which prompted it. Some of the experiences, however, under Rev. Dollan are pleas- ant to remember. He was put into school at Buffalo, where he had good instruction. He was thoroughly drilled in the Latin language, and he still retains the benefit of that training. After returning from Buffalo he soon left the charge of Mr. Dollan and started out to make his way alone, without any definite plans as to his future course. But a good Providence continued to guide him. He found a home with worthy and kind-hearted people at Caseville, Allegany county. New York, where he spent some of the happiest years of his life, going to school winters and performing such work as his young hands permitted. In the summer of 1854 Cyrus Rose of Livingston county. New York, became interested in young Carter and made him a member of his family, treating him with marked kindness. In the winter of 1854 Carter entered the Nunda Literary Institute, one of the old academies of the state of New York. In 1855 he entered tipon a full classical course of study. He acknowl- edges his indebtedness to A. Judson Barrett, principal of the academy, but later a distinguished clergyman at Rochester, New York. He was there four years, and shortly before the completion of his course the buildings of the institute burned. Afterward Asher E. Evans, A. M., continued the school at Holm's Hill, where Carter continued his studies in Greek, Latin and math- ematics for more than a year. To Mr. Evans, also, as a thorough and faithful instructor, Mr. Carter acknowledges his obligation. While attending school in the winter of 1859-60, the congressman of the district gave out notice that a vacancy in the district existed at West Point, and that he would name as cadet the young man who should stand highest in a competitive examination for the place. Young Carter entered the competition, and easily won the highest marking; but he did not get the ap- pointment. A long delay followed in naming the cadet, and when the ap- pointrnent was finally made, it was suggested, if agreeable, Annapolis might be had; but, as favoritism had deprived him of what he had fairly won, he dismissed the subject. Young Carter then fitted himself for college. He walked all the way to Rochester from Nunda, was examined and admitted to the freshman class of Rochester University ; but he found that he had barely enough money to pay his tuition one year in the university, and so he concluded it would be better OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ,759 to return home and earn more money before beginning the university course. Accordingly he walked back to Nunda, so as to save every cent, and found on his return $45 in his pocket. He kept on studying, v^rorking and saving, teaching school in the winter following, and in the spring his stock of money had risen to $200. Intending to enter the sophomore class at Rochester in the next September, he continued to stay at the academy, when the attack on Sumter fired his young heart and the name of John J. Carter was the first in Nunda and in the rest of Livingston county to be placed on the enlistment roll of volunteers for the service of supporting the government in upholding its authority throughout the Union. The date of his enlistment was April 12, 1861, while he was eighteen years of age. This is important, as well as true, history. When he came out of the service he was only a little over twenty- three years of age, but he had served throughout the war. He was mustered out August 2, 1865, when not a hostile gun was left aiming at the national government, and months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. His record from first to last was an unbroken line of bravery. The limits of this sketch do not permit a recital of the many fields of battle on which he risked his life. He entered the service as a private at the age of eighteen, and he came out ' over four years and three months later with a lieutenant-colonel's commission. Immediately after the war Mr. Carter located in Titusville, engaging in mercantile business. (His oil history appears elsewhei-e on these pages.) He has had several years' experience as a railroad president and manager. He is a Fellow of the Geographical Society of the United States; a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States ; a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and a member of the Medal O'f Honor Association of the United States. He is president of the board of school controllers of the city of Titusville. In July, 1866, he was married to Miss Emma, daughter of F. H. and Sarah Gibbs, of Nunda, New York. Four children live to bless the union: Charles Gibbs, Luke B., Emma and Alice Carter. Charles is a successful lawyer, practicing in the city of Pittsburg ; Luke is a student in Yale College, and Emma and Alice are in the preparatory school of Wellesley College, in Massachusetts. The life of Colonel Carter has been full of usefulness. He is still in his prime. He is one of the ten subscribers who- gave each $10,000 to the Industrial Fund, is a large stockholder of the Titusville Iron Company and one of its directors and managers ; and he is also a director of the Titusville Commercial Bank. T. D. Kepler, proprietor of the Kepler Hotel at Meadville, was born in Woodcock township, this county, December 10, 1865. He is a son of Samuel W. and Martha C. (Strouss) Kepler. The former was a prominent hotel 76o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. proprietor, and died March 15, 1891, at the age of seventy years. Samuel W. Kepler was a son of Jacob and Margaret A. (Peiffer) Kepler. The for- mer was a native of Maryland, and located in Le Boeuf township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1798; the latter is a native of Pennsylvania. Jacob began his business career in 18 17, in Woodcock, this county, conducting a hotd there for twenty-one years, at the same time keeping the postoffice. He reared a family of thirteen children. In 1843 ^^ abandoned the hotel business and removed to a farm in Hayfield township, this county, where he remained for some twenty-six years, and then came to Venango and opened a tavern. Much of his time was occupied in the manufacture of domestic wines. He served through the war of 1812. He died in 1877, in his eighty-fourth year. Samuel Kepler was twice married, the first time to Christine Sherred. Their issue was five children: Pharus D., Peter S., E. Cassius, Frank P. and Thomas. The second marriage was to Martha C, daughter of Major Reu- ben Strouss, of Saegerstown, this county. She still survives, and resides with her son, T. D., subject of this sketch. To this union were born ten children, five of whom are living — Edgar, Tracy (subject), Anna, Mattie and Fred- erick. Mr. T. D. Kepler first began business by opening a hotel at McKean Corners, Erie county; after two years he removed to Venango, this county, where he kept hotel till i860. The following five years he spent in Titusville, this county, in the same line of business, and then for three years engaged in farming in Woodcock township, this county. In 1868, Mr. Kepler took charge of the Eagle Hotel, which he kept until 1872, then the Cullum House, which he kept for seven years, and in 1879 opened the Kepler House, from which the present hotel takes its name. The new Kepler Hotel was erected and opened by its present proprietor in 1894. Our subject was married December 24, 1888, to- Minnie G., daughter of Richard Truran, of Meadville. To this union has been born one child : Clar- ence R. Kepler. Ephraim Cakes, Randolph township. — Ephraim Oakes' grandfather, John Oakes, came into the county in 181 5, accompanied by John Byham. Returning to their home at Worcester, Massachusetts, they brought their families the next year, Mr. Oakes settling on the Oil Creek road in Randolph township. His children are Abigail, wife of John Byham, John, Jr., Joel, Avery, Levi and Luther. John, Jr., married Myra Spring, and their chil- dren are: Jane, wife of Nelson Smith; Ephraim; Clarisa, wife of W. H. Braymer ; John W. ; Ellen, wife of Peter Bogardus ; William ; and Hannah, wife of Dana Smith. After the death of his wife' Mr. Oakes married Mari- etta Daniels, their children being Ellison, Elitha, Perry and Mary, wife of Edward Hatch. Ephraim was born March 17, 1835, i" Randolph township. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 761 has been married twice, his first wife being Amanda, daughter of Austin and Nancy Clark, and his second, Sarah, daughter of John and Mary Allen, of Wayne. There is but one surviving child, Ancie, a daughter by the second wife. Mr. Oakes has a fine farm of sixty-five acres. John W.„ his brother, was a soldier in the Civil war. George IV. Barr, M. D., the son of Charles W. and Almira (Blindberry) Barr, was born at Sherburne, New York, December 16, 1832. He was a grandson of Aaron, the son of Hugh Barr, of Boston. His mother, a native of Dutchess county. New York, and of Knickerbocker extraction. The med- ical history of Dr. Barr, embracing his sei-vices as military surgeon in the Civil war, is given elsewhere in this work. It is proper, however, to remark that Dr. Barr may be called the father of the Titusville board of health. As the medical director of the board, he has given years of close attention to its work. The importance of that institution can hardly be overrated. Its proper regulations, to insure useful results, require faithful execution. As a citizen Dr. Barr takes a lively interest in all matters affecting the good of the community. He has accomplished a great deal for the city library, and is president of the Library Association. He owns a good deal of property in the city, and is a large taxpayer. As a member of the medical profession he stands high in the state. He has had a large practice in Titusville for a generation. He married, first, August 8, 1858, Miss Lavinia, oldest daughter of Colonel Ii-a Ayer, of Evans, New York, who died in 1868, leaving one daughter, born October 6, 1859. The second time, he married Mrs. Lovina Hanford Cooper, of Gowanda, New York, and they have one daughter, Eva,- born January 31, 1877, in Titusville. Miss Iris Barr has taught several years in the city schools. She has been principal of one of the ward schools, and she is now one of the teachers in the Titusville high school. Uri C. Welton was born in Burton, Geauga county, Ohio. His father died at the age of forty-nine years, leaving eight children, six sons and two daughters, Uri C. being the fifth, then seven years old. He worked on the farm in the summer and attended school in the winter. At the age of fifteen he attended school for three terms at Hiram, Ohio (now Hiram College), being a pupil of James A. Garfield, afterward president of the United States. After his third term of school, he hired out to work in a general store, for fifty dollars a year at Chardpn, Ohio. The following year he returned to the farm and remained there until fall. During that season he was married to Miss Miranda E. Bestor, of Chardon, who is a descendant of the Carl tons who came over in the Mayflower. In October he took a trip up the lakes. 762 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. stopping at Port Huron, Michigan, and while there he purchased both a wholesale and retail store and the business of both, including the stock of both, at Fort Gratiot, one and one-half miles above Port Huron, at the mouth of St. Clair river. He was there three years, doing a large and prosperous business. But impaired health, following fever and ague, compelled him to leave that climate. Having sold out his business, he came to the oil region, settling in Titus- ville, in June, 1865, where he has since continued to reside. During this time he has served several years in the city council. He carried on the oil refining business at Bull Run from 1865 to 1869, when oil was handled in barrels. He has since been engaged in producing oil, and has alsO' an ex- tensive lumber business in other localities, besides owning a large farm, which he carries on, together with the brown stone business, having a valuable quarry of brown stone, of which he supplies the trade. He has two sons, W. R. Welton, aged thirty-one, and U. C. Welton, Jr., aged twenty-one. The two' young men are prominent producers in the Indiana oil field. Mr. Welton has been in active business since he left school at the age of seventeen. The family to which the subject of this sketch belongs, traces its ancestry to John Welton and his wife nee Mary Upson, who came from England about the year 1667 and settled at Waterbury, Connecticut. Following in descent there were John, Thomas and Reuben Welton. Johnson F. Welton in 1794 married, at Waterbury, Connecticut, Susan Bronson. Lewis, the son of Johnson F., was the father of Uri C. Welton, the subject of this sketch. In 1824 Johnson F. Welton and his family moved from Waterbury, settling at Burton, Ohio-, and died in 1844, at the age of seventy, leaving a large estate to his wife and nine children. The names of the children were Fred- erick, Isaac, Lewis, Reuben, Sarah, Maria, Emeline, Marcia and Minarcia, the last two being twins. The wife and mother of these nine children died in 1870, at the age of one hundred and two years and three months. Lewis Welton, one of the sons of Johnson F., married Polly M. Hickox, of Newburg, Ohio, daughter of Uri Hickox, who settled in Newburg in 18 10, then a wil- derness, with plenty of Indians for daily callers. Lewis purchased a farm partly cleared, in the east part of Burton, and settled upon it, finishing the clearing up and reducing it tO' an arable condition. Willis B. Benedict was born in the village of Enterprise, Southwest town- ship, Warren county, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1838. He belongs to an ancient English family, the first emigrant of which from England, Thomas Benedict, settled in Massachusetts Bay in 1838, afterward removing to Con- necticut. He died at Norwalk in 1690, where many of his descendants now live. The great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Thomas Benedict, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. y6z was an active soldier in the war of the Revohition, afterward receiving a pen- sion, as was also James Spencer, his maternal great-grandfather. The grand- father of Willis, J. Benedict, soon after his arrival in Warren county, formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Selden Spencer, for the purpose of manufacturing lumber. They purchased large tracts of land covered with pine timber, built mills on Pine creek at and near Enterprise, and operated there several years. Selden Spencer Benedict, his son, married Mary H., daughter of Dr. John Heffron, of Erieville, Madison county. New York. Dr. Heffron was a graduate of Dartmouth College, and a surgeon in the war of 1812. The children of this union were Willis B., the oldest; Eugenia, wife of W. J. Booth, now residents of Titusville ; Francis Wayland, who died Novem- ber 22, 1865, aged twenty-two years; M. Laverne, wife of the late Dr. John Chick, the widow now a resident of Titusville, besides a son, next after Way- land, who died in infancy. . Willis B. attended the district schools at Enterprise, the Waterford Academy, Erie county, and Duff's Commercial College, at Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania. He began early the production of oil, and he was badly burned in the explosion at Rouseville, which killed Henry R. Rouse, in April, 1861. He first opened oil production on Pine creek, east of East Titusville, and opened the Enterprise district in the summer of 1865, as elsewhere stated. In 1862. he was elected treasurer of Warren coUnty, and in 1880 was elected to the state legislature. In politics he is uniformly a Republican. Though practically belonging nearly all his life tO' Titusville, he continued, until a few years ago, to keep his home at Enterprise. He finally moved with his family to Titusville, where he has since resided, in an elegant home on East Main street. In 1896 he was elected mayor of Titusville, and he is still the incumbent of that office. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has long been a generous supporter of the church, both here and at Enterprise. His blood is warm, his charities have been constant all his life- time, and he shares in many public enterprises. In a word, Willis B. Bene- dict is a popular citizen. He is director of the Titusville Board of Trade. On September 18, i860, he was married to Miss Mary, daughter of Elisha Sprague, of Fabius, New York. She died in 1872, leaving one daugh- ter, Myra E., the wife of Dr. William G. Johnston, this city. In June, 1874, he married Jennie, the daughter of Judge Richard Irwin, of Franklin, Venan- go county, Pennsylvania. She died in April, 1877, leaving one son, Selden S., born June 23, 1875. On July 25, 1878, Mr. Benedict married Miss Edna J. Ruland, of Shamburg, Pennsylvania. She has borne him Willis B., March 16, 1880; Wayland R., January 19, 1882; Harry H., born January 4, 1884, and died September 27, 1887; Robert B., born March 8, 1886, and Harold H., February 26, 1889. 764 OUR COUNT y AND ITS PEOPLE. Charles Hyde was born February 27, 1822, at Eagle, Allegany county. New York. The Hyde family is historic. The progenitor of the family in the United States was William Hyde, who came from England in 1633 with Rev. Thomas Hooker and settled at Hartford, Connecticut. His son was Samuel Hyde, whose son was Samuel Hyde, Jr., whose son was Elijah, whose son was Elijah (second), whose son was Elijah Clark, whose son was Elijah, whose son was Charles, of the eighth generation, and the subject of this sketch. From the genealogical history of the Hyde family, prepared by the late Chancellor Walworth, of the state of New York, it is learned that William Hyde, the first in the line in the United States, was the uncle of Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, in the reign of Charles the First. Charles, the subject of this sketch, was the third of four children, of whom the late William C. Hyde, long well known in Titusville, was the oldest. Edward B. was the second ; and Eliza, the daughter, and youngest of the four, is married to Samuel Ridgway, the distinguished proprietor of the Hydetown Sanitarium. At about 1833 Elijah Hyde moved with his family to Nunda Valley, in Livingston county. New York, and four years later tO' Cherry Tree township, Venango county, Pennsylvania, settling upon a farm about two miles south of Titusville. The farm, which was partly cleared, adjoined the Stackpole farm. Mr. Hyde paid for his property at the rare of three dol- lars and thirty cents an acre, and this was for the absolute fee simple of the land. There were no mineral rights reserved in the warranty deed which conveyed the title. A part of this same farm is now owned by Mrs. Susan A. Emery, the surviving wife of the late David Emery, whose father, the late Lewis Emery, Sr., a few years ago, planted an orchard upon the place. The granddaughter of Lewis Emery, Sr., the daughter of David and Susan A. Emery, Verna, is married to Louis K., the son of Charles Hyde, and the grandson of Elijah Hyde, who purchased the property a little over sixty years ago. It is oil property, and the mingled blood of Hyde and Emery may possess the farm for generations. The limits of this sketch will not permit a detailed account of the event- ful life of Charles Hyde. He was brought up to hard work on the farm and in the manufacture of lumber; but he showed at an early period certain busi- ness equalities requisite for success. He was patient, persevering, thrifty and indefatigable in his efiforts to better his condition. He joined with his father and brothers in the manufacture of lumber and in mercantile trade. They bought the Titus Mills in the vicinity of what was afterward Hydetown. When Drake sunk the first oil well Charles Hyde was a heavy lumberman and merchant at Hydetown. He had gathered petroleum from the surface of the water and used it as a lubricant, and had retailed the substance as a medicinal agent. His first investment in the oil business was one thousand dollars for one of the ten shares in the Tidioute and Warren Oil Company, which after- * OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 765 ward paid very large dividends. At the head of the Hydetown Oil Com- pany he sunk, in i860, a well on the McClintock farm, which had been leased by Brewer, Watson & Company, and got a second sand producer. But the Hyde & Egbert farm, near Petroleum Center, was the largest source of great wealth which flowed to him. The Second National Bank of Titusville was organized February 11, 1865, starting vi'ith a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, Mr. Hyde being the principal stockholder. In December, 1867, the First National Bank of Titusville, with its capital of one hundred thousand dollars, was purchased, and in 1871 the First National Bank of Meadville, with another one hundred thousand dollars, was added, making a total capital of three hundred thou- sand dollars. (An account of this bank appears elsewhere in this work.) In April, 1880, the Hyde National Bank was organized and put into operation with a capital of five hundred thousand dollars, which continued until August, 1888, when it was merged into the private firm of Charles Hyde & Son, Louis K. Hyde being the junior partner. The banking office is upon the second floor of the Second National Bank edifice. Charles Hyde has been president of the City National Bank at Plainfield, New Jersc}', where he resides, for twenty years. In April, 1897, he became ]7resident of the New Orleans & Northwestern Railway ; previously Louis K. Hyde had been president. He has since been its vice-presi(^ent and general manager. For about ten years past he has been cashier of the Titusville Sec- ond National Bank, of which from 1887 to 1891 he was vice-president. Since then his brother, Francis de L. Hyde, has been its vice-president. Louis K. Hyde is one of the ten citizens who in 1896 subscribed each ten thousand dol- lars to the stock of the Titusville Industrial Fund Association. He is a director of the association and a director of the Titusville Board of Trade. In the spring of 1866 Charles Hyde purchased the mansion at the northwest corner of Main and Franklin streets, this city, and made it his family residence several years. The son, Louis K. Hyde, now owns and occupies the same residence. The children of Charles Hyde are Dorsey William, Charles Livingston, Louis Kepler, Francis de Lacy and Edith. William Barnsdall was born at Biggleswade, Bedfordshire,. England, February 6, 1810, educated at a select school and learned the shoemaker's trade, which he continued to follow until 183 1, when he came to America, landing at New York, where he remained a few months. From New York he went to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and worked at his trade for a time. After- ward he visited his parents living near Titusville, whO' had come to America in 1829. Mr. Barnsdall came to Titusville in 1833, where he has since lived continuously an eventful life. He at once entered upon his trade, and he 766 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. was the first shoemaker estabhshed at Titusville. He continued at his trade and at farming until 1859. After Drake's discovery, Mr. Barnsdall leased land of his brother-in-law, James Parker, in the eastern part of Titusville, and in company with Henry R. Rouse and Boone Mead, of Warren, and WilHam H. Abbott sunk the second oil well, which was finished February 18, i860. Next the Crossley, — in which Messrs. Barnsdall, Abbott and Witherop, to- gether with David Crossley, — the third well was tubed March 14, i860; this well was near the present Boughton station. Mr. Barnsdall was instru- mental in bringing from New York to Titusville his brother, John Barnsdall, who afterward became a heavy oil operator, owning a large part of the famous Sherman well 5n the Foster farm. Mr. Barnsdall was mayor of Titusville from 1878 to 1880, and he was city treasurer from 1880 to 1882, and he has held many other local offices. When he came to Titusville he was a Methodist, but he afterward became a Universalist and a leader in that denomination. He contributed largely toward building the Pine street church in 1844, and to the brick church, south- east corner of Main and Perry, built in 1865. He is a pronounced Spiritualist, and is charitable to those who differ from him in matters of faith. He is universally respected, and when he dies he will be missed in the community. September i, 1835, he married Eliza Curi-y, daughter of Robert Curry, who died in 1843. Two children of the union survive: Olivia, wife of D. F. With- erop, and Lucy A., wife of H. P. Cleland. In 1846 he married Fidelia A., daughter of Chauncey Goodrich. Of this marriage two daughters, Fanny and Hattie, are dead. Rosa C, wife of Charles Snakard, and three sons — N. B., T. N. and William W.— ah survive. Hon. Chapman A. Stranalian. — In this democratic country, where true merit and intinnsic worth and ability are the only measures of nobility — the grandest standard in the world, as we believe — a man can make no prouder boast than that he springs from the people and that he is in thorough sym- pathy with the vast, hard-working majority. In this he may belong to one or the other of the two great political parties, or, on the other hand, he may be independent, for the people belong to all classes and parties. It matters little under what banner he enlists, if his motives are pure and his principles are so firm that he is incapable of being bought. Knowing that he is one of the people, in fact and in sympathy, the many friends and acquaintances of Hon. C. A. Stranahan chose him to represent them in the Pennsylvania leg- islature, in 1896, and when his term expired they re-elected him to the same position in 1898. He had frequently manifested his zeal and ardent desire to advance the welfare of his OAvn community in the various local offices to which his fellow citizens called him, and finding him "faithful over a few things" OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 767 they knew that he would be faithful in greater affairs, as he has abundantly manifested. For a quarter of a century Mr. Stranahan has been a landowner of Sparta township, Crawford county, and a resident here at the same time. His par- ents were Franklin B. and Evaline (Fuller) Stranahan, the father a farmer and a hotel-keeper. The paternal grandparents of our subject were Gibson J. and Dolly (Devandorf) Stranahan, natives of Canaan, Columbia county, and Herkimer county. New York, respectively. In 1836 this worthy couple removed to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and took up their abode in Concord township, just across the line from Crawford county. Here Grandfather Stranah'an died in 1869, and his wife some eight years previously. The birth of Chapman A. Stranahan occurred October 6, 1849, ^t the old homestead in Concord township, Erie county. His education was obtained in the common schools, and during his boyhood he mastered the varied details of agriculture and has since been a practical, thorough farmer. For two years after leaving school he worked for neighboring farmers, and for a similar length of time he was in the employ of the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad. In the fall of 1873 he purchased the farm owned by Francis Webb in Sparta township, and two years afterward he sold this property to his father, F. B. Stranahan, and removed to his present homestead. This place, formerly known as the Erastus Lewis farm, is situated in the same township, and is one of the most productive and best cultivated farms in the county. The owner carries on general farming, and makes a specialty of raising poultry, for which he finds a ready sale. In his business enterprises he has been almost invariably successful, and among others in which he has been interested are the Keystone Co-operative Association (a farmers' organization), of Corry, Pennsylvania, and the Patrons' Mutual Fire Insurance Association of North- western Pennsylvania. Of the first-named he was elected president in 1895, and in the other concern he holds a similar position. In January, 1874, the Sparta Grange was organized, with Mr. Stranahan as one of its charter members, and several times he has been elected as its presiding officer. In religious belief he is a Spiritualist. September 10, 1873, the marriage of Mr. Stranahan and Martha Jane Webb, daughter of Francis and Nancy Webb, of Sparta township, took place. Their three children were Dorr D., born May 24, 1874; Gladys, December 8, 1877, and Harrison F., January 10, 1880! Little Gladys died when about a year and a half old, July 12, 1879. P. S. Jackson, contractor and builder, Meadville, was born January 10, 1835, in Chautauqua county, New York. When three years of age his par- ents removed to Crawford county, this state, and located near Cochranton, on what was known as the Creek road. Here they remained about seven years, 768 , OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. when they removed to Cooperstown, Venango county, where he received a common-school education and learned his trade as a carpenter and joiner. In 1856 Mr. Jackson came to Meadville, remaining two years, and dur- ing his residence here was married to Clara F. Hillard, of Newburyport, Mas- sachusetts. He then removed to Warren, Pennsylvania, where for a num- ber of years he carried on the business of contractor and builder, among other things being employed on the State Hospital at North Warren for more than six years. He then removed to Kansas City, where he worked on several large contracts, among others the Warder Opera House, built at a cost of four hundred thousand dollars. In October, 1892, Mr. Jackson re- turned to Meadville, where in association with his two sons he has since car- ried on the business of a contractor and builder. Jackson & Sons have built some of the most handsome residences in and around Meadville. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have had five children, — three boys and two girls, — of whom but two sons now survive : Charles H., now serving as a sergeant in the Third Regiment of United States Engineers; and E. E., who is asso- ciated in business with his father. Leonard Cutler Deinary, deceased, was born in the state of New Hamp- shire, March 24, 1837, and in his early childhood was taken by his parents to Compton, Canada, where he was reared and educated, attending the public schools. In 1856 he went to Buffalo, New York, where he secured a posi- tion as conductor on the Buffalo division of the. Erie Railroad. In 1877 ^^^ removed to Meadville, but continued his connection with the Erie Railroad in the capacity of conductor until his death. He was married September 29, 1859, to Miss Mary A. Churchill, of Attica, New York, and to them was born a daughter, Sadie Eunice, whose birth occurred June 6, 1874, and who died in infancy. Mrs. Demary is a mem- ber of the Baptist church, and Mr. Demary belonged to Crawford Lodge, No. 734, I. O. O. F., and to the Brotherhood of Railway Conductors. His death occurred November 10, 1887. Leonard C. Graves, of Springboro, was born in Madison, Indiana, May 6, 1850, and came with his parents to Crawford county when five years old; was educated in the public and high schools of Conneautville, and learned the blacksmith's trade. In 1872 he was conducting general blacksmithing in custom, carriage and sleigh work, horse-shoeing and repairs. In 1882 the business was expanded, and he began the manufacture of carriages and sleighs for the wholesale trade, which had an increasing and steady growth. On Jjinuary i, 1894, with G. W. Eighmey he formed the firm of L. C. Graves & Company, which employed from fifty to seventy-five operatives and several d:^^'^Z^^^z:>C^ OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 769 traveling salesmen. In 1885 only ten men were employed, but now, in 1897, seven times ten men are at work. On April 7, 1872, Mr. Graves married Laura J. Ross, of Rundell. They haye four children, — Homer Benton (a graduate of Allegheny College, at Meadville), Clarence Melvin, Anna Elizabeth and /Hubert Raymond. Mr. Graves's father, James B. Graves, a native of Pennsylvania, was a Methodist clergyman for over twenty years. By his wife, nee Elizabeth Funk, of Philadelphia, he had six children, — Leonard C, Julia, Elizabeth, James B., Francis and Samuel E. Rev. J. B. Graves died in 1882 and his widow on May 13, 1885. Leonard C. Graves and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a class-leader, a steward and a trustee. * The ancestry of the family is. English, German and Scotch. ! ;j David Emery was born in Chautauqua county. New York, September 7, 1837. In 1842 his parents moved to Michigan. He studied in Hillsdale Col- lege, of which he was afterward one of the trustees, and read law under a certain Judge Pratt. But before finishing his course, he engaged in the mill- ing business. In 1866 he came to the Pennsylvania oil district, and located first at Pioneer, Venango county, and at once entered into the work of oil pro- duction. From the start, and afterward during a period of many years, Mr. Emery was a successful — not to say lucky — producer. In 1870 he adopted Titusville as his permanent home. In 1876 he served in the Common Council. In 1877 he was Mayor of the city. In 1879 he served in the State Legislature. In 1889 he served again in the Common Council and was its presiding officer. He was one of the founders of the Oil Creek Valley Agricultural Association, and was for a long time a member of it? board of directors. He was also its president and treasurer, but resigned the presidency during his second term. He was the founder of Battery B, in 1879, of the Pennsylvania National Guards, and its commanding officer. In 1880 he erected, at his own expense, an armory for the use of the battery company. He continued captain of the company until it was disbanded, and changed into Company K, Sixteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry in the summer of 1883. He then remodeled the armory building, converting it into an opera house in the fall of 1885; and opening it to the public in the spring following. He was president of the Canadohta Club, but resigned because of ill health. He was a member of the Silver Lodge of the Knights of Honor, of Shepherd Lodge, A. & F. & A. M., Knights of the Maccabees, Tent No. 24. He was colonel of the Citizens' Corps at the time of his death, which occurred January 23, 1891. He was a share- holder of the Producers' and Manufacturers' Bank, organized in 1870, and closed in 1876. He was the president of the Octave Oil Company during its ex- istence. This company, with Mr. ]Emery at its head, purchased and operated 49 770 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the Van Syckel Refinery from 1872 to 1875, when it sold the works to the Standard Oil Company. For twenty-four years he was an expert oil operator, a producer in Venango, Crawford and McKean counties, and with excellent fortune. One of his last ventures was the purchase of the land on which was the original Drake well, and he resuscitated this historic well. He was a member of both oil exchanges, and of the boards of trade in Titusville. The magnificent public fountain oh the Diamond was his gift to the city. This single act, alone, indicating the generosity of his nature, and a spirit to be useful to the community in which he lived, entitles the memory of Mr. Emery to a high place in the gratitude and respect of his fellow citizens. When the armory of Battery B was dedicated, Governor Hoyt of this State was present and participated in the exercises. In his address before a large concourse of peo- ple on that occasion, Governor Hoyt paid a high tribute to the patriotism and public spirit of Captain Emery, who had pushed forward the organization of the Battery company and, without knowing whether he would ever be reim- bursed for the outlay which he alone had made in the construction of the build- ing and its equipments, had at large expense furnished to the military or- ganization excellent quarters.^ Previous to 1879, when Mr. Emery took his seat in the legislature, he had not given much attention to public matters outside of his city. But he had not been long in Harrisburg before attracting the attention of the prominent men of the state. His straightforward honesty won for him the respect of men of all parties. If he had chosen to continue in public life, promotion would naturally and easily have followed. But his tastes and inclinations induced him to return to business. In personal appearance, Mr. Emery was an impressive figure. In public processions in the streets of Titusville he was often seen mounted on his favorite white horse. At such a time he would have attracted attention in any procession, civil or military, in any city of the country. His manner was dignified, and his riding easy and graceful. The estimation in which he stood in the community could be learned from the remarks of Rev. Dr. Henry Purdon, at his funeral. Dr. Purdon said: "The large concourse present attested that a man of strength, influence and warm sympathies, and active and conspicuous leadership, had passed away. These tokens of respect and sympathy, spontaneous and from the heart, evinced the hold Mr. Emery had upon the affections of the community. It was the warmth of his social nature, the depth of his humanity, the purity of his character, the disinterestedness of his kindness, overflowing sect or creed, and seeking to do good for its own sake, the uniform disposition to aid, encourage, advance and communicate happiness to others, that were shining characteristics of David Emery, as all could testify. His friendship showed that he did not live for himself alone, but for his family, friends and neighbors, — the whole OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 771 community. Hence he was a social, public man, and a factor in the com- munity, an accepted leader all his life." The Oil Exchange adopted resolutions on his death, one of which reads thus : "Resolved, That the Exchange declares its sense of great respect for the life and character of Mr. Emery as a public-spirited citizen, whose hand was in every good work, and whose benevolence was proverbial, as a man of exalted integrity, and one justly recognized as a most useful member of the com- munity." Mr. Emery was married September 16, 1858, to Miss Susan A., daughter of Asa G. and Margaret (Peters) Edwards, of Hillsdale, Michigan. The children of this union are Eva Lena, now Mrs. L. A. Brenneman, and Verna. now Mrs. Louis K. Hyde. The Titusville Herald said of Mr. Emery : "Our departed friend was a man of unusual endowments of mind and heart, and will power ; he was full of enterprise and public spirit ; he was a man of strong and positive political principles, holding to the Republican faith; he was generous and charitable. Indeed, he was foremost in counsel and generous with aid for all good causes and charitable objects. It was a marked feature of his liberality that it was not bounded by any sect, creed, nationality or party. His family relations were of the happiest kind. He was devoted to his home, and to his family, and what- ever he could do to make their lives happy, was done." Another paper said, editorially : "Mr. Emery was a benevolent and pub- lic-spirited citizen. His charity was broad, liberal, unrestricted by sect or class. He carried his heart in his hand. Many of his charitable deeds are known, but the majority of them, performed quietly, are unrecorded, save in the grateful remembrance of his beneficiaries." O. 0. Squier, one of the prominent and successful agriculturists of Steuben township, Crawford county, is a thorough man of business and is now serving his third year as president of the Farmers' Bank of Townville, one of the substantial and strictly reliable banking institutions of this section. In 1888 he was elected justice of the peace and acted as such for one term; served for one term as a school director and for a period of two years was secretary of the board, and at different times has acceptably filled other local positions of more or less responsibility and trust. The father of the. above-named gentleman was William P. Squier, whose birth took place in Monson, Massachusetts, May 2, 1812. He chose for his wife Jane P. Sturdevant, a native of Onondaga county, New York, born March 2, 1819. In the year 1837 they both became residents of Lincolnville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and upon the 8th of March, 1838, their destinies were united by the marriage ceremony. Much sorrow fell to their 772 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. share, as several of their children died when young, but together they passed a great many happy years, in spite of trouble and Adversity. In 1863 they re- moved to Townville, and the folloviring year they took up their abode upon a farm in Steuben tovv^nship, the one now owned and cultivated by our sub- ject, and here the father spent his last years, his death occurring July 3, 1888. Mrs. Squier, now almost eighty yeats of age, is still living, though an invalid for nearly thirty years. Tw^o brothers of O. O. Squier were sacrifices to their country in the dreadful war of the rebellion, and of his ten brothers and sisters only three are now living, namely : Mrs. J. M. Hyde, of Amherst, Massachusetts ; Rev. W. L., pastor of the Presbyterian church in lola, Kansas; and A. L., of Townville. O. O. Squier, next to the youngest of the eleven children, was born February 2, 1859. His sister, Jennie E., the youngest of the family, and the constant companion of his boyhood, entered the silent land September 23, 1894. The first four years in the life of O. O. Squier were passed at his birth- ]Dlace in Rockdale township, this county. He accompanied the family in its removals to Townville in 1863 and to- the old homestead in Steuben township in 1864, and early learned the varied routine of agriculture and the proper management of a farm. To the ordinary education to be gained in the public schools he added wide information upon various' topics, and by the perusal of representative periodicals and journals has kept himself thoroughly posted in matters affecting progress and the onward march of civilization. He is in har- mony with the platform of the Republican party, but has never been a poli- tician in any sense of the term. April 9, 1885, Mr. Squier married Ettie M. Waid, daughter of D. S. Waid, of Steuben township. Mrs. Squier was born April 25, i860, and died June 26, 1887. On the 28th of November, 1889, Mr. Squier married Lillian L., daughter of E. S. Walden, of Richmond township. She was born Sep- tember 8, 1862, and is a lady of excellent education and pleasing social Qualities. Charles H. Ley, the son of William K. and Emma (May) Ley, was born N^ovember i, 1854, in Philadelphia. His father is of Holland descent and his mother of German. In the spring of 1865 he came with his father's family to Enterprise, Warren county, Pennsylvania, where he continued to live until 1884, when he moved to Titusville, where he has since resided. He has been engaged in the oil-producing business for many years. He has served in the common council of Titusville from both the first and second wards, making an excellent record as a member of that body. In 1885 he was mar- ried to Miss Dora, daughter of George P. and Barbara (Le Fever) Kepler, and of this union there are a daughter and a son, Rubie and Edwin. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 773 Miles IV. Quick was born in Cass county, Michigan, in 1842. Owing to sickness, his family moved to Ontario county, New York, where they con- tinued to reside until 1861, when he went into the army, becoming a member of the First New York Engineers. He was afterwai-d transferred to the Signal Corps and continued in that branch of the service until the close of the war. In 1866 lie became interested in the petroleum business, and he has ever since been engaged in some branch of the trade. (His oil history ap- pears elsewhere in this work.) Mr. Quick has contributed largely with his pen to petroleum literature, especially in attacking the abuses practiced in the speculation markets. In 1872 he was married to Miss Amanda Fertig, sister of Hon. John Fertig. Henry Culver Bloss, the son of Hon. William C. Bloss, of Rochester, New York, was born in that city, July 16, 1833, and died at his home in Titusville February 15, I893. In early life he read law and was admitted to the bar in Rochester. In the winter of 1864 he came with his brother, William W., to Titusville, purchased the office of a weekly paper here and founded the Titusville Morning Herald and the Weekly Herald. Late in the following summer J. H. Cogswell became a partner in the establishment, with the firm name of Bloss Brothers & Cogswell ; after about seven years W. W. Bloss retired. From that time until his death H. C. Bloss was editor-in- chief of the Herald, and since Colonel Cogswell's withdrawal, in 1883, Mr. Bloss was sole proprietor of the institution as well as editor of the paper. At his death, his surviving wife, Mrs. S. A. Bloss, became proprietor of the Herald establishment, and the older son, Joseph M., has been the editor of the paper ever since. In 1867 Mr. Bloss married Miss Sarah A. Mackie, of Wareham, Massa- chusetts, who bore him three children, Joseph Mackie, Edward Buell and Mary Francis Wentworth,^ — all now living. The late Rev. Dr. Purdon said of Mr. Bloss : "He was a most graceful and accomplished writer. Few excelled him when he set his well-stored mind to the task, in producing an article tersely expressed and full of power. He was fond of art and had a keen eye for the beautiful wherever he saw it. He was a lover of his country and found pleasure in describing its future splendid possibilities. He possessed a warm and kindly disposition, and those who knew him best admired him most." The writer of this sketch said in the American Citizen: "Mr. Bloss wrote too many years at the editorial table. He worked as a journalist too long and too hard for his constitution. His brain was too large for his body. Who that has read the Morning Herald for a quarter of a century and upward can realize the draft made upon the mental resources of the writer ? It is the 774 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. daily work for months and years that kills editors. The orange has been squeezed dry, but more juice is demanded, and the juice must come from some Cjuarter. As a writer Mr. Bloss jfossessed perfect taste. His diction was singularly pure and his expression was always appropriate and felicitous." H. C. Gauss in the Oil City Derrick said : "Mr. Bloss' life was a full and well-rounded one. He enjoyed travel, and had traveled extensively. He took a keen delight in literature and was of that poetic, sensitive temperament that while it is subject to moments of depression, possesses capacity for a deep and satisf3'ing enjoyment. He was a delightful companion and a charming conversationalist, whose mental view took in a wide range of subjects. He had a happy home life and was bound up in the education and welfare of his children. He was a man of high ideals, of strong convictions, and gave to the world, as he sought from it, the best that was in his life." Mr. Bloss was always an earnest Republican, and he gave to his party a generation of hard journalistic work. Williain W. Bloss, the older brother of H. C. Bloss, who was the senior proprietor of the Herald during the first seven years of its existence, was born in Rochester, New York, March 25, 1831, and died in Chicago, Illinois, Sep- tember 3, 1892. (His record as a journalist in Titusville is given elsewhere in this work.) He left Titusville in the spring of 1874, was afterward employed as managing editor of the Kansas City Journal and of the Kansas City Times, and during the last ten years of his life he was on the staff of the Chicago Graphic. In early life he did work on one of the Rochester dailies. In the early troubles of Kansas he was on the ground and took an active part on the side of the free-state men. In the Civil war he had a commission in the Union army, and was a lieutenant at the battle of Antietam. While in Titusville he took an active part in municipal affairs. He served both upon the school board and in the common council. As an editorial writer he was exceptionally brilliant and versatile. He possessed excellent literary attainments and he was cjualified to fill higher positions in literary work than it was his fortune to occupy the greater part of his life. Joseph H. Cogswell was born September 2, 1828, in Brighton, Mon- roe county. New York, a descendant of patriotic stock, as both his grand- fathers and two of his great-grandfathers served in the Revolutionary war. He was educated in the common school and at the Clover Street Seminary, of his town. He set type in a Rochester (New York) printing office two years, and then taught school. In 185 1 he was in a law office one year. Then he settled an extensive estate of a relative. In 1853 he resumed teaching and married Julia E. Brewster, daughter of Isaac W. Brewster, a lawyer of Onon- daga county, New York, and continued teaching several years. In 1862 he OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 775 recruited Company A, One Hundred and Fiftieth New York Volunteers, to one hundred men and became its captain, serving in the Eighth Corps, Middle Department, Twelfth Corps, Army of the Potomac, including the battle of Gettysburg, and Twentieth Corps, Army of the Cumberland. Went with Sherman through the Atlanta campaign in 1864, then with him "from At- lanta to the sea," and in 1865 through the Carolinas to the final "round-up" of Johnston's army at the "last ditch." Was promoted to be major and lieu- tenant-colonel of his regiment, and brevetted colonel of New York Volunteers for "gallant and meritorious service during the war." September i, 1865, he came to Titusville and entered into partnership with his cousins, William W. and H. C. Blo-ss, as publishers of the Herald, the firm being Bloss Brothers & Cogswell. This firm was dissolved early in 1872, the senior Bloss retiring. Bloss & Cogswell continued as partners to publish the Herald until June 30, 1883, when H. C. Bloss became sole pro- prietor, Colonel Cogswell retiring. Colonel Cogswell was postmaster of Titusville from May, 1869, continu- ously to April I, 1886. He then went into the employ of the Tidewater Pipe Company and of the Standard Oil Company in 1887, and was agent of the Tidewater Oil Company at Boston, Massachusetts, from 1889 to 1892. He has since been in the insurance and real-estate business in Titusville. In 1895 he was secretary of the Oil Creek Valley Association, and declined re- election. Hon. Moses Warren Oliver, of ' Spring township, was boi'n in South Dansville, Livingston county, New York, on June 8, 1833, and was brought to this state with his parents when less than three years old. His education was acquired at the common schools, supplemented by an academic course at the academy at West Springfield, in Erie county. Qualifying himself for a teacher he taught for twenty-two terms and was principal of the model department of the state normal school at Edinboro, Pennsylvania, for three years and six months. In 1862- Mr. Oliver closed his school and recruited Company B of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Regiment, became its captain and led it in service until he was taken prisoner at the battle of Chancellorsville, and confined in Libby prison. He was exchanged in time to participate in the battle of Gettysburg and continued in active ser- vice until November^ 24, 1863, when he was discharged on account of ill health. For many years Mr. Oliver has taken great interest in agriculture, is a breeder of finely bred Devon cattle and ranks as one of the best farmers of this section. Mr. Oliver represented this county in the state legislatures of 1873 and 1874 and did good service as chairman of the committee on agri- culture and as chairman of the committee on education. He was elected a 776 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. member of the state board of agriculture for three terms of three years each and was its vice-president for two years. He is the present president of the Amer- ican Devon Cattle Club. He conducted merchandising in Springboro for two years in connection with his brother Francis. Mr. Oliver married first on June 29, 1859, Mary L. Sturtevant, of Spring township, who died on July 9, 1862. His second wife, nee Katherine D. Beach, was formerly of Knox county, Ohio. Their children were George Grant Oliver, educated in Washington and Jefferson College, this state, now a resident of Washington, Pennsylvania, where he has an interest in the glass works; and Charles M. Oliver, who died in 1880, aged thirteen years. He was one of the brightest boys of his age. Mr. Oliver's father, Moses Warren Oliver, born in Massachusetts on September 21, 1805, was a farmer. By his first wife, nee Betsey Fisher, married on October 3, 1829, he had four children, Lucy B. H., Moses W., Francis W. and Charles, who lives with Moses W. Mrs. Oliver died Novem- ber 10, 1863, and Mr. Oliver married, secondly, on December 27, 1864, Mrs. Lavanta (Bowman) Sturtevant. This Mrs. Oliver died September 10, 1881, and Mr. Oliver on September 17, 1891. Lucy B. H. Oliver married Ozias- D. Sheldon. Their children are Francis J. and Mary F. Francis married Mary G. Eighmy. Their children are Clayton F. and L. Pauline. Her home has been with Mr. and Mrs. Oliver from childhood. Mr. Oliver's grand- father, Calvin H. Oliver, born in Massachusetts August 17, 1782, died Jan- uary 29, 1824. His is an old Boston family. Peter Oliver, chief -justice of Massachusetts, who owned the first iron manufactory of Middleboro, also had a son, Peter, born in Boston on June 17, 1741. He became a physician in Middleboro in 1764. The Conneautville Olivers are Presbyterians and Mr. Oliver is an elder. He is also a free-silver Republican and a Grand Army man. European ancestry of family, Scotch, Irish and English. Franklin' Sumner Tarbell, whose oil history is given elsewhere in this work, was born at Oxford, Chenango county. New York, October 21, 1829, the son of William Tarbell, who was a native of Vermont and who served in the American army throughout the war of 18 12. He was at all the import- ant battles on the Canadian frontier and the lakes, at Lundy's Lane, Chippewa, Fort Erie, Black Rock, Queenstown Heights, and others. Some time after the close of the war he moved from Vermont to Chenango county. New York, and while there he was appointed to the command of jl rifle regiment. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel by the distinguished De Witt Clinton, gov- ernor of New York, and afterward by Governor Pollock, of the same state, he was appointed colonel. At about 1832 he moved from Oxford to Addison, Steuben county, where he lived until 1846, when he moved to Wattsburg, Erie county, Pennsylvania. In 185 1 his son, Franklin S., remaining, he OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ^yy moved to a farm in Crawford county, a mile and a half from Conneautville. He afterward moved to Beaver township, Crawford county, where he contin- ued to live until his death, which occurred in his eighty-eighth year. His son, the subject of this sketch, was married April 20, 1857, to Miss Esther A. McCullough, whose father was a first cousin of the distinguished Ben McCuUot^gh, of Texas. Of this union there were four children: Ida M., William W., Sarah A. and Franklin S., Jr., who died in infancy; the other three survive. William Walter Tarhell, the son of Franklin S. Tarbell, was born in Wattsburg, Erie county, Pennsylvania, July i, i860; came with his father to Titusville in 1868, which has since been his home, excepting the period from 1883 to 1887, when he was in South Dakota. He was graduated at the Titusville high school in 1876, and at Allegheny College in 1881, receiv- ing from the college the degree of A. B., and afterward that of A. M. In 1881-82 he read law in the office of Sherman & Grumbine, in Titusville. While in Dakota, he was engaged as attorney before the government land offices in settling claims. He also^had a wheat farm in South Dakota at the time. On his return to Titusville he helped to establish the Valley Oil Pipe Line, among the first, if not the first, of the independent lines, since the absorption of the Union, the McCalmont and the Tidewater lines. During the next five years he was in the producing business, connected with the Valley Line. In 1887 the Producers' Protective Association, out of which finally grew the comprehensive independent oil interests and enterprises, was organized. Mr. Tarbell was the secretary of the local assembly in Titusville, and in 1891 was active in organizing the original association, the Producers' Oil Com- pany, Limited. Since then he has been prominently identified in sustaining the independent interests, and he is now the general auditor of the independent oil associations, both in America and in Europe. Mr. Tarbell is a director of the Titusville Board of Trade. In the fall of 1882 he was married to Miss, Ella C. Scott, of Naperville, near Chicago, Illinois, and they have three children, — Esther Ida,, Clara Caro- line and F"ranklin Scott. Ida M. Tarbell, sister of William W. Tarbell (whose sketch precedes this), has achieved a national reputation as a writer of history. She was born on the farm of her maternal grandfather, Walter Raleigh McCullough, in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and came to Titusville with her father, F. S. Tarbell, in 1868, who has ever since been a resident of this city. Ida M. was graduated in 1874, took a .post-graduate course at the same institution, com- pleting it in 1875; 'entered Allegheny College, at Meadville, in the autumn of 778 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. that year and graduated in 1880. In the fall following she took a position as a preceptress of the Poland (Ohio) Union Seminary, which she satis- factorily maintained for two years; then, in 1882, she returned to Titusville. In 1883 she went to Meadville, this county, where until 1891 she was asso- ciate editor of the Chautauquan. Next, for the purpose of pursuing higher studies, she went to Paris and remained there for three years, during which time she attended lectures in the Sorbonne and the College de France, at the same time contributing regularly to several American magazines and news- papers. In 1894 she returned to America and in the fall of that year began the publication, in McClure's Magazine, of a short life of Napoleon Bonaparte. This work was put into book form in 1895 and at this date fully one hun- dred thousand copies have been sold. In the autumn of 1895 she began, in McClure's Magazine, the Early Life of Abraham Lincoln, which ran through thirteen numbers of that periodical, and which the publishers claim added over one hundred thousand subscribers tO' their magazine. In 1896 Miss Tarbell published, through Charles Scribner's Sons, a biographical study of Madame Roland, the material for which she had collected while a resident of Paris. In the fall of 1896 she undertook to edit, under the direction of Charles A. Dana, his reminiscences of the civil war, and this work was pub- lished in McClure's Magazine, beginning in November, 1897. In December, 1898, Miss Tarbell began, in the same magazine, the publication- of her Later Life of Lincoln. She is at present a resident of Washington, D. C, where she holds the position of the resident associate editor of McClure's Magazine. Elisha K. Bowman, of Spring township, was born on January 13, 1824, on the old family homestead, which is part of the original four hundred acres located and settled upon by his pioneer ancestor. Obtaining his education at the district schools, Mr. Bowman was reared a farmer and has ever followed the culture of the soil. On, September 24, 1846, he married Mary Foster, and their children were Gilbert D. (died aged seventeen) ; Mary J. (died aged six) ; Frank F., Ralph H., Elisha L., Cora (died aged thirteen), and Perry F. Mrs. Mary Bowman died on March 22, 1893. Ralph married first Sadie F. Clover and had a daughter, Minnie M. His second wife, married on July 4, 1889, was Miss Minnie Casbohm, of Mercer county, Pennsylvanig.. They had three children, Lee C, who died at the age of eight months ; Ray L. and Lillian. Elisha Bowman, father of Elisha K. Bowman, was born in Connecticut on March 31, 1788, and moved to the state of New York when eleven years old. Marrying Sally King, of Oneida county. New York, they came to this county in 18 16 and at once located on the land spoken of above, which lies OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. yyg just north of Springboro. Elisha Bowman was a soldier of the war of 1812 and was stationed at Sackett's Harbor, New York. His father, also Elisha Bowman, was a captain in the army of the Revolution. Ancestry of family, English, Welsh and German. Edzvard Croxall, landscape gardener, Titusville, is a native of England, and was first identified with Titusville in 1871. Mr. Croxall was born in Cornwall, England, March 19, 1830, son of Samuel and Harriet (Dowrick) Croxall ; the former died at the- age of seventy-four years, the latter at the age of eighty-six years. For some years prior to their death they had been residents of Canada. Mr. Croxall was the eighth child of a family of nine children: Thomas, deceased; Lydia, deceased; John Bramton, Ontario; Mary Ann, deceased; James Whitby, Ontario; Elizabeth, deceased; Re- bekah, wife of Aaron Bagshaw; Edward, mentioned above; Harriet, wife • of Charles Parish, Port Perry, Ontario. September 21, 1868, Mr. Croxall mar- ried Mary, daughter of John Wass, of Whitby, Ontario, and their children are John, Lydia, Harriet, Charles and Jabez. Mr. Croxall began as a gardener in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and since he came to Titusvihe has broug-ht about many changes in and about the city and has been identified with the beautifying of the most prominent homes of Titusville. Such men as Mr. Croxall are entitled to the credit of enhancing the beauty and worth of the natural habitation, and alsoi bring out its value by many additional touches, such as come not alone from the hand of nature. A large majority of the. beautiful homes of Titusville bear evidence of his work and skill. John Crowe, architect and builder, Meadville, a native of Clare county, Ireland, was born in 1844. Mr. Crowe came to America with his parents, Patrick and Bridget (Downs) Crowe, when but a mere lad, and resided at Jamestown for several years, where he learned his trade and held a position with Carpenter & Mathews for some time, and since 1885 has carried on an extensive business. He removed to Meadville in 1870, atid since that time has acted as foreman in the building of the court-house, St. Bridget's church and other prominent buildings of the city. December 6, 1868, he married Margaret, daughter of Daniel and Alice (Cousedine) McCabe, who were among the early settlers of Crawford county. Daniel McCabe was born in iSio and died in 1883. Mrs. McCabe still survives, at the age of eighty- four years, and resides at Conneautville, this county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Crowe are Patrick H. ; John L. ; Martin W. ; Mitchell T. ; Robert E. ; Edward F., and Mary Alice Crowe. Michael T. is pursuing a corre- spondence course in the International Architectural School, Scranton, Penn- sylvania. 78o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Hon, John C. Sturtevant of Conneautville was born in Spring township, this county, February 20, 1835. His early Hfe was passed on the farm, and, educated in the pubHc schools, he taught school eight winters. In 1861 and 1862 he was assistant sergeant-at-arms in the state legislature at Harrisburg, and was chief messenger of the same body in 1864. In 1864, also, he was elected a member of the state house of representatives, and re-elected in 1865, served in the sessions of 1865 and 1866, doing good work on the committees on railways, banking and education. He removed to Conneautville July i, 1867, and here he has held several borough offices. He has been ever an unswerving Republican, and in November, 1896, was elected a member of the national house of representatives ; and in the extra session of that body served on the committee on invalid pensions and claims. Mr. Sturtevant is identified with numerous business enterprises. From 1867 till 1873 he was in company with Irwin S. Krick in hardware merchan- dising; in January, 1874, he was made cashier of the First National Bank of Conneautville, and this position he filled with fidelity until 1878, when he was elected the president of the bank, and now holds the office. October 12, 1871, Mr. Sturtevant married Sarah A. Gleason of Con- neautville, and their children (all sons) were Park, who died at the age of two years, Paul and Watkin P. Sturtevant. Paul is a student in Allegheny College at Meadville, and Watkin P. attends the public schools. Mr. Sturte- vant's father, Daniel W., was born in Vermont, May 2, 1806. When he was an infant his parents moved to central New York and to the homestead in the township of Spring, Crawford county, in i8i8, when he was twelve years old. He received a common-school education, became a farmer, and about 1830 married Susan Hall of Spring township. Their children were Hon. Ritner H., Hon. John C, Emeline, Seth B. and Almera (Mrs. Irwin S. Krick). Daniel W. Sturtevant died in August, 1865, and his widow is now (1897) living. Mr. Sturtevant's grandfather, Timothy Sturtevant, was born in Vermont. The original home of the family was in the province of Alsace, in 1871 ceded from France to Germany. The first American ancestor came to America about 1640. Mr. Sturtevant's grandmother's ancestors (Billings) came to this country from England, locating in Massachusetts be- fore the Revolution. Frederick I. Kebort, who is a well known business man of Meadville, is a member of the firm of Kebort'& Schmidt. He is a native of Bavaria, Ger- many, born December 21, 1868, the third child in the family of Nicholas and Mary Kebort, who are now residents of Stringtown, this state. His brothers and sisters are : Nicholas ; Henry ; Charles ; Linnie, wife of George Vatler ; Eva, deceased; and Anna. In his youth F. J. Kebort attended the schools of his Fatherland for seven OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 781 years. Upon coming to the United States lie first lived with his parents in the western part of Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and in 1882 went to Conneautville. Three years later he came to Meadville, and for several years he clerked in various hotels here. On the i8th of May, 1895, he embarked in his present business, that of running a restaurant, at 170 and 172 West Chestnut street, in the Roddy block, near the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad depot, and in this enterprise he has met with the success which he justly deserves, for everything connected with the place is neat and first class, winning the approbation of the public. September 10, 1898, his part- ner in business died and he bought his half interest from Mrs. E. W. Schmidt on the 27th of that month. Mr. Kebort is interested in the general welfare of this city and is a mem- ber of the Taylor fire department. Fraternally, he is associated with the Knights of Pythias, the Order of Elks and the Heptasophs. He married Miss Anna Louise Gahring, a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Erb) Gahring, of Meadville, October 25, 1892, and one child, Harold Henry, who has since died, was born to the young couple. Edward Eiler, proprietor of the Meadville Bottling Works, was born in Brooklyn, New York, February 5, 1862, and has lived in this city since he was two years of age. He is the fourth in a family of five children, his parents being Valentine and Barbara Filer, who were natives of Germany. They are now living in Meadville, the father in his seventy-first year, and the mother in her sixty-ninth year. Their other sons are Jacob J., Peter A., and Valentine W., and their only daughter, Anna, is the wife of Charles P. Hagerman. Edward Eiler received his education in the pubHc schools of Meadville, and ere he had completed his studies he was employed during his vacations in a drug store. Later he was engaged in the grocery business, and in 1887 he became the owner of his present establishment, which he has since greatly improved and enlarged, thereby increasing its capacity, as the trade de- manded. Fraternally, Mr. Eiler is a member of the Meadville Council, No. 78, Royal Arcanum. He was one of the founders of the Taylor Hose Company of Meadville, and has always manifested great interest in local affairs. His wife was Miss Hattie Stebbins prior to their marriage, and they have one child, Burton Valentine. Evalon C. Hoag, the son of Isaac and Sarah Badgeley Hoag, was born in Harmony, Chautauqua county, New York, March 2, 1845, was educated at the county district schools and at Jamestown Academy. He was also graduated at Eastman's Commercial College, at Poughkeepsie, .New York, 782 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. in August, 1863. In December of that year he entered the employ of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad (afterward the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio), in the office of General H. F. Sweetser, the general superintendent ol the road, and remained there until August, 1868, when he came to the oil country. He was in the office of George K. Anderson, and afterward with Sam Q. Brown, ,at Pleasantville. In March, 1872, he was appointed assist- ant cashier of the Titusville Exchange Bank, and afterward cashier. From 1879 -to 1881 he was with the Tidewater Pipe Company. He was the treas- urer and a director of the Norfolk & Cincinnati Railroad until May, 1882, when, upon the organization of the Titusville Commercial Bank, he was elected its cashier, and he has held the position ever since. He was a member of the common council of Titusville, and a member of the school board from 1891 to 1895. In June, 1873, he was married to Miss Mary Frances Smyth, daughter of Rev. J. J. Smyth. Of this union two children have been born, one of whom died in infancy, and the other, Mary Sterling Hoag, is now living. Francis H. Gibbs was born February 21, 1817, at Rocky Hill, Connecti- cut. His father was a prominent business man and a large dealer in real es- tate. His grandmother was engaged in an established business of manufac- turing buttons for the patriot soldiers of the Revolutionary war. On July 28, 1840, Mr. Gibbs was married to Miss Sarah Keith. The surviving children of this union are Emma, the wife of John J. Carter of this city; Charles L. Gibbs, also of this -city; and Mrs. Fox, wife of Dr. Fox, of New York city. George Gibbs, the oldest son, died about twenty years ago at Corry, Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Sarah (Keith) Gibbs died at Nunda, New York, about thirty years ago. Several years afterward Mr. Gibbs married Mrs. PI. B. Davis of Titusville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Gibbs died at his old homestead, in Nunda, New York, July 16, 1885. In early life Mr. Gibbs was a wagonmaker by trade, and he worked sev- eral years at Charleston, South Carolina. He came thence to Nunda, where he -yvas engaged several years in the manufacture of wagons, specially for use in the construction of the Genesee Valley canal and its subsequent mainte- nance. Afterward he entered into partnership with a Mr. Bogley of Dans- ville, New York, under the firm name of Gibbs & Bogley, and they operated extensively in the building of railroads in Iowa. They had large contracts in this work, which were highly lucrative in their results. Mr. Gibbs then returned to Nunda and started, on the banks of the Genesee Valley canal, a large warehouse, buying in large quantity wool, grain, apples, etc., for the New York market, and shipping by canal. This led him to New York city, where he engaged in the commission business on Water street, where he op- erated with success until the opening of the oil business on Oil Creek, when OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 783 he came with another man to the oil country. They invested nineteen thou- sand dollars in the Noble well, and cleared in this venture twenty thousand dollars each. At about this time he purchased land on Sandy creek, Clarion county, Pennsj'lvania. This property brought nO' returns until 1885, but it has since paid more than the principal and interest on the original invest- ment. Then • he purchased the Nunda machine works for eighty thousand dollars cash, and in company with C. M. Wheeler manufactured for the oil trade the Nunda engines and boilers. Out of this grew the great Gibbs & Sterrett Manufacturing Company, at Titusville, which, unfortunately, after- ward extended its business to the manufacture of mowers and reapers at Corry, Pennsylvania, an enterprise foreign to its original undertaking, af- fording a lesson of warning against the risk of expansion into outside fields. Up to the time when the Gibbs & Sterrett Company directed its operations into new channels, and thus divided its resources, few business firms in the United States enjoyed better credit, and it had only to adhere to the original character of its work to make permanent its success. Charles L. Gibbs, the only surviving son of Francis H., is a graduate of Rochester University. He has represented the first ward in the select council of Titusville, has been engaged many years in oil production, and is now employed in the development of the Spartansburg field. (An account of his past oil operations appears elsewhere in this work. ) Several years ago he was married to Miss Kate Vick of Rochester, New York. Theodore B. Westgate, the son of Reuben B. and Huldah (Ferry) West- gate, was born at Riceville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, July 13, 1858, and educated at the common schools and at a commercial college at Denver, Colorado. In his boyhood, when not at school, he was employed in his fath- er's sash and blind works in Riceville, and on his return from Colorado, in 1882, he joined his brother in operating the old sash and blind plant, which had been, estabHshed by his grandfather, B. B. Westgate, in 1843. The orig- inal firm was B. B. Westgate & Sons. In 1866 the plant was sold to Joshua Bruner, who operated it two years. In 1866 the entire Westgate family moved from Riceville to Vineland, New Jersey, and resided there the next two years. At the end of that time Reuben B. Westgate, father ol the sub- ject of this sketch, purchased back the sash and blind works and continued to operate them until his death, in August, 1874. After his death the executors of his estate continued to operate the plant until 1880. The first wife, Huldah T. Westgate, died in 1866. In 1867 Reuben B. Westgate married for his second wife Miss Clemina Gray of Harpersfield, Ohio, who survives him. In 1880 the sash and blind works came into the possession of Arthur H. 784 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. and T. B. Westgate, who continued to operate it under the firm name of Westgate Brothers until 1884, when Arthur succeeded to the entire business, which he still carries on at Riceville. In 1886 the subject of this sketch came to Titusville and went into the service of the American Oil Company as book- keeper, and continued in that capacity for four years, when he became a part- ner in the company and was elected its treasurer, a position which he still continues to hold. In 1896 he was chosen a director of the Pure Oil Com- pany, and still holds the position. In 1892 he was elected one of the managers of the Producers and Refiners' Oil Company, Limited, a place he continues also to hold. In June, 1895, he was married to Miss Lou G. Rouse, daughter of M. R. Rouse, and of this union there is one child. William Earl Teege, son of William and Amelia (Soderman) Teege, was born in Titusville February 8, 1872, the youngest of three children, was educated in the city schools, and lived six years with the rest of the family at Batavia, New York. From 1887 to 1892 he had charge, in Rochester, New York, of a branch office of the Titusville American Oil Works. Since then he has been engaged at the works in this city. He represents the Teege inter- ests, which are owned by himself and two sisters, in the American Oil com- pany, of which he is secretary. In 1896 he was married to Miss Cora Emma, daughter of M. R. Rouse. His father, William Teege, Sr., came from Mecklenburg, Germany, in i86l, to Titusville, where, except five years at Batavia, New York, he continued to reside until his death, in 1894. He had a farm near Batavia, which he operated five years. He was employed several years, in the '60s and after- wards, by the Titusville Pipe Company, at Titusville. After he left that com- pany he built one or two refineries at Titusville, on the south side of the creek. In 1885, in company with Frank Tackey and others, he built the American Oil Works, on South Brown street. He represented the first ward in the common council. His first wife died at Batavia and was buried there. In 1884 he was married to Mary Reiner, who survives him, living in Titusville. 6". 5'. Levy, the son of Barnard and Lena (Marks) Levy, was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1872. He was educated at the city schools, besides receiving instruction in German and Hebrew from a private tutor. He was also graduated at the Bradford Business College in 1888. In 1889 he was bookkeeper for the New England Pants Company, in Philadel- phia, one year; next he managed the business of the company from 1890 to 1 89 1, and then the company moving its business to New York, he managed for it there from 1891 to 1892. He next kept books for Hiram Blow & Com- pany, in Kentucky, one year. In January, 1893, he returned to Titusville and OUR COUNTY AND J IS PEOPLE. 785 engaged as accountant for the company of the Queen City Tannery, and he has ever since held the position. He is a member of the Chorazin Lodge of Odd Fellows in Titusville, and of the Maccabees ; also of the Elks and of the Oil Creek Lodge of the Masons ; is at present the scribe of the Aaron Chapter, R. A. M., also a mem- ber of the Occident Council, R. & S. M. ; and is also a member of the Presque Isle Lodge of Perfection, at Erie, Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Levy carried on' an extensive business in the manufacture of fur goods in Kalwaria, in Russian Poland. A maternal uncle of the mother of Mr. Levy, Herr Mordecai Lipnock, was a distinguished Russian officer in both the army and the navy of the czar. Another Lipnock, a relative, a man of wealth and business enterprise, was known throughout the empire for his charities. He had a system of donating one-tenth of his income to charitable objects. He was an extensive dealer in leather, and the effect was to incline his descendants to the tanning business. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Levy, Marks, was a large manufacturer of pottery at Suwalki, in Russian Poland. Rev. Joseph M. Dunn was born in 1844 at Summerhill, near the city of Dublin, Ireland. He was a student at the preparatory school of Trinity Col- lege, at Dublin, then attended the Seminary of the Diocese of Meath. He came to America in 1859, studied in New York, and was a student at Seton College. From that institution he went to Niagara University, where he completed his theological education. He was ordained a priest at Erie, Penn- sylvania, in 1869, the first ordained by Bishop Mullen. Father Casey was ordained at the same time. His first parish was that of Corry, this state, where he served two years, and next he was at Union City, also in this state, about twenty-two years. In February, 1892, he became the rector of the St. Titus' church in Titusville. and has continued its rector until the present time. Under his ministrations St. Titus church has steadily prospered. Elisha Gilbert Patterson was born at Hudson, New York, October 26, 1833, entered the office of the treasurer of the Hudson River Railroad in February, 185 1, and was assistant treasurer when he was appointed auditor of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad Company, with head- quarters at Adrian, Michigan. He was superintendent associate of the .Mil- waukee & Prairie du Chien Railroad, manager of the Kenosha, Rockford & Rock Island Railroad ; assistant superintendent of the Chicago & Northwest- ern Railroad, and general superintendent of the Raritan & Delaware Bay Railroad ; was manager for the land owners of the Holmden" farm at Pithole, Pennsylvania ; was engaged with James McNair in petroleum production on Cherry Run, and he operated extensively in the Church Run district and in the 50 786 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. development of the Bradford field, as a member of the firm of Emery, Pat- terson & Company. He was chairman of the legislative committee during the war against the South Improvement Company, and as a member of the oil-country dele- gation he presented the case of his constituents before the railway officers in JNew York city. As chairman of the transportation committee of the Pro- ducers' Union, and a member of its legal committee, he wrote the address ot the people of the Pennsylvania Oil Region to Governor Hartranft, drafted and advocated before congress the original inter-state commerce act, drztfted the existing law regulating the operation of pipe lines, participated in the prosecution of the state suits, and opposed the scheme for their abandonment and the substitution of a criminal action, and withdrew from further partici- pation when it was decided upon by the committee. He was one of the pro- jectors and a charter member of the Tide Water Pipe Company, and has been interested in other lines for oil transportation. In late years Mr. Patterson has devoted himself to mechanical improvements in railroads. He is a member of the society of Sons of the American Revolution and of the Sons of Colonial Wars. The wife of Mr. Patterson was Ellen Maria Tefft, daughter of the late Israel K. Tefft, of Rome, New York, and niece of the founder of the firm of Tefft, Weller & Company of New York. Charles Burgess was born in Pelsall, England, October 2, 1841, ana in his early life he spent many years in iron and steel mills in and near Shef- field. At the age of twenty-four he came to the United States, in March, 1866. He first worked at Troy, New York, where he was engaged for a time in the Bessemer Steel Works, and was also employed in making special iron. After a year there he went to Pittsburg, and worked there for a short time in an iron and steel mill. Then he rented, just outside of Pittsburg, a forge, and began experimenting in producing various kinds of steel. Three years afterward he went to England, where he remained several months. Then he returned to America and went to fronton, Ohio, where he engaged with the Ironton Walling Mill Company to manufacture some of his specialties of iron and steel. While ther.e his products received the highest award at the Cincinnati Exposi- tion, against eight or nine competitors. During his stay at Ironton he was married to Miss Charlotte Moreland of Detroit, Michigan, formerly of England. A few months afterward he sold to the company for whom he had worked the right to manufacture and sell his iron and steel, and with his young wife made a trip to England, to visit their friends. After an absence of about four months he returned to Ironton, and found parties waiting there to organize a company for the man- ufacture of iron and steel under his direction. A company of six was formed. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 787 of which he was one, whose one-sixth interest was assigned to him in consider- ation of his skill and ability, and he was made the general superintendent and a director. The works, which were at Portsmouth, Ohio, were named, after him, the Burgess Steel and Iron Works. This plant was one of the most successful concerns during the panic from 1873 to 1875. His products were of such superiority as to win the highest premiums wherever exhibited. Three gold medals were awarded to him over many competitors. About two* years afterward he sold his rights to the company. The Burgess Steel and Iron Works are still running under their original name. Mr. Burgess then went again to England and sojourned there this time five years, because of his father's illness, until his father's death. Then he returned to the United States and engaged with the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company. He had charge of one of the company's departments, producing his specialties in iron and tool steel for five years. He left there and came to Titusville in 1884, and with others he began to manufacture iron and tool steel. One-fourth interest in the plant was assigned to him by the company in consideration of his skill and experience, making him the general manager and superintendent. The works were' op- erated about a year and a half under the name of Burgess, Garrett & Com- pany. , Charles Burgess then purchased the interests of his partners, found- ing the Cyclops Steel Wor~ks, of which he has ever since been the sole owner. Mr. Burgess is one of the ten citizens who^ in 1896 each subscribed ten thousand dollars to the stock of the Titusville Industrial Fund Association. He is a director of the association and a director of the Titusville Board of Trade. Two or three years ago he purchased the Jonathan Watson home, at the east end, and expended upon it several thousand dollars in reconstruction and repairs, making it his permanent family residence. It is needless to say that Charles Burgess ranks as one of the substantial representative citizens of Titusville. Daniel Colestock, .the son of Daniel and Catharine (Myers) Colestock, was born September 29, 1843, near East Rochester, Columbiana county, Ohio. He is the youngest of twelve children, nme of whom are still living. The oldest brother is a retired clergyman of the United Brethren denomination, residing at Mechanicsburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. At the age of fifteen Daniel learned telegraphy. At the age of seventeen he saw Presi- dent-elect Lincoln, in February, 186 1, at Bayard, Ohio, who made a short speech to^ the crowd as the train, in which Mr. Lincoln was riding on his way to Washington, stopped at the station there. In the fall of 1861 Daniel went into the telegraphic service of the government and continued in the same until the close of the war. From 1862 tO' the end of the war he was with the late C. O. Rowe in the same service. 788 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. After the close of the war he was in the employ of the American Tele- graph Company, at Washington, D. C, one year. In 1867 he came to Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania, and became chief clerk of the superintendent of the West- ern Union Telegraph Company at that place. Not long afterward Mr. Rowe became the superintendent of the division of western Pennsylvania of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and Mr. . Colestock continued as his chief clerk. during the rest of Mr. Rowe's life. The period of Mr. Colestock's service as chief clerk of the superintendent of the division was twenty-two consecutive years. In 1881 Mr. Rowe moved the headquarters of the division to Titusville, accompanied by Mr. Colestock, who thereafter with his family made this city his home. The headquarters of the division in 1888 were moved back to Pittsburg, and Mr. Colestock was there one year. On June i, 1889, he resigned his position as chief clerk, returned to Titusville and pur- chased an interest in the Joy Radiator Works there, with which he has since been connected. After Mr. Joy's death, in 1895, his interest was purchased by the Titusville Iron Works, Limited, the twO' institutions merging under a corporate charter, with the name of The Titusville Ii^on Company, making the radiator plant a department of the Titusville iron Company. Mr. Cole- stock is secretary of the general company and one of its directors; and he is the manager of the Radiator department. In 1 87 1 Mr. Colestock was married to Miss Mary E. Conlan. F. D. Gaston. — At an early period in the history of this country the an- cestors of F. D. Gaston came to Massachusetts from France, and among the pioneers of the western section of Crawford county, Pennsylvania, many of his relatives were numbered. Born in 1853, F. D. Gaston is the youngest of six children, the others being: W. G., of Cochranton; Athelston; E. H., deceased; A. B., of Mead- ville; and Eunice L., of Springfield, Missouri. In 1873 F. D. and Athelston Gaston embarked in the lumber business in Utica, and for over a quarter of a century our subject has devoted his whole attention to the management of this enterprise. He removed to Meadville in 1889 and has built up a very extensive patronage. In 1875 the marriage of F. D. Gaston and Miss Clara L. Henry of East Fallowfield was celebrated, and to their union five children have been born, namely : Edna, Ethel, Phylinda, Marie and Audley. Rev. Henry Purdon, D. D., the founder and late rector of the St. James Memorial church in Titusville, was born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, Au- gust 15, 1835. (The account of the founding of the church in 1862, together with its subsequent history, and that of Dr. Purdon, will be found under the head of Titusville Churches, in this work.) Certain other parts of Dr. Pur- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 789 don's persona] record are given here. He came to the United States in 1854, and completed his education in this country. Soon after his arrival in New- York he entered the junior class of Union College, at Schenectady, New York, and was graduated at that institution in 1857. In the same year he entered the Theological Seminary of Virginia, graduating in 1859, ^^d in July that year he was ordained to the deaconate of the Protestant Episcopal church. He then went to China, but returned in i860 and settled for a time near Phila- delphia. On April 6, 1863, he was ordained to the priesthood. On July 29, 1876, he received from the Theological Seminary of the Diocese of Ohio the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He began in 1862 his work in the oil country, which ended with his sudden death December 21, 1898, — the death of a great and good man, beloved and honored in the city by all classes among whom he had labored as a Christian minister for more than a generation. In 1869 Dr. Purdon was married to Miss Marina, daughter of the late Rev. Reuben Tinker of Westfield, New York. Their oldest child, Harry- Sidney, was born in September, 1870, and he died in 1872. TwO' daughters, Marina Louisa and Alice Rodney, are left to their mother. Eher E. Edson. — Oije of the old families of New England and Penn- sylvania is represented in Riceville, Crawford county, by the subject of this biographical notice and his immediate relatives. In tracing his genealogy we find that he is of the eighth generation of Edsons in the United States, and that the founder of the family in the New World was one Samuel Edson, born in England in 1612. He came to Massachusetts among the early set- tlers and was a resident of Salem,. as is known, in 1639. About 1650 he re- moved to the town of Bridgewater, same state, and was one of the original land-holders there. He built the first gristmill in that place and was one of the influential and progressive citizens there up tO' the time of his death, in 1692. Succeeding him in the direct line of descent to our subject were three Samuels, the first, born in 1645, died in 1719; the second, born in 1690, died in 1771 ; and the third, born in 1714, died in 1803, all natives of Bridgewater. In the same town was born the great-grandfather of our subject, Jonah Ed- son, in 1751. He removed to Westmoreland, New Hampshire, and there passed the remainder of his life. His son Jonah, the grandfather, was born in Westmoreland, in 1773, and departed this life in the vicinity of Riceville, this county, in 1848. Eber E. Edson is one of the thirteen children born to Chelous and Julian (Bloomfield) Edson, who were married in 1827. The father was born in 1806 and died in i860, and the mother, born in 1809, died in 1890. In their family there were eight girls and five boys, and all but one of the num- ber lived to maturity and were married. Four of the sons and four daughters are living at this time. 790 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Born in 1835, in Bloomfield, Crawford county, Eber Edson spent his boyhood upon his father's farm and received a common-school education. Before he reached his majority he bought his time of his parents and in 1857 went to CaHfornia. During the next twenty years — for he did not return to the east for permanent residence until 1880 — he experienced many of the vicissitudes common to frontier life, and had numerous peculiar experiences. At ofie time he owned stock in Virginia City, which stock became almost fabulously valuable after he had disposed of it, and at another time he was engaged in working a mining claim, and left it in order to assist in the pro- tection of some emigrants against the Indians. During his absence his claim was "jumped" and he was unable to recover his rights in the property. Once, when pursued by Indians, he, being on horseback, performed a feat almost identical with the famous leap of McCullough, under similar circumstances. He was strong and practically without fear, able to do wonderful things and bear almost insupportable hardships, as the true frontiersman must; and though the life he led was remote from the civilizing influences of the east he never sacrificed his inborn principles of right and justice, and was always ready to lend a hand to those who were in need. At the time of Lincoln's assassination he was the owner of a good livery stable with forty horses and vehicles in a small western town. The whole town was draped with mourn- ing emblems, the stables as well, and when a rough westerner started out with the expressed intention of tearing down all the crepe and came to Mr. Edson's place of business with that threat, trouble ensued. The bully retired with three of his ribs broken and had to be helped home. The outcome of the matter was that the livery stable and fourteen horses were burned, the loss being a complete one to the owner. Another experience of his was in saving a "wooden" town from, being entirely consumed by fire. Contrary to the opinion of the so-called "fire department," he and a number of the leadmg citizens chopped and tore down a row of frame houses, thus preventing the spreading of the fiery element. He immediately afterward left the town and the next morning the papers were loud in their praises of the "stranger" whose good sense and diligent labors had preserved the place from destruc- tion. Many a narrow escape he had from death, in its varied forms, but per- haps his greatest fortune was when he was rescued, barely alive, from a mine which had caved in upon him. He spent nearly three years in prospecting for silver in the territory of Nevada (now a state) when the Indians were hostile. Many times he would ride on horseback alone into their country. When pursued by them one of his strong games in fooling them was to build a large fire just at dark by some spring and then get on his horse and ride four or five miles in the dark and lie down in his blankets and sleep with his horse tied to his hand. At one time he rode one hundred and fifteen miles on horseback, in Placer county. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 791 California, in fifteen hours, having three changes of horses, in search of a man whose sister was supposed to be dying. For the past eighteen years he has been quietly engaged in business ir. this, his native county, where he owns real estate in Bloomfield and Athens, besides the store in Riceville, which is managed by his youngest brother, Perl B., who was born in 1852. He is a Repubhcan and Odd Fellow, and since 1897 has been a member of the United Brethren church. The first marriage of Mr. Edson was solemnized in 1856, Miss Fanny Akin becoming his wife. After her death he wedded a Miss Wylie, in Cali- fornia, and his third marriage was to Miss Phoebe Thompson. The surviv- ing children of Mr. Edson are Hubert, a chemist on a Louisiana sugar plan- tation; Bloomfield, a minister of the Christian church, now in California; Ora, a teacher, also in California; and Omer, Harold, Chelous, Elma and Nina, — all of this locality. Charles H. Thompson was born in Beaver township, this county, Feb- ruary 22, 1866, educated at the public schools and in early lite ne was a farmer; but in 1884 he was fortunate in securing a position as an operative in the employ of J. W. Crider in the Conneautville woolen mills. His atten- tion to his duties and his faithfulness to his employer's interests were noted, and as a result he was promoted to a foremanship in 1891, which responsible station he still retains. On May 6, 1886, he married Clara B. Houghtailing of Conneautville. They have one son, A. Wayne, born on April 17, 1894. Jacob Thompson, father of Charles H., was born in 1813, in Spring town- ship, where he was educated and became a farmer. Marrying Margaret Burn- ham, also of Spring township, he had eight children, of whorii six attained maturity, namely: Frank W., Mary, Elmer, Charles H., Ray, and Anna. Of these Frank W. married Ethel Thompson and Mary became Mrs. George Clow. Jacob Thompson died in 1890. Mrs. Thompson is now (1897) liv- ing. Mr. Charles Thompson is a Democrat in politics and also an Odd Fel- low, holding his membership in Conneautville lodge. The ancestry of the family is English, Irish and Dutch. Joseph L. Tezv. — The late Joseph L. Tew was born in Springfield, Mas- sachusetts, July 24, 181 1, educated in the excellent public schools of his native state, and devoted his early life to farming. Going to Cleveland, Ohio, how- ever, when nineteen years of age, he chanced to be where rare opportunities existed for acquiring business methods, and soon afterward became a whole- sale grocer. He made h,is home in Conneautville in 1854. By his first wife, Mary Tew, who died in 1875, he had two children, who died in infancy. His second wife, nee Carrie Frances Druse, of Con- neautville, he married June 8, 1876. Mr. Tew died on July 24, 1890. George 792 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. W. Druse, the father of Mrs. Tew, was born in Springfield, Otsego county, New York, in 1811, educated at the common schools and learned the shoe- maker's trade. When a young man he made his home in the beautiful village of Fredonia, Chautauqua county, New York, and there married Charlotte Hubbard, of a prominent family of that place. Their two children (daugh- ters) were Euretta A. and Carrie F. (Mrs. Joseph L. Tew). Mrs. Druse survives her husband, who died June 16, 1891. Mrs. Druse, Mrs. Tew and her sister are all members of the Presbyterian church. Ancestry of family, French and English. Charles M. Wood of Rome township, son of Phineas Wood, was born in Connecticut in 1823, educated at Fredonia, New York, studied law with Wilson Farrely of Meadville, as his preceptor, was admitted to the bar and practiced at Meadville for several years. Then came tO' Centerville, where he still continued to practice. He married Mrs. Hannah Saunders, but as she did not live long he married Mrs. Arvilla (Bishop) Davenport, who is now living at Centerville. Mr. Wood is deceased. John Wormald, deceased, late of Conneautville, was born in Yorkshire, England, on May 6, 1821, and came to America with his parents when he was nine years old. They located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was educated in the public schools and thoroughly learned wool-carding. His father was a woolen manufacturer and John was soon engaged in the same business, which he conducted at various places in the state. In 1849 ^^ came to Conneautville and for many years engaged in manufacturing, in company with his father and William Crider, and with successful results. On February 20, 1849, Mr. Wormald was married to Margaret J. Con- nor. By legal adoption Sarah E. Crider, a daughter of Mr. Wormald's sister, was made their daughter and took their name. Mr. Wormald was a successful and prominent business man, public- spirited and generous withal. As a large stockholder of, a director in and the president of the First National Bank of Conneautville, his influence was potent in the financial affairs of this section and ever for usefulness. He was largely interested in the chemical works at Conneautville and in the Key- stone Tannery of Springboro. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wormald united years ago with the Methodist Episcopal church. David W. Smith was born in Summit township, Pennsylvania, Septem- ber 9, 1822. His father, John Smith, was born in 1779, and in 1797 came to Summit from New Jersey, and took up four hundred acres of land, two hundred of which was given him by the state as an inducement for emigrat- ing hither, and for the other two hundred he paid one dollar and twenty-five OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 793 cents an acre. In 1833 he built the brick house in which he Hved until his death, in August, 1849, at the age of seventy years. John Smith's wife lived to be seventy-five years old; she was born in 1788, and died in 1863. They had ten children, of whom two are now living, — a daughter, and David, the subject of this sketch. Of the other five sons, Daniel lived to be forty years old; William H. died in his eighty-sixth year, April 23, 1898; John H. died at Meadville, in 1890; and Darius in 1892. All of David's brothers settled on the old homestead and remained there until their death. David Smith was married May 3, 1849, to Miss Martha C. Super, of Summit. Mrs. Smith died April 25, 1896, after nearly fifty years of mar- ried life. She is remembered as an unusually handsome woman, and pos- sessed, in addition, many fine traits of character. Her loss is sincerely mourned by a larg-e circle of friends. There were ten children born to this couple, — seven sons and three daughters: Alvaredo Wellington, a butcher in Harmonsburg; Frank I., who enlisted in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Regi- ment in the late war with Spain; Elmer Lincoln, a lumber manufacturer in Greenville, Tennessee; William Tell, a farmer at Summerhill; Hugh R., a lumberman, died at the age of twenty-four ; David Grant and Fred B., now operating the home farm; Cora, who married Wilbur Upham, and is now living in Garnett, Kansas ; Kittie Clyde, who married H." S. Temple, and lives in Cleveland, Ohio; Susannah Elizabeth, who married William V. McClure, and lives in Summit. . Mr. Smith is a firm believer in temperance and an ardent worker in the cause. He is a member of the Royal Templars, and was for many years a member of the old Washingtonian movement. He was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Harmonsburg. Mr. Smith cast his first vote for James K. Polk; he has been a Republican since the party's organ- ization, and is active in politics and attends county and other conventions. As his share of the old homestead Mr. Smith has one hundred of the four hundred acres owned by his father, and this has since been his home. He has also another farm in Summerhill township, and has various interests aside from farming; for he has been extensively interested in the manu- facture of lumber and has operated two mills of the water variety, and has also owned two steam lumber mills. In 1847 he built a water mill on his farm and operated it for fifteen years. In 1864 lumber brought twenty-five dollars per thousand, and by running. his mHls to their utmost capacity he made money rapidly. His farm has also yielded a substantial fortune. One year he raised two thousand bushels of corn, that brought forty cents a bushel. Mr. Smith also has a fine orchard, which has produced six thousand bushels of fruit in a single season. Mr. Smith has been, and still is, an tinusually successful and enterprising man. 794 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Benjamin Harrison of Rome township was a son of Benjamin Harrison, and was born in Northumberland county, England, in October, 1797, and came to New Jersey from New England in 1827. In 1833, in company with Richard Morris and Inskip Harrison, he walked to the township of Rome, being ten days on the journey. They took up a section of four hundred acres of land and divided it into three lots, Mr. Harrison's, lot being the farm now_ owned by Samuel Harrison, his grandson, and John Harrison, his son. He was a successful farmer. He married Nancy Brown and had ten children. The deceased are Jane, Sarah (first), Sarah (second), and Christopher; and the living are Benjamin, John, Betsy, Ellen, Richard, and Edward I. Mr. Harrison died in 1875, and his wife died in 1840. After the death of his first wife he married Mrs. Isabella Edmonds. John, his son, married Elinor Harrison, daughter of Richard Harrison. He is a farmer and has one child, Richard B. Edward I. Harrison, born September 9, 1840, enlisted in Company K, Fifty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in August, 1 86 1, and was discharged in 1862 by reason of disability. He married Amelia E. Rigby, daughter of Thomas and Mrs. Ellen (Farrington) (Summer) Rigby. He is a farrher and has three children. James D. Gill, ex-mayor of Meadville, is a native of Crawford count)-, his birth having taken place September 17, 1822, in Hayfield township. His paternal grandparents, William and Catham (Campbell) Gill, emigrated from Scotland to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1786, and in 1794 they removed to what is now Hayfield township and located on tract No. 70, on the west branch of French creek. Robert Gill, the father of our subject, was born in Scotland and was educated in the subscription schools of Hayfield township, in which district he afterward engaged in farming until his death, in 1828. His wife, the mother of James D., was Harriet, daughter of Captain James Dunn, a hero of the Revolutionary war. James D. Gill supplemented his public-school education by a course in Meadville Academy and later attended Allegheny College, of which institu- tion he is now a trustee. In 1839 he became a clerk in the dry-goods store of Gill & Derrickson, and in 1844 he embarked in business for himself, in part- nership with James J. Shryock. The firm name was first J. D. Gill & Com- pany, but for many years has been Gill & Shryock. The partners have carried a stock of dry goods, and have also been interested in the hardware business and in milling enterprises. In 1852 J. D. Gill became One of the incorporators of Greendale Ceme- tery Association, and has since been actively connected with the organiza- tion. Having been appointed chief engineer of the Meadville fire department by the city council in 1865, he instituted many reforms and reduced affairs to the fine system which has since been maintained. In 1873 he was elected OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 795 mayor of the city, and during his term of ofifice he prepared plans for new water-works, which he strongly recommended tO' the citizens, but the propo- sition was rejected by the popular vote. In 1874, however, he organized the present water- works company, was elected a director, and since 1876 has been its president. For the past quarter of a century he has been president of the Crawford County Mutual Insurance Company. Mr. Gill has been twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of General Daniel Shryock. Mrs. Gill died in 185 1, and their only child, Will- iam, is also deceased. In 1853 Mr. Gill married Miss Susan ,E. Shryock, a sister of his first wife, and they have three children, — Harriet E., Daniel A., and Elizabeth. C. K. Higgins, a contractor and builder, residing in Meadville since 1850, was born in Sparta township, Crawford county, November 29, 1835, a son of Telassar and Mai'y Ann (Golden) Higgins, both natives of New York. The former died at the ag-e of fifty-six, and the latter at the age of sixty years. Our subject is the third child of a family of eight children, as follows: Sylvester, deceased; Caroline, deceased; C. K., subject; Hannah, wife of Harrison McClintock, Woodville, Ohio ; Charles O., formerly of Oil City, Pennsylvania, deceased; Elna, wife of Frank Ward, of Sparta town- ship, this county; Frank, a resident of Corry, Pennsylvania; and Edward, of Woodville, Ohio. Our subject is distinctively a self-made man, having worked his way from boyhood. His reputation as a builder ranks among the best, as many landmarks in Meadville showing the skill of his workmanship will attest. He began when quite young to work with his father, who was at that time a miller, but finding outdoor work more congenial to his temperament he chose his trade, which he has since followed with the most flattering results. In September, 1858, he married Louisa, daughter of Salmon and Louisa (Lord) Tower. She is the eldest of a family ol three children, as follows : Louisa, wife of our subject; Henry, of Bradford, Pennsylvania; and Alice, wife of Wilmot Stephens, Binghamton, New York. The issue of this union are two children: Charles. W. and Lu Setta, wife of Harry Warmer, Mead- ville. William Nason, M. D. — For almost half a century Dr. William Nason was one of the leading citizens of Townville, actively associated with whatever was calculated to be of benefit to the city in the line of progress and improve- ment. As a physician he stood high in.his profession, and his long experience, sound judgment and ripe wisdom were constantly deferred to by his brothers in the healing art. Born in Chautauqua county. New York, in 1827, Dr. Nason came of a 796 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. line of patriots and heroes, his father having fought in the war of 1812 and his paternal grandfather having been a soldier of the Revolution. On his father's side the doctor was of Scotch-Irish extraction, while on the maternal side he was of English lineage. Being graduated in the Philadelphia Medical College in 1850, Dr. Nason at once established himself in practice in Townville, where he continued to live until his death, in 1896. Kindly and cheerful in disposition, his presence in the sick-room brought renewed strength and courage to the patient, and in many a home he was loved and venerated as an ideal physician. In early years especially he rode far and wide into the surrounding country, never sparing himself when the suffering required his aid. In 1853 Dr. Nason married Miss Catherine Breed, who survived him. Six of their children attained maturity, and three of the sons are practicing physicians. The only daughter is Mrs. T. B. Lehbenthaler, and the sons are: Charles A. W., of North East; Dr. W. A., of Roaring Springs; S. E., of Hydetown; Dr. F. T. F., of McKeesport; and Dr. J. B.,,of Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania. The causes of education and religion found warm support at the hands of Dr. Nason. For fifteen years he served as a member of the local school board, and at the time of his death was acting as one of the borough council. He served as superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school for thirty years. For years he had been a representative member of the Odd Fellows society, and the Townville Lodge conducted the funeral services at his death. 0. A. Tillotson, M. D., of Titusville, was .born October 29, 1858, in Syracuse, New York, a son of Dr. William and Susan (Osborne) Tillotson, for many years residents of that city, where the father was for a long time engaged in the cooperage business, in which the subject of this sketch, after the age of fourteen years, assisted his father materially. He is the eldest in a family of three children, the others being Mary E., the wife of Earnest L. Myers, a representative of the fifty-first district (Omaha) of Nebraska; and Willard, residing at Union City, this state. Dr. Tillotson was educated at Whitestown Seminary and Brown Uni- versity, and received his medical education at the Bellevue Medical College in New York and the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College at Cleveland, Ohio, at which latter institution he graduated in 1883. For two years prior, however, to his attendance at the medical college in Cleveland he was book- keeper for the Standard Oil Company. He began the practice of his chosen profession in Titusville in 1883, the year of his graduation. He is a member of the staff of the Sixteenth Regiment, I. O. O. F., and of the Order ol Knights of Pythias. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 797 Henry H. Biirlingame, now deceased, was for many years a resiaent of Pennsylvania, but belonged to one of the old New England families. The first of the name of whom we have record is Isaiah Burlingame, who was a native of Rhode Island, whence he removed to New Berlin, New York, where most o'i his children were born. He was twice married, his first union being with a Miss White of Vermont, and to them were born thirteen children. By his second wife he had five children, and with them emigrated to northern Indiana, in 1835, but some of the children located in southern Michigan. Most of the representatives of his larg'e family were farming people, but among them were also ministers, physicians and teachers. Titus Burlingame, one of the eldest of the family, was born in New Berlin, Chenango county, New York, February 23, 1796, and carried on agricultural pursuits throughout the greater part of his life, and was also' a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was married in his native town, in 1820, to Betsy Eliza Elizabeth Hooper, whO' was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, May 16, 1801, and died June 3, 185$. Titus Bur- lingame died March 14, 1868, and was buried in Hatch Hollow cemetery, in Amity township, Erie county, Pennsylvania. Three children were born to them: Alvira, who was born in Madison county, New York, January 5, 1823, and is now living in Louville, Erie county, Pennsylvania; Euphemia, who was born in New Berlin, New York, February 28, 1826, and is now deceased; Emily, who was born in Pittsfield, Otsego county. New York, February 3, 1837, and is now living near Wattsburg, Erie county, Pennsylvania. Henry Harrison Burlingame, whose name initiates this review, was born in New Berlin,- New, York, October 18, 1831, and devoted the greater part of his time and attention throughout his business career to the tilling of the soil. He lived most of the time' near Wattsburg, Erie county, where he suc- cessfully operated a farm. For fifty years he was a faithful member of the United Brethren church, and had the confidence and regard of all whO' knew hirn. He was married October 25, 1856, to Nancy M. Mason, who was born August 14, 1838, in Wayne township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Eben P. Mason. Her death occurred August 10, 1869, and her husband, long surviving her, passed away March 19, 1898. Henry H. married, second time, Martha Conant, December 16, 1869, with whom he lived until his death. He was the father of four children, — -Charles L., Viettie A., Willis O., and Willie E. The eldest son was born March 18, 1858, is a grad- uate of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, of Battle Creek," Michigan, and is now a medical missionary and nurse. He was married August 15, 1885, to Estella P. Weede, and they have two children: May, born May 25, 1886, and Ralph, born April 5, 1895. Viette A. Burlingame was born April 2, 1862, and on the 1 6th of June, 1885, became the wife of William J. Low. They have six children: Ray, born in Cleon, Michigan, April 27, 1886; Clair, Septem- 798 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ber 6, 1889; Edna, February 25, 1892, in Marinette, Wisconsin; Ethel and Eva, twins, born in Menominee, Michigan, February 7, 1894; and WilHe, November 11, 1897, also in Menominee, Michigan. Mr. Low is located at that place in the employ of the railroad. Willis O. and Willie E. Burlingame are twins, and were born in Wayne township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1869. When only two weeks old the latter became an inmate of the home of his aunt, Mrs. Olive Mason Rogers, of Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, with whom he remained until his marriage, and has always been known by the name of Willie E. Rogers. He now resides on a farm in Sparta township, Crawford county. He mar- ried Ruth R. Snapp, of that township, March 9, 1892, and they now have two children, — Harry E., born May 10, 1894, and Nancy Rose, born July 20, 1896. Willis O. Burlingame, better kn(;>wn throughout Crawford county as Willis O. Washburn, when three and a half months old went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Washburn of Sparta township, Crawford county, where he still makes his home. He is one of the enterprising and progressive young farmers of the community and is widely and favorably known in that locality. Roger Sherman. — For many years Roger Sherman was one of the most distinguished and honored citizens of Titusville, Pennsylvania. An eminent lawyer, a man of high scientific and literary attainment, of broad humanitarian principles, and an American citizen whose life showed forth the loftiest patriotism, he left the impress of his individuality upon the state, its legislation and its people. Life to him was real and earnest, and he real- ized, as few have done, his duty toward his fellow men. Possessed of strong intellectuality, charming personality and high mental culture, he might have attained to the most distinguished honors at the bar or in the affairs of the state had an ambition for personal preferment dominated his life; but while he was readily recognized as one of the leading lawyers of western Pennsyl- vania he found his greatest pleasure in using his influence for the benefit of his fellow men. Born in Randolph, Tipton county, Tennessee, July 28, 1839, he be- longed to one of the oldest* and most prominent families of America. His ancestry can be traced back to Henry Sherman, whO' lived in Dedham, Essex county, England, in the year 1520. His grandson, Edmond Sherman, came to America about 1632, and from him was descended Roger Sherman. The members of the family seemed to.be endowed with those qualities which make the successful pioneer and colonizer. At the time of the American revolu- tion they had resided in this country for nearly a hundred and fifty years, and from the earliest times they were known as lovers of liberty, strenuous in asserting their rights, with the courage to maintain their convictions and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 799 determined in their opposition to all forms of tyranny. It is therefore not strange that we find many of the Shermans of New England taking an active part in the events which brought on, and in the prosecution of, the war for independence. The father of our subject, Isaac De Blois Sherman, was born in Pom- pej. New York, in 1797, and was graduated at Williams College, in Massa- chusetts, December 26, 1824, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. From 1 83 1 until 1833 he edited and published the Syracuse Argus, of Syracuse, New York, but during the greater part of his life followed his profession. He was married June i, 1828, to Miss Phoebe Conkling, of Amaganset, Long Island, and in November, 1835, theyleft Syracuse, New York, going to Ran- dolph, Tipton county, Tennessee. Mrs. Sherman was a sister of the late Hon. Alfred Conkling, of Auburn, New York, member of congress from 1821 until 1823, United States district judge, and minister to Mexico in 1850. Dr. Sherman afterward practiced his profession in Arkansas, as well as in Tennessee. He was gifted with an ardent and enthusiastic temperament^ an excellent physical organization, a studious nature and keen and practicaLmind, with great energy and force of will. He died about the close of the civil war, his wife having passed away in December, 1855. She was a lady of great refinement, of high education and literary taste, of calm and dignified de- meanor and steadfast character. Roger Sherman was therefore very fortunate in his early home sur- roundings, which naturally bore marked influence on his character. He prepared for college in a school conducted by Rev. Dr. Prentice in Geneva, New York, but did not continue his literary education. In a history of the Sherman family, of which he was the author, he said : "My father found himself unable to carry out his. cherished idea of a collegiate education for his son, and when little more than fifteen years of age I was confronted with the problem of earning my living." He followed civil engineering for, one or two years with a surveying party for the projected Burlington & Missouri River Road, and three times he walked nearly across the state of Iowa during one of the most severe winters ever experienced. The financial panic of 1857, however, paralyzed railroad enterprises and the surveying party returned to the east. After a short enforced idleness he turned his attention in another direc- tion. On the suggestion of his father and the receipt of a copy of Blackstone, from his aunt, Elizabeth H. Conkling, Mr. Sherman went to his father's home in Arkansas and began the study of law. In November, i860, when twenty- one years of age, he was admitted to the bar. His father's long residence in that part of the country and his extensive accjuaintance, combined with his own supei-ior qualifications and natural ability, enabled him soon tO' win a good practice, and before- the breaking out of the civil war he had secured 8oo OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. a fair clientage. At the inauguration of the war his sympathies were with the Union, but living in the soutli and surrounded on all sides by Confederates he was persuaded to enter their ranks and enlisted as a cavalryman under General W. B. Forrest. In 1863, however, Mr. Sherman left the army and made his way to Erie, Pennsylvania, where for the next two years he was engaged in newspaper work and in pursuing his legal studies. He then applied for admission to the bar of Erie county, but was refused by Judge Johnson on the ground that he was once a Confederate soldier. On the 19th of July, 1865, he went to Pithole, Venango county, and in November, 1866, was admitted to the bar of that county by Judge Trunkey, wh9 considered a man's fitness for law practice paramount to his political beliefs. On the ist of April, 1868, he removed to Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, and on the 5th of July, 1870, came to Titusville, where he made his home until his death, continuing in the active practice of law. A local paper said of him : "As a lawyer Mr. Sherman was learned, strong and resourceful, a diligent student, grounded in the prin- ciples of the law, ready and apt in applying those principles to a given condi- tion of facts ; in detecting at once the dominant features of a case, and, while not neglecting the lesser issues, compelling the attention of the court to the substance of the controversy. He was said to be the best equity lawyer in his part of the state, and he possessed one of the most extensive private law libraries in west Pennsylvania. He was a constant student of the state and federal court reports and thus kept abreast with the advanced decisions. He was also interested in the improvement of the science of the law; in taking away, as far "as possible, the familiar reproach of its dilatory processes, and in the spring of 1896 a bill which he had drawn and caused to be introduced in the interests of common sense and a speedier arrival at the merits of an action at law was passed by the legislature and approved by the governor. But above all his characteristics as a lawyer was his faithfulness tO' the trusts reposed in him, and they have been great. A client's interests once assumed became, for the purposes of the contest, his own, and no legitimate means of securing the rights placed in his custody was left untried." Mr. Sherman was instrumental in securing legislation which secured privileges and rights to the laboring people which the monopolies tried their best to overthrow. In 1868 he procured the passage of a law giving to laborers upon oil-mining leaseholds a lien for their work and materials. At all times he was interested in securing and protecting the rights of the labor- ing man as against the oppression of the monopolists and was a very promi- nent factor in the affairs of the oil-producing region. During the period from 1872 until 1880 the majority of the oil producers were struggling to preserve their business from the grasp of monopolies. Among the rem- edies proposed for this condition of things was the passage of a law by OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 80 1 congress regulating" commerce between the states and forbidding unjust dis- crimination in rates of freight. This measure originated in Titusville and Mr. Sherman was one of the leading spirits in the movement, doing much to push vigorously the matter from time to time, but the law was not passed until 1887. At different times he engaged in editorial work and through the columns of his paper advocated reform, progress and advancement. On tlie 1st of January, 1885, he furnished the capital for the purchase and became the editor of the American Citizen, a weekly paper published in Titusville. Prior to this time the Petroleum World, a daily paper, was established in Titusville, September i, 1879, in the interest of the oil producers. A stock company was formed and throughout' the existence of the paper Mr. Sherman was one of the managers, and frequently contributed to its columns. It was independent in politics, and during its brief career advocated measures of re- form of political abuse, in the interests of the people. Personally, Mr. Sherman gave his political suppoit to the Democracy. In 188 1 he was a delegate to the Democratic state convention, which met at Williamsport. It was determined to take strong grounds against the ag- gressions of corporations and the oppressive methods by which they acc[uired control of the business of the country and endeavored to establish for them- selves monopolies in various products. Mr. Sherman was placed on the com- mittee upon resolutions and drafted and caused to be adopted the declarations of the platform from the seventh to the eleventh inclusive given in the reports of that convention. The opinions which he therein expressed continued his belief until his death. He was never an office-seeker, although he was always prominent in the counsels of his party, for his opinions were ever practical, progressive and in the interests of true American principles. In 1884 he was the Democratic nominee for mayor of Titusville, and in 1891 the Demo- cratic state conventioii nominated him as' a delegate-at-large to the state con- stitutional convention, and he would have been a member of that body had it not been that the proposition to hold the same was voted down at the fall election. He was also prominently mentioned for the nomination for the superior court judgeship in 1895, but political honors were not necessary to him, for through all the years he had a very extensive and profitable law practice. On the 1 6th of Mai'ch, 1871, in Pleasantville, Mr. Sherman and Miss Alma Seymour were married by the Rev. James J. Smythe, and the following vear they moved into the home in Titusville which is still Mrs. Sherman's place of residence. They have two children, — Roger Seymour, born March 11, 1879, and Alma Janet, born August 7, 1882. Mrs. Sherman belonged to the old Seymour family of Connecticut, one of the most notable and respected families of New England. Among its members have been several eminent SI 8o2 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. lawyers, distinguished jurists and governors. Her maternal grandfather. Dr. Thomas Hopkins, was a college graduate and a man of wide learning. Mr. Sherman was an active factor in the social, political and literary life of Titusville and was one of the founders of the Titusville public library. As a member of the National and Pennsylvania Societies of the Sons of the American Revolution, he was greatly interested in American historical re- search, and in 1895 he was vice-president of the state organization. He was a member of the Society of American Civics, of the Society of Civil Service Reform and of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. A man of scholarly tastes, he was a great lover of books and left to his family ■one of the largest and best selected libraries of western Pennsylvania. He Avas a constant reader of such works as would keep him in touch with ancient as well as modern thinkers, and at all times he was abreast with modern thought. He was a ready writer, forcible and convincing, and his broad fund of- knowledge and genial disix^sition made him a most delightful com- panion. He contributed generously, and believed it to be the duty of every true citizen so to do, toward the maintenance of many organizations which foster a true spirit of Americanism. Incorruptible and conscientious, he made manj^ sacrifices which in these days of love of money and rush after wealth were looked upon as almost fanatical. Perhaps we cannot better close this review of one whose life was ever pure, true and upright, than by quoting the words of one who knew him, showing his attitude to the unfortunate ones of earth: "I never knew a man more charitable than Roger Sherman. It was his delight to help the poor and administer to their wants. He spent large sums of money in this way, nor would he allow his name to be used in connection with almsgiving. The poor of Titusville will sadly miss Roger Sherman, for he was their friend." His home relations were to him a sacred trust, and to his family he was tender, devoted and faithful, counting no personal sacrifice too great which would promote the welfare or enhance the happiness of his wife and children. William McCracken, of Meadville, a son of Robert and Jane Russell, was born in Sheakleyville, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1837, ^"d educated at common schools and Meadville Academy, his people moving to Meadville about 1845. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Eighty-third Regi- ment, and served three years and four months. He held the office of lieuten- ant and after the war returned to Meadville. He is now a member of Refer Post, No. 331. July 8, 187s, he married and has had two children, — Willard and Ellis. He is a direct descendant of William McLettin, the third, of Marsh Creek, who came from Ireland in 1739. He has been engaged in the livery business since 1881. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 80 o William Bookhammer, freight agent, Titusville, is a native of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, born in 1862. His father, H. J. Bookhammer, was the first master mechanic of the Oil Creek Railroad in the early days. He came to the oil country in 1865 and was identified with the interests of the locality until his death, which occurred in December, 1890, when his age was fifty-five years. Mrs. Anna M. (Bussom) Bookhammer, mother of Mr. Bookhammer, died in May, 1867, at the age of thirty-three. Mr. Bookhammer is the sec- ond son of four children, viz. : Sylvester, deceased ; William, of this sketch ; Alice, wife of C. H. Oliver, of Butler, Pennsylvania, and Frank J., of Mc- Donald, Pennsylvania. June 30, 1 89 1, at Youngstown, Ohio, Mr. Bookhammer was married to Emma C, daughter of C. H. and Caroline (Christopher) Smith, of Oil City. They have one child, Charles H. Mrs. Bookhammer has two sisters and three brothers, as follows: Ophelia, wife ,of L. H. Banister; Lillian C, wife of Dr. J. Thornton Barnsdale, of Buffalo, New York; Charles F., ex- press and baggageman of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad Company; William H., of Oil City, and A. C. W., with the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad at Titusville. Mr. Bookhammer began his career as a messenger boy in Oil City and was afterward clerk in his father's office, and in September, 1892, he was appointed freight agent of the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, of Titusville, which position he now holds. In this responsible position he has been a faithful employe and has not only worked for the best interests of the company but the public as well. Thomas S. Morris, of Wayne township, was born at North Bank, near Linesville, in 1836. In 1862 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteers, was wounded at Perryville, Kentucky, and taken prisoner near Murfreesboro, but in five days was paroled. The parole not being recognized by the federal government, he re-entered the service and marched with Sher- man to the sea, taking part in many engagements. In 1869 he hiade a trip to the west. On November 27, 1866, Mr. Morris married Susannah, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Thompson, of Mercer county. Their children are Ida May, wife of Thomas Wentworth, and Emma Jane, wife of Aaron Beers. Mr. Morris moved to Wisconsin, where his wife died, January 30, 1871 ; and in that state he married Lydia A. Smith, who departed this life April 14,- 1875. In 1882 Mr. Morris returned to Crawford county. Hugh Coyle, of Sparta township, was a son of Roger Coyle, whose father was an early settler in Rome township. He was united in marriage to Catharine McGee, daughter of John McGee, and settled in Sparta in 1815, 8o4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. on the farm now owned by George Snapp. He took up a lot of land which he improved and made a home. He was a farmer, hunter and also a Baptist minister. He had eleven children, two of whom are still living, — Mrs. lAicinda Obert and Mrs. Ellen Carr. Charles A. B or ties. — For more than forty-five years Charles A. Bortles, now deceased, was a resident of Crawford, and for a third of a century was prominently identified with the agicultural interests of this section of the state. Industry and perseverance were among his marked characteristics and brought to him a comfortable competence as the reward of his labors. As a citizen, too, he ranked among the foremost, giving his support to all meas- ures and movements which he believed would promote the public good. Honorable in his dealings, rehable in the discharge of every trust reposed in him, faithful to his duties of private life, he commanded the respect of his fellow men, and enjoyed the friendship of many with whom he came in contact. Mr. Bortles was numbered among Pennsylvania's native sons, his birth occurring in Waterford, Erie county, on the 30th of April, 1832. He spent the greater part of his youth in the place of his nativity and when twenty years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Crawford county, where he resided upon a farm for several years. Early trained to habits of industry and economy and to the work of the farm, he was well fitted for the life of the agriculturist, when he began farming on his own account. In i860 he was married and purchased a part of the land now included within the Bortles homestead. His wife also inherited a portion of the property from her father, and upon their well developed farm in Conneaut township he spent his remaining days. He prosecuted his labors with diligence, and the v.'ell developed fields yielded to him a good return for the care and cultivation he bestowed upon them. 'Neatness was manifest in field, meadow and the home surroundings, and the well kept appearance of the place indicated the careful supervision of a progressive owner. In the year i860 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Bortles and Miss Sarah, a daughter of A. H. and Rhoda (Drake) Barber, the former a native of the Empire state and the latter of Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Barber came to Crawford county about the year 1835 ^i^d purchased the land now owned by Mrs. Bortles. It was then covered with timber, but with charac- teristic energy he began to clear and develop it, and in course of time trans- formed it into richly cultivated fields. There he carried on agricultural pur- suits until his death, which occurred when he had reached the age of sixty- two years. He was successful in his business undertakings, and was a self- made man, whose untiring industry and sound judgment brought him the prospenty which rewarded his labors. His political support was given the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 805 Republican party. His wife, who was a representative of a prominent old family of Connecticut, survived him several years, and passed away at the age of seventy-seven. They were the parents of two daughters, the younger being Myra, wife of Charles D. Anger, of Andover. The elder, Mrs. Bortles, has spent her entire life on the farm which is now her home with the exception of the time she was away at school. She is a lady of culture and ability, and to her husband was a faithful helpmeet and companion. Their marriage was blessed with three children: Minnie, wife of H. J. Walrath, of Crawford county; Clarence A., who now has charge of the home farm, and Gertrude, wife of Elgood A. Whitford, of Wheeling, West Virginia. In his political views Mr. Bortle was a stanch Democrat, and took an active interest in the work and success of his party. He was recognized as one of its leaders in this community, filled various township offices, and re- ceived his party's nomination for county commissioner. He belonged to the state police, and socially w"s connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Grange. In religious faith he was a Universalist and when a young man sang in the church choir, but never united with any church organization. He died September 30, 1896, at the age of sixty- four years, and the community thereby lost one of its valued citizens and his family a devoted husband and father. His widow still resides upon her fine farm of three hundred acres, and in the county where her entire life has been passed she has many warm friends. Wesley B. Best, of Meadville, an attorney at law and leading member of the Crawford county bar, was born January 12, 1862, a son of the well known Dr. David Best. In 1883 he graduated at Allegheny College and of late years he has been honored by being chosen to act as one of the trustees of his alma mater. During the year 1884 W. B. Best was city editor of the Evening Repub- lican, published in Meadville, and about that time he took up the study of law. Admitted to the bar of Crawford county in May, 1886, he at once entered into successful jDractice in this city, and from 1891 to 1894 offi- ciated as district attorney. He also represented the city of Meadville as city solicitor during the years 1896-97. In 1886-87 he was the captain of Com- pany B, Fifteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania National Guards. A staunch Republican, he has sometimes attended local and state conventions of the party in the capacity of a delegate, and has ever sought to discharge his full duty as a patriotic citizen. Sylvester Taylor. — For a period of about twenty years Sylvester Taylor was an honored citizen of Spartaiisburg, Crawford county, where he was the "village blacksmith." He was a native of Massachusetts, and with his father 8o6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. settled in Sheridan, Chautauqua county, New York, at an early day. In 1846 or 1847 he came to Spartansburg, where he followed his trade as a black- smith for many years, and won the respect of all who were associated with him in any manner. His busy and useful life came to a close October 18, 1867, but his memory is still treasured in the hearts of many of his old friends. In 1836 Mr. Taylor married Sarah H. Emerson, a daughter of Wilder and Ruth (House) Emerson, of Westfield, New York, and she survived him. Their children were named as follows : John ; Marcena, who died in child- hood ; Ira, who was a soldier in Company I, Eighty-third Regiment of Penn- sylvania Infantry, and was killed near Richmond, in 1862 ; Lydia D., now Mrs. John Council, of Michigan; Ruth, wife of George W. Binney; Mary A., who is deceased; and Alice, wife of George Gillet, of Pennsylvania. Valentine W.'Eiler. — One of the enterprising, wide-awake young busi- ness men of Meadville, Crawford county, is the subject of this sketch. With the exception of a few years his whole life has been spent in this city, and none of its inhabitants are more genuinely concerned in its prosperity and high standing among its sister cities of this commonwealth than he. He pos- sesses the energetic, progressive spirit which always insures success, and the patriotism and high sense of duty v/hich marks the representative, broad- minded citizen. Whatever tends to promote the well-being of his fellows and the permanent welfare of his city and community are rhatters of deep interest to him, and his influence and means are freely used in every such righteous cause. A native of the city of Brooklyn, New York, V. W. Eiler was born on the 9th of June, 1859. ^'^^ the sketch of his brother Edward Eiler, printed elsewhere in this work, may be found the family history. The first five years in the life of our subject were spent in his native place, but, during the prog- ress of the Civil war his parents decided to remove to Meadville, and accord- ingly did so. The lad became a student in the excellent public schools here and remained in them until he was about seventeen years of age. In the Centennial year he entered his business career by becoming a clerk in Cal- lender & Company's drug store, of Meadville, and there he continued to act in that capacity for some three years. Desiring tO' see something of the west he then went to Colorado and for the following three years was variously engaged in business operations, doing some mining and running a drug store in a western town for a short period. In January, 1883, he returned to his old home in this city and resumed clerking. On April 27, 1886, he opened his present drug store, which is centrally situated and fitted out with a well selected line of drugs and toilet articles. He is popular and receives a goodly share of the local patronage. ^ OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 807 April 13, 1887, Mr. Eiler married Miss Mary"Abbie Clark, of Akron, Ohio, and a daughter of Lorenzo and Sarah Clark. They have five children, namely: Valentine Wallice, Jr., Clark- Chancy, Marguerite Ethel, Sturgis Clifton and Helen Adalade. They are bright, interesting children and are all at home with their parents. Mrs. Eiler is a member of the Baptist church and is a lady of good education and social qualities, much respected and loved by all who know her. Barry Cummings, of Athens township, is a son of Isaac A. and Cynthia (Flint) Cummings, and was born October 12, 1855, and is a farmer and a justice of the peace. He married Letta Foster, daughter of Albert and Hannah Foster, and they have one child, named Mary Ellen. Cornelius C. Laffer, M. D., Meadville, is a son of P. A. Lafifer, was born in Meadville in 1867, and educated at the public schools of Meadville and Alle- gheny College, ultimately graduating at the University of Pennsylvania in 1893; was resident physician of the Methodist hospital one year, and then. located at Meadville, where he has practiced medicine since 1894. He was imited in marriage to Gertrude Sackett. Hon. J. p. Thomas. — To this gentleman is due that tribute of respect and admiration which is always given — and justly so — to those men who have worked their way upward to positions of prominence through their own efforts, who have achieved wealth through their own labors, and by their honorable, straightforward dealing commanded the esteem and confi- dence of those with whom they have been thrown in contact. He has also been prominent in advancing interests which have brought to hirii no personal gain, but have been of great material benefit to the city. He is public-spirited in an eminent degree, and has been an important factor in the history of Titusville and Crawford county. A native of the Empire State, James P. Thomas was born in the town of Stafford, Genesee county, June 2y, 1839, ^"d spent his early boyhood days upon his father's farm, where he became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He assisted in the cultivation of the fields through the summer months and in the winter season attended the district school of the neighborhood until fifteen years of age, when he entered a dry-goods store in Batavia, New York, where he was employed as clerk until the autumn of i860, when he began the study of law in the office of Hon. George Brown, of that city. This was the period of intense excitement over the slavery question, and the agitation at length precipitated the country into civil war. His patriotic spirit aroused, Mr. Thomas offered his services to his country, in 8o8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. August, 1861, and joined the "boys in blue" of Company E, One Hundred and Fifth Regiment of New York Volunteers, at Le Roy, New York. Soon afterward the command was ordered^to the front and participated in many hard-fought battles, which so decimated its ranks that in the spring of 1863, at Belle Pkin, it was consolidated with the Ninety-fourth New York Infantry. In November, of that year, in recognition of his meritorious service, Mr. Thomas received promotion to the rank of second lieutenant, and in August, 1864, was made first lieutenant. He was in the thickest of the fight on many a hotly contested battlefield, and was wounded both at Antietam and Gettys- burg, and while at the battle of Weldon Railroad, near Petersburg, Virginia, on the 19th of August, 1864, he was taken prisoner. He was incarcerated in Libby Prison, also at Salisbury, North Carolina, and Danville, Virginia, but after suffering man)'- hardships was paroled, February 22, 1865. When exchanged he returned to active service and remained at the front until hos- tilities were brought to an end and the stars and stripes were planted in the capital of the Confederacy. For more than a third of a century Mr. Thomas has been a resident of Titusville, having come to this city at the close of the war. Here he turned his attention to the oil business and has since been connected with that en- terprise, through which he has realized a handsome fortune. For fifteen years he was also connected with the Roberts Torpedo Company, and ulti- mately retired from business life; but indolence and idleness form no part of his nature, and his energetic spirit could not content itself in inactivity, so that in 1885 he erected a very extensive plant for refining oil, equipped it with the latest improved machinery, and has since carried on operations in that line on a large scale. The International Oil Works, of Titusville, form one of the leading enterprises of the city, and not only bring excellent financial returns to the owner, but also promote the general prosperity by accelerating commercial activity. The development of the oil industry has been one of the greatest sources of wealth in this section of Pennsylvania and has revo- lutionized and controlled the oil trade of the country. Foreseeing its value as , a marketable product, Mr. Thomas early became interested therein, and as the result of his sagacity, capable management, enterprise and sound judgment has won a most gratifying success. In his political associations and views Mr. Thomas is a stanch Republi- can, and on that ticket was elected mayor of Titusville, February 19, 1884. For two years he held the office and discharged his duties so acceptably that he was re-elected for another term of two years, in 1886. His administra- tion was progressive and greatly benefited the city, being conducted in prac- tical business lines. Mr. Thomas is a broad-minded man, of benevolent spirit and kindly impulses, and his generosity to the poor and needy indicates his warm and sympathetic heart. He is quick to respond to any call for aid OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 809 and to encourage those who are endeavoring to conquer an adverse fate. In all his business dealings he is scrupulously exact and fair. His success seems most marvelous, but has come to him -as the result of foresight, executive ability and discrimination. The Hfe of such a man is an object lesson of real value to the observing and thoughtful. It brings out prominently the char- acteristics that win, offers encouragement to young men who are willing to work with their minds and their hands, and affords another proof of the familiar adage that there is no royal road to wealth or distinction in this republic. The achievement depends upon the man. William Lloyd Jamison of South Shenango township was born March 6, 1819, in Unity township, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. His father, James Jamison, was born in the same township in 1775, and lived there until fifteen years before his death, at the age of seventy-seven years, when he moved to Venango county. William Jamison's grandfather, Robert, was a native of Ireland, and when very young came to America with his parents, set- tling on a grant of land in Westmoreland, and lived there until his death. The mother of William Lloyd Jamison was Elizabeth Lloyd, a native of Ches- ter county, Pennsylvania, who lived to be sixty-five years old. She was a member of the Presbyterian church and had seven children, of whom William Jamison and two sisters are now living. William Jamison lived on his father's farm until his twenty-first year, when he bought the farm in Venango county, and in 1865 bought the farm that has since been his home. His farm, of onfc hundred acres extent, is well improved, and is now operated by his son. ■ He married Miss Mary Ann (Carrothers) of Venango county, who died September 16, 1897, leaving five children. Sarah E. is the wife of Thompson Marshall; Annie Jane is at home; and James A., John Lloyd and William Johnson are farmers in Crawford county. Mr. Jamison, although a stanch' Republican, has no political aspirations. He is an elder in the United Presbyterian church. William Clark Britfain, physician and surgeon, Cochranton, a native of Beaver county, was born May 27, 1849, a son of Joseph and Belinda (Clark) Brittain of Chippewa township, Beaver county, where his early life was spent on a farm. Joseph Brittain was a son of Jeremiah Brittain, also a native of Pennsylvania, whose five children were as follows: Jeremiah R., born July 26, 1839; Lydia J., born March 7, 1844, and is the wife of William C. , Cham- berlain of East Palestine, Ohio; William C. ; Joseph I., born November 2, 1857, and lives at East Palestine, Ohio; and Elizabeth E., born April 25, 1853, is the wife of Newton Andre, at New Brighton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Brittain was educated in the public schools of his native town, in 1866 8 TO OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. entered the academy at Darlington, this state, and in 1870 began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. W. C. E. Martin of Greenville, Pennsylvania. Soon afterward attended the Eclectic Medical Institute for two regular terms at Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating February 4, 1873. He began the practice of medicine in March of the same year in Orangeville, Trumbull county, Ohio. April II, 1876, he located in Cochranton, where he has since practiced, with unvarying success. February 13, 1873, he married Melissa, daughter of Thomas and Emily E. (Carringer) Robinson. The latter died March 20, 1893, Their children were seven in number : Isabella, wife of Rev. J. R. Wallace, New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Mary A., wife of Milo Carringer, of Marion- ville, Pennsylvania; Melissa, wife of our subject; Milton, residing at Green- ville, this state ; Jane, wife of F. W. McCoy, at Cleveland, Ohio ; George L., at Chagrin Falls, that state ; and J. Burton Robison of Jamestown, Pennsyl- vania. Dr. and Mrs. Brittain have two daughters : Belinda E., born Decem- ber 2, 1873, ^^^ is the wife of Frank E. Brown of Cochranton, and they have two children, — Arthur Edmon and Linnie Winsome; and Flora M., born July 3i> 1877. Mr. Brittain is a member of the United Presbyterian church, president of the board of trustees, member and clerk of the sessions, and also president of the school board of the village. William Morris of Rome township is a son of James Morris, and was born in England and came to Rome township in 1848, settling on the farm now owned by his son, Benjamin H. He was a machinist, and his wife, with the help of her eight children, did the work on the farm while he worked at his trade. Benjamin Morris of Rome township is a son of Richard Morris, and .vas born August 10, 1840. In 1866 he married Lucy A. Sedden, daughter of Eli and Jane (Harrison) Sedden, who died in 1869, leaving one child, Frederick W. His second wife was Iphigenia Wheattall, daughter of Henry Wheattall. Mr. Morris has been a lumberman and farmer. He has had three children by his second wife, — Herbert R., Edna J., and Clyde N. Henry and Benjamin Wheattall, sons of John, were mariners, born in London, England, who came to Rome township about 1843, where Henry married Elizabeth, a daughter of Richard Harrison, the early settler. Henry Wheattall had seven children ( four now living) , and his home was on the fai-m now owned by E. L. Hummer. Dr. Levi S. Tyler of Pine township is a son of Solomon and Sally (Stead- man) Tyler, and was born in Stockton, Chautauqua county. New York, April 17, 1820. In 1836 his father moved to Conneaut township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. His education was obtained from the common schools and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 8ii afterward at the Allegheny College. He read medicine, with Dr. E. P. Stead- man of Meadville for his instructor, for two years. Later he took a two-years course at the Eclectic College at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he graduated in 1845. In 1850 he located at Louisville, where he has since practiced. John J. Houser, of Meadville, a son of John and Catharine (Kohler) Houser, was born September 23, 1854, and educated at the public schools in Meadville, Westminster College and Edinboro Normal School. He followed teaching for seven years and kept grocery for thirteen years. He is now secre- tary and treasurer of the Parter Grum Company. In 1884 he was united in marriage with Anna Johnson, and has one son, J. David, a member of the I. O. O. F., in which he has passed the chairs and been twice a delegate to the Grand Lodge. John Houser, son of John, was born in Germany and came to America at the age of twelve years, when he learned the molder's trade. He married Catharine Kohler and they had twelve children. He lived at Cincinnati, Ohio, and for years worked at his trade. He came to Meadville and purchased a farm, where he died, in 1889, and his wife died in 1891. Benjamin Raster, Wayne township. — Samuel Kaster, father of the sub- ject of this sketch,* came into Crawford from Mercer county about the year 1820, and taught school for a number of years in different parts of the county, and died in 1855 at the age of sixty-five years. His widow, nee: Mary Mabam, died at the age of seventy-three. Their children are Maria, wife of Robert Heath; Isabella, wife of Henry Johnson; Sealey, WiUiam, Benjamin, and Robert. Although a mere lad at the opening of the Rebellion, Benjamin enlisted in the Fifteenth United States Infantry in 1862, and served three years, receiv- ing wounds at the siege of Atlanta and the battle of Stoneboro. In 1865 he was discharged from the service as first sergeant of Company D, with the unusual distinction of being a three-years veteran before the completion of his eighteenth year. His oldest brother served in the One Hundred and Fiftieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. Mr. Kaster then passed several years in the oil region, near Pithole, engaged in drilling wells. He then married Miss Emma E. Stevans, and settled upon his farm in Wayne township. They have three children, — John W., Mae, and Lloyd B. Greatly interested in educational affairs, Mr. Kaster has served as school director twelve years. William Davenport of Sparta township was born in Massachusetts, came to Rome township, Crawford county, in 181 7, took up two hundred acres of land, built a log house and cleared up a farm. He was well educated and taught school during the winter for many seasons. He was prominent in town affairs. 8i2 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. as he was the most competent to do business. He held many local offices. He and his wife, Clarissa (Goodrich) Davenport, were members of the Presby- terian church, of which he was a deacon. He had nine children. Asa N. Belknap of Beaver township was born July i, 1829, at Austinburg, Ashtabula county, Ohio. Asa Belknap, his father, was a native of Dunnston, Vermont, where his youth was spent. His first independent venture as a farmer was at Austinburg, Ohio, where he lived until 1857 or '8. He then purchased the present homestead in Crawford county, upon which he lived until his death, at the age of eighty-two. In politics Mr. Belknap was a Demo- crat, and he demonstrated his patriotism by' serving in the war of 1812. He was a member of the Baptist church. He married Miss Betsy Little of New York state, who lived to be about eighty years old. After a youth spent on the farm at Austinburg, Asa^N. Belknap started upon a venture that held many romantic and stirring possibilities, and the com- pletion of which indicates more than ordinary courage and perseverance. He desired to reach California, the then great mining Mecca of the west, and started out with a caravan, consisting of eleven men and five wagons, to cross the plains. They met with many adventures, their course taking in the cities of Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, St. 'Louis, St. "Joe," thence up the Platte river to Fort Kearney, and on to Fort Bridger, through ^alt Lake City to California. As a miner Mr. Belknap was quite successful, remaining in the west for about ten years, after which he returned to Crawford county and pur- chased the farm that is now his home. Mr. Belknap has had a varied military experience. In 1861 he enlisted in Company H, Eighty-third Regular Pennsylvania Volunteers, serving for two years under Generals Miles, McClellan, Porter and Daniel Butterfield. Mr. Belknap married Miss Ann C. Gates of this county, and they have two children, living at home. He is an ardent Republican and has been active in local politics, holding the offices of supervisor, auditor and assessor for many years. He is a member of the Christian church. The Belknap property consists of a farm of two hundred and forty acres, ■ wliich is well improved and thoroughly modern in all of its appliances. A. M. Hunter, superintendent of the Titusville water-works, was born in Venango October 22, 1853, a son of R. P. and Lucinda (Dunham) Hunter, early settlers of Allegheny, Pennsylvania. The former still sui'vives, at the age of seventy-six years, and the latter died in 1895, at the age of sixty-six years. Mr. Hunter is of Scotch-Irish descent, and is the fifth child of a family of ten children. December 31, 1879, he was united in marriage with Anna Bateman of Titusville, and they have two children, — Lou and Howard. For over twenty years Mr. Hunter was employed as foreman for the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 813 United States Pipe Line Company. In April, 1896, he was appointed super- intendent of the city water-works,— a position which he has filled with the utmost satisfaction and ability. Under his supervision the works have been rebuilt and put in first-class shape, giving the city of Titusville a better systeiai than any of the adjacent towns. Since 1878 Mr. Hunter has also been en- gaged in oil-producing in various fields, with success,— which vocation he still pursues. He is a member of the Elks, I. O. O. F., Maccabees, and is a director of the Relief Association of the I. O. O. F. W. C. Harvey, farmer, of East Fairfield, was born October 27, 1848, on the farm which he now owns and occupies. He is a son of James and Sarah (Berry) Harvey, both natives of Crawford county. The former was born June 28, 1809, and died January 4, 1885, and the latter was born June 14, 1814, and died August 24, 1881. James was a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Thom- son) Harvey, natives of Westmoreland county: the former was born in 1771, and died February 27, 1845, and the latter was born April 4, 1776, and died June 27, 1848. They reared three children: Mary, born March 23, 1803; Andrew, born February 16, 1805; and James, the father of subject of this sketch. Mr. Harvey is the youngest son of a family of four children, namely : John, deceased; Robert, deceased; Andrew; Elizabeth, deceased, formerly the wife of Levi Farringer; and W. C, the subject of this sketch. November 27, 1873, Mr. Harvey married Julia, daughter of Philip and Julia Ann (Peterman) Hart, of East Fairfield. Mrs. Harvey is the youngest of five children, as follows : Sarah Levina, William A., James, Rachel, and Julia. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey are the parents of three children, — John C, Loie E., and Andrew T. The homestead is situated in one of the most attractive locations in East Fairfield township, commanding a pleasing view of the French creek valley. W. R. McGill of Harmonsburg, Pennsylvania, was born February i, 1833, in Saegerstown, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. He was educated at the public schools and at the age of twenty was actively engaged in general farm- ing, stock-raising, driving and shipping horses and cattle to the eastern mar- kets. In 1875 he was elected deputy sherifi:, which position he held for three years, when he was nominated by the Democratic pai'ty for the office of high sheriff, but was defeated at the election. In 1879 he bought and settled upon a farm of four hundred and forty acres, situated in Summerhill township, where he now resides. Mr. McGill for the last twenty years has been extensively engaged in the lumber business, but has not in any way neglected the thorough cultivation and improvement of his magnificent homestead, the broad acres of which you will find heavily stocked with cattle and horses of the highest grade. 8i4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. In 1892 he was elected to the state legislature, which position he filled with honor to the end of the term. His ability is varied and many-sided and his keen business sense has enabled him tO' reach out and grasp opportunities that are not apparent to all. In no undertaking has he proven a failure, either financially or socially, and his life and thought are fashioned on broad and liberal principles. His family, of eight boys and one daughter, are all living except one son, and few families are so intelligently happy in their home relations and few children have so well appreciated and developed their respective talents. It would be hard to find a man more keenly alive to the best interests of the community in which he lives, or more deserving of the profound respect which he enjoys, than is the Hon. W. R. McGill. John Benedict, deceased, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1809. At the age of six years, both parents having died, he was bound out to an uncle and learned the blacksmith's trade. From boyhood he displayed remarkable strength of character and integrity, which prepared him for life's battle. Together with his trade he operated several mills and a large general store in Allegany county. New York, for about fifteen years prior to moving to Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1868, where he engaged in the grocery busi- ness. He died November 11, 1888, at the age of seventy-nine years. Mr. Benedict's parents, Thomas and Sabre (Brown) Benedict, were natives of eastern Pennsylvania, and resided in Pittston. He was married September 25, 1830, to Sarah, daughter of James and Catherine (Wagner) Stark. Mrs. Benedict, a resident of Meadville, was the eldest of a family of fourteen chil- dren who lived to maturity, and still survives at the age of eighty- four. There were five children by this union : James Stark, deceased ; Catherine, widow of Frank French ; Mary J., widow of Henry R. Johnson ; Sarah, of Meadville ; and Anna, wife of DeForest Davie, of Salamanca, New York. Rev. Robert Murray, son of David and Sara (Creer) Murray, of Scotch parentage, was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancaster County, England, April 7, 1848, and educated in the public schools and Hackney College, London, where he was graduated in 1874 and admitted to the university. His first charge was the Congregational church at Towle Mere, England, where he was pastor four years. He then moved to Sheffield, Yorkshire county, and for five years was pastor of the Howard Street Congregational church, and for the next three and a half years was pastor of the Congregational church at Weston-super-Mare in Somersetshire. Here, his health failing, he resigned, and in September, 1886, came to America to visit relatives, and he has since made Titusville his home. For nearly twelve years he has ministered to the Kerr Hill Presbyterian church, three miles southwest of Titusville. For twelve OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 815 years he has been in the business office of the Cyclops Steel Works at Titus- ville. For several years during the winter months he has instructed in religious culture a class composed of men only. Hitherto the meetings of the class have been held in the Presbyterian chapel, but they are now conducted at the Opera House. The work is unsectarian and non-denominational. This is perhaps the only class of the kind in existence. The average attendance has been from two hundred and fifty to three hundred, but this year, at the Opera House, it is much larger. The institution is known as Robert Murray's Class. September 22, 1874, Mr. Murray was married to Sara (Hargill) Burgess, who has borne him two children : Mabel H., born July 30, 1876, and Edith H., born July 18, 1884. Mabel is taking a three-years course in the school for nurses connected with the Homeopathic Hospital at ■ Rochester, New York; and Edith is a student of the Titusville high school. Rev. Joseph M. Nau is the son of Martin and Margaret (Teusch) Nau. He was born December 25, 1858, at Trier, Germany, a Rhine province, where he was educated in the parochial school, gymnasium and college, for his phi- losophy. He then, for three years, studied theology in Louvain, in the Amer- ican College in Belgium, and on June 28, 1885, he was ordained priest. On September 18, 1885, he arrived in New York, and soon afterward became priest of St. Walburga's church at Titusville, Pennsylvania, and has been its priest until the present time. His charge embraces a membership of about eighty families. He has in connection with the church a parochial school for the benefit of the children of the members of the church. He has officiated tem- porarily in other parishes, but his regular work is in the Titusville church, with his residence on the grounds. His father is still in Germany ; but his mother died December 15, 1897. Joseph J. McCrum, son of Robert and Sarah (McCaslin) McCrum, of Scotch-Irish descent, was born in Allegheny township, Venango county, Penn- sylvania, September 4, 1838. Until the age of sixteen Joseph attended the common schools and worked on his father's farm. At that age he went to Jamestown, New York, and learned the harnessmakers' trade of Silas Shear- man & Son. In 1:862 he came to Titusville and engaged in the harness-making business on his own account, and until 1892, with few intermissions, he fol- lowed that employment. From 1892 for two years he was in the oil business. In 1894 he was appointed postmaster of Titusville, entering upon the duties of the office on the ist of September that year. From 1865 to 1882 Mr. McCrum was continuously a member of the city government, and for four years of that time he was president of the council. From 1891 to 1894 he was a member 8i6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. of the school board. From 1876 for two years he was deputy sheriff of the county. He was also a member' of the state legislature in 1883-4. In 1865 he became a member of the Oil Creek Lodge, No. 303, of Free- masons. He is also a member of Aaron Chapter, No. 207, R. A. M. ; the Occi- dent Council, No. 41, R. & S. M. ; and of the Rose Croix Commandery, K. T., No. 48 ; and he has held the highest offices in all these orders and passed all the chairs. He was secretary of the Oil Creek blue lodge for four years. On February 21, i860, he was married to Miss Isabel Beck, daughter of James and Margaret Beck, of Scotch parentage. They have two children, — Charles Fred- erick and Daisy Isabel. Mr. McCrum's father died when he was an infant. His ancestors were very early settlers in Venango county, and it is supposed that his paternal ancestors were from the Isle of Man ; it is certain that his mother's ancestors came from that island. P. 0. Biie, the son of Ole and Betty (Bue) Bue, was born in Tillehammer, Norway, October 5, 1832, where he was educated in the local schools. At the age of twelve he began work with his father in the silversmith trade, and con- tinued at this employment until he was twenty years old. He then learned the trade of machinist with his uncle, and continued in that work until 1868, when he came to America, and has since made machinery his life occupation. On March 17, 1872, he came to Titusville, and for nine years he was fore- man of the large machine shop owned by Junius Harris. Here his two sons, Ole and Albert, learned the machinist's trade under his instruction. In 1884 he went into business with Ole and Albert, doing general repairing, bicycle work, gunsmithing, and light mechanical jobs, continuing at the head of this class of mechanics ever since. On March 27, 1862, he was married to Miss Maria, daughter of Auda and Malinda Anderson. They have had five children,^01e, Albert, Bergin, Bernard, and Bernard, the last three now deceased. Rev. Laivrence Sclser, son of Michael and Anna M. (Harm) Selzer, was born in Palentia, Freindheim, Germany, August 6, 1863. When he was five years old his parents came to America, and located near Akron, Ohio,- where he attended a country school several years. At the age of fifteen he attended at Cleveland Calvin College one year. Then he was employed three years as clerk in a provision store at Akron. In October, 1882, he entered the Franklin, Wisconsin, Mission-house college and seminary, where he was educated in both German and English, and graduated June 18, 1886. Next he took a theological course, graduating in 1888, and he was then licensed to preach and minister, and on September 10, 1889, he was ordained at Chainsville, Ohio, and August ist, the same year, he took his first charge in Chainsville. This was before his ordination. He was located there until December i, 1892, when OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 817 he moved to Black Creek, Ohio, where he had a mission charge until Feb- ruary I, 1894. He then came to Titusville, and has since been in charge of St. Paul's German Reformed church. During the time of his first and second charges Mr. Selzer was stated clerk to St. John's classis of the German Reformed church of the United States for four, and a half years. On September 25, 1888, he was married to Miss Augusta, daughter of Louis and Christiana (Naat) Praihschatis. The children of this union are- Carl, born August 31, 1890; Gertrude, April 15, 1892; Ruth, December 21^. 1894; Edgar, September 13, 1895; and Arthur,' April 7, 1898. Francis Bailey, West Fairfield township. — Theobold and Margaret Bailey came from France in the fall of 1837, and settled upon and cleared a farm of one hundred and twenty-nine acres, now occupied by their son Francis., Their other children are Mary, wife of Augustus Rush ; Julia, wife of Sylves- ter Foulk ; Josephine, wife of George Prenett ; Jacob, Dennis and Peter. Den- nis seAfcd during the Civil war and died in Andersonville prison. Francis; was born in 1832, in France. He married, in 1859, Margaret Ann, daughter' of Samuel Brines. Their children are Louis, Park, Lee, Francis, Anderson,, Mary, wife of Frank Hoyt; Margaret, wife of Hayes McConnell; David; and Elizabeth, wife of Henry Roberts. Mr. Bailey's mother still lives, at the age of eighty-fiye. Samuel P. Boyer was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, July i6,. 1828, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Reed) Boyer. The father and mother were botb natives of the country about Pottsville. In his boyhood the subject of this: sketch was employed for a time at certain work in the coal mines near Potts- ville. Later on he learned the molder's trade, and continued at the business, until the summer of 1850, when he left for California. He went with a com- pany of travelers, taking the overland route. The expedition was four months in going from Independence, Missouri, to what is now known as Placerville^ California. Mr. Boyer remained in California until 1855, nearly five years^ engaged while there principally in mining. He returned by the Nicaragua: route, ^vhen Walker was filibustering in Nicaragua and Honduras. After returning to Pottsville he engaged in the coal trade, in which he continued until the war broke out, in 1861. About August he enlisted in Com- pany L, Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was in the service until the compan)r was mustered out, in September, 1864, a little over three years. After his re- turn he was in Schuylkill county until 1865, when he came to Oil City, where he first went into the lumber business. He soon afterward began to drill for oil. At first he sunk dry holes, but in 1866 fortune was kind to him and he has been an oil producer ever since. (An account of his work as producer will 52 8:8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. be found in the history of Titusville producers in this volume. ) He has resided in Titusville most of the time since coming to the oil country. In 1864 he married Miss Carrie C. Hartington of Philadelphia, v^^ho bore him five children, two of whom died in infancy. The others were Samuel, now a doctor of medicine in Duluth, Minnesota ; Elizabeth, who married E. G. Hollister, and died in 1895-; and Franklin, who died in 1879, aged six years. The mother died in 1874. In 1876 Mr. Boyer married Miss Amelia Fuller of Titusville, who has borne him two children, — a son and a daughter. The son, Clarence V., is now a student at Princeton University, and Jeannette, the daughter, is a student at the Titusville high school. Frank C. Baker, son of Charles P., was born in Meadville August 31, i860. He graduated in the high school of Meadville in 1876; was clerk in a dry-goods''store from 1877 to 1886. In 1886 he opened a clothing store for Mr. Lorz, conducting the business under the firm name of Baker & Lorz for one year, then the firm became Mendel & Baker, and has since continued under that title. He enlisted in Company B, Fifteenth Regiment, Matth. 22, 1882, as a private. On March 22, 1886, he was elected captain; August 31, 1887, major. He served as major of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Volunteers ■during Spanish-American war. In 1876 he joined the fire company, and was -first assistant chief, and was foreman of the Hope Hose company about ten years. He was appointed chief in April, 1894, and has held the office since. In 1888 Mr. Baker married Adalaide Turner, and they have one son, Charles. Charles P. Baker, son of Parkman, was born in Leroy, Ohio, March 17, 1S27. In 1857 he came to Meadville and clerked. In 1857 he married Mar- garet E. Foust, and to this union were born two children: Bessie M. and Frank C. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge and encampment. John Fertig was born March 17, 1837, in Venango county, Pennsylvania. He was third in a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. His father was an early settler in the county, and a farmer. Having a large family to provide for, with limited means in a new country, he was able to give his children only a common school education. The monotony of farm life did not satisfy yc-ung Fertig. At the age of sixteen, in the fall of 1853, he started from home, with $5 in his pocket and a moderate outfit of clothing" in a hand bag, for the headwaters of the west branch of the Susquehanna river, to get employment in a lumber district. He made the trip, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, on foot and alone. Pie worked this fall and during the winter following in a saw mill. In the spring he helped to run a raft of lumber down the ri\'er, and then with a replenished pocket book he returned home. He soon afterward began to study for the purpose of qualifying himself for teach- ing. He attended the Neilltown Academy, and the next winter he taught his OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 819 first district school. He continued to teach until he gained a good reputation as an instructor. In the fall of 1859 Captain A. B. Funk, who had saw mills and a store in Deerfield township, Warren county, sought to secure the services of Mr. Fertig as teacher in his district for the coming winter. The school directors would pay Mr. Fertig only $18 a month, the teacher to board around. Mr. Fertig refused both the salary offered and to board around. Captain Funk then offered to pay $18 a month more, making the salary $36 a month, and bo^rd Mr. Fertig at his house, at his own expense. Mr. Fertig accepted the offer and taught through the winter. ^ But something better was at hand. Not long after Drake's discovery, Captain Funk became proprietor of both the upper and the lower Mcllheney farms, on Oil Creek, near the Pioneer oil district. In December, 1859, he executed a lease of several acres on the upper farm to John Fertig, David Beatty and Michael Gorman, of Warren county, and Dr. John Wilson of Pleas- antville. An account of Mr. Fertig's oil operations is given elsewhere in this work. But it may be said in this connection that in respect to period, the time of beginning development, constant work in many- fields since the beginning until the present time, extensive business at refining and shipping oil and management in pipe line transportation, John Fertig is the most conspicuous representative of the oil trade now living. Some others have at certain periods produced more oil than Mr. Fertig, but it is believed that no other large pro- ducer who began the work of development so early has continued at producing oil until now. Reference has already been made to Mr. Fertig's connection with the United States Pipe Line Company. He was treasurer of that institution dur- ing the most critical period of its existence, In 1893, three pipe manufacturing institutions, which had sold heavily their products to the United States Pipe Line Company, taking its paper in payment with the promise of each to renew at maturity, if asked to, had been forced to suspend, while the crash was still going on. This unexpected misfortune was highly embarrassing to the United States Pipe Line Company. With rare financial skill Mr. Fertig piloted the pipe 'line company through rocky straits out into smooth waters. The crisis was extraordinary, but Mr. Fertig's management was equal to the emer- gency. He resigned his treasurership of the company in 1895. Twenty years before this experience, Mr. Fertig's powers as a financier were subjected to a similar strain. At the municipal election in the early part of the year 1873, Mr. Fertig was elected mayor of Titusville. The finances of the city, as he found them, were in a bad condition. Heavy expenditures had been made in the erection of school buildings and in supporting the schools. The inhabitants were paying high taxes, and a stringency was be- ginning to be felt, but of its more serious character few — if any — citizens were at the time conscious. Preparations had already been begun to increase upon 820 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. a large scale the improvements already made, for the payment, in part, of which bonds had been issued. When Mr. Fertig became Mayor the city treasury was empty, and the system of issuing city orders to meet current expenses was in operation. In the fall of that year came the great crash precipitated by the fail- ure of Jay Cooke. The effect of this disaster in Titusville was vastly greater than that of 1893, twenty years later, when not a single failure of note oc- curred in Titusville. In 1873 the cataclysm was terrific. At that time there were six banks in Titusville. The Roberts Bank had been in operation but a short time, and its affairs were in comparatively a compact condition, so that it weathered the storm without much difficulty. Of the five older banks,- the Second National alone emerged from the wreck unharmed. During the severe stress in the fall of 1873 and for many months afterward Mr. Fertig urged upon the Council all possible retrenchment and the severest economy in expenditures. At that time, the municipal government was work- ing under the original city charter, by whose provisions a mayor was elected every year. When Mr. Fertig was elected in 1873 he received a large ma- . jority of the votes cast. But his majority the next year was overwhelmingly large. Hewas elected still another term' in 1875, with the financial strain still continuing. City bonds, bearing high rates of interest, were bought at a dis- count. When at the end of his first term the Council voted him the usual salary of $500, Mr. Fertig turned it back into the treasury, with the request that it be made the beginning of a permanent sinking fund, and with the recom- mendation that the Mayor's salary be abolished. Both recommendations were adopted. The sinking fund has proved to be of infinite benefit in extinguishing the city debt. Subsequent legislation has made the sinking fund sacred for the express purpose of paying municipal indebtedness. When the city had become flooded with municipal orders, passing at a constant reduction of value, Mr. Fertig, single-handed, grappled with the abuse. He refused to attach his signature to any more city orders. Noisy threats followed of an appeal to the court for a mandamus, ordering him to sign the orders, but that was all. No appeal to the court was made. The effect in restoring confidence was instantaneous. Taxes were levied and the orders promptly paid, and the system of issuing orders disappeared, it is hoped forever. In his last term of office as Mayor, Mr. Fertig had the satisfaction of seeing the city credit established for the first time upon a solid basis. The city bonds no longer went begging for purchasers. The tide immediately turned to the opposite direction, and Titusville city bonds speedily rose above par, and ever since the extinction of the municipal debt has been steadily and easily going on. In 1873 Titusville bonds, bearing 10 per cent interest, could be sold only at a discount. Within the last five years Titusville bonds in quan- tity have been sold at 3^ per cent. The justice of history requires it to be said, without invidious comparison. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 821 that to John Fertig, more than to any other citizen, Titusville owes its finan- cial rescue, and the adoption of a soHd and safe system of' finance. In 1876 Mr. Fertig was elected to the State Senate, and he served one term. In 1878 he was nominated by the Democratic state convention as a candidate for lieutenant-governor, but with the rest of the Democratic ticket he was defeated. At the Democratic national convention in Chicago in 1892 Mr. Fertig was a delegate, representing the 26th congressioijal district of Penn- sylvania. He has served the community as a member of the city school board. Since his retirement from the office of Mayor, in 1876, his advice upon subjects of municipal policy has constantly been solicited by city officials of all parties, and his judgment upon most questions relating to city afifairs has been relied upon. He has long been an active and influential member of the Titus- ville Board of Trade. In the winter of 1895-96, and in the spring following, he. was the leading spirit in establishing the Industrial Fund Association, and he was one of ten citizens who subscribed each $10,000 to the fund, other citizens subscribing each smaller amounts down to $100, the whole aggregat- ing $250,000. He has been vice-president and one of the directors of the Titusville Commercial Bank, since its organization in the spring of 1882. He is the president of the Titusville Iron Company, one of the largest and most important manufacturing institutions in northwestern Pennsylvania, a de- scription of which appears elsewhere in this history. Nearly thirty years ago Mr. Fertig built the three-story brick block which still bears his name, on Diamond, Martin and East Spring streets. He is the owner of the Exchange Block, a three-story brick edifice adjoining the Oil Exchange. He also owns one-half of the Titusville City Mills, and he owns two fine farms in Oil Creek township, from one to two miles west and northwest of the city. In the foregoing sketch the aim of the writer has been to present a faith- ful deUneation of one of Titusville's most distinguished and influential citizens. It may be said of Mr. Fertig that one of the most important secrets of his success in Hfe has been his clever management of managers. Whatever he does is done searchingly and thoroughly. It is not too much to say that, in business associations with which he is connected, his judgment, conclusions and counsels are generally adopted. George W. Wesley, of Rome township, is a grandson of Charles Wesley, the celebrated Methodist minister, poet and hymnologist, and is a well and favorably known citizen. A son of John and Salinda (Grover) Wesley, he was born in Canton, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, foui'-score years ago, in 1819. Such education as fell to the lot of our subject was obtained in the com- mon schools of the day, and, having a natural talent for anything in the line of mechanics, he learned the millwright's trade, and has been engaged in 822 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOFLB. the building of saw and grist mills during much of his career. In 1862 he came to Rome township, and two years subsequent to his arrival here he assisted in the erection of what has long been known as Wesley's sawmill, his associate in this enterprise being E. T. Rigby. The sawmill, which is now the sole property of our subject, is situated on Little Oil Creek, and is well equipped with machinery, its capacity being upward of eight thousand feet of lumber per day. In 1848 Mr. Wesley married Fidelia Saxbury, a daughter of Adam Saxbury. John W. Simons. — One of the largest and finest country homes to be found within the limits of Crawford county is the one which was erected a few years ago by John W. Simons near Espyville station, in North Shenango township. It stands in the midst of fertile, well-cultivated fields which yield abundant harvests to the fortunate owner ; but the one to whose years of un- remitting toil and watchful care the beauty and value of the homestead is in- debted has passed forever from the peaceful scene. Death came to John W. Simons upon the 3d of May, 1896, after a busy, well-spent life, and when he had almost reached the age which the Psalmist counts as the usual limit of man's years. For a long period he had been associated with the Masonic fraternity, and he was laid to rest with all the honors of its beautiful rite, his late comrades of Linesville Lodge attending the funeral in a body. Known far and near as a man of noble character, of kindliness and sympathy toward his fellow men, of enterprise and integrity in all his business dealings, he left to his children a heritage of which they have just occasion tO' be proud. The birth of John W. Simons occurred in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1827, his parents being John and Rebecca (WilHams) Simons. Though he followed general agriculture unon arriving at mature years, his chief occupation consisted in the buying, selling and shipping of live stock. In 1874 he settled on the fine farm above mentioned, and for years Espyville station, a short distance from his residence, was but little more than the point from which he shipped his stock to the city markets. In time he became well off in this world's goods and owned several valuable farms, some of them in South Shenango township, one in the neighborhood of Williamsville, Ohio, etc. To each of his four children he gave a good farm and other financial assistance, in order that they might have a iair start in life. On the 22d of June, 1854, Mr. Simons was united in marriage w;ith Miss Adelia Robinson, who was born February 22, 1832. Their eldest son, Charles, is now the owner of the fine family residence referred to at the beginning of this article as having been built by the father. The young man also owns one-half of the old homestead on which the house stands, the remainder of the farm being the property of his brother Joseph, who is making extensive and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 825 valuable improvements upon his land. They are wide-awake, enterprising young men and seem to have inherited much of the fine business ability that distinguished their honored father. Following in his footsteps, they render allegiance to the standards of the Democratic party and are progressive and public-spirited. Mark Ward, of North Shenango township, was born April 9, 1837, in Oakland township, Venango county, Pennsylvania, of Irish extraction, and a son of Mark Ward, who walked from Philadelphia to Venango county in his emigration to his new home. Mr. Ward's boyhood was spent in the country, and for a time he operated a farm on his own responsibility, later disposing of the land and for four years engaged in the general merchandise business, selling goods in Cochranton and Meadville. The large farm owned by Mr. Ward at the time of his death is in North Shenango and is one hundred and thirty acres in extent. At the time of purchase the property was in a wild condition, and Mr. Ward spared no pains in clearing away the brush and removing stumps and reducing his crude land to a condition of fertile productiveness. He also built the present substan- tial and commodious house and barns. For several years Mr. Ward was inter- ested in the breeding of heavj^-draft horses and supplied the demand for the adjacent territory. Though caring little for office, he yet served the town- ship in various capacities, and was for twenty years a member of the United Presbyterian church, being connected with the local society called Ebenezer church of South Shenango. Mr. Ward was thrice married. His first wife, Sarah Ann McFate, had a little daughter who died when five years old. Mr. Ward was married the second time to Miss Mary Jane Culbertson, and her son Samuel is now operating the old Ward farm. Mrs. Mary McNutt, who became Mr. Ward's third wife, is now living on the farm. Pier daughter, born February 16, 1869, married Mr. John Borrows and difed in her twenty-third year. Mrs. Borrows lost a little daughter, Hazel, when very young; but a son, Mark Thurman Borrows, survived her, and is now living with his grandmother on the Ward homestead. In the memory of those who were privileged to know him, Mr. Ward's character stands out with stern and striking distinctness. He was an uncom- promising champion of right and justice, and did not recognize the middle road of tact and diplomacy. The Puritan fathers were not more impressed with the seriousness of life. He enjoyed a social time and any innocent amuse- ments, and was especially opposed to games that offered the possibility of chance. Mr. Ward died September 13, 1896. 824 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. J. B. Pastorius. — One of the successful and wide-awake young business men of Titusville is J. B. Pastorius, a native of Pennsylvania, born in Cherry Tree township, Venango county, August 30, i860, a son of John and Catherine (Peeples) Pastorius. His education was acquired in the public schools of his native township and in Titusville and Edinboro prior to his eighteenth year, when he started out to make his own independent way in the world of business. For fifteen years Mr. Pastorius was engaged in the milk business in Titusville, handling about five hundred quarts of milk daily, besides great quantities of cream, and furnishing the ice-cream factories with the material used in the making of that dainty. In 1887 Mr. Pastorius disposed of his milk business, selling out to Charles August, and went to West Virginia, where he was extensively interested in dealing in lumber for several years. In 1892 Jie returned to Titusville and purchased the livery owned by E. C. Quimby .and has since conducted the business successfully. At present he is the lead- ing liveryman of the city, and enjoys the bulk of the local patronage. He lieeps a goodly array of carriages and vehicles of various kinds and has about thirty-five good carriage and saddle horses, in addition to which he is board- ing twenty-five or more for the accommodation of citizens. On the 1st of April, 1898, Mr. Pastorius, in partnership with H. J. Wager, opened the Titusville cold-storage plant, under the firm name of Wager & Pastorius. This enterprise is destined to be one of much local importance, as its need has long been felt here. All kinds of farm produce and foreign fruits can be stored and kept in fine condition for a long period, and the plant is to be utilized in the manufacture of artificial ice, it having a capacity of forty tons per day. Socially our subject is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows^ belonging to Queen City Lodge, No. 304, and in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks he is identified with Lodge No. 264. In his political affiliations lie is a Democrat. On Christmas Day, 1879, Mr. Pastorius married Ida Scoville, daughter of Almon and Lucy (Hulburt) Scoville. Two daughters bless the union of our subject and wife, named respectively Georgiana and Lena. Richard Morris, of Rome township, is a son of James aqd Ann (Aglwen) Morris, was born in Lancashire, England, and came to America about 1826-27, landing in New York city. He married Jane Harrison, daughter of Ben- jamin and Jane (Inskip) Harrison, of New Jersey. They came to Rome township in 1834, where they settled on a piece of wild land, built a log house and made a home. His was one of the three English families that settled at what is called "The English Settlement." The three heads of these families — Richard Morris, Inskip Harrison and Benjamin Harrison — took up a section OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 825 of land containing four hundred acres, drawing lots to determine each one's possession, and Mr. Morris drew the lot for the place where his son Edward now lives. He was a highly respected farmer, who had eight children, four of whom are living, — Benjamin, John, Inskip and Edward. The deceased are Mary Ann, James, William and George. Henry M. Northam, M. D., of Bloomfield township, is a son of Edward and Nancy (Hamilton) Northam, and was born in Meadville, January 8, 1858, and educated at Meadville high school, after which he attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in the medical depart- ment in 1893. He removed to Pittsburg, where he remained for a time, and in 1896 located at Lincoln ville. C. C. Hill, M. D., Meadville, was born in Knox county; Ohio; August 16, 1852, son of Harrison and Helen (Bateman) Hill, of his native county. The former was born in 1819, and died in 1873, and the latter was bom in 1836 and died in 1866. Of their children three survive: Clarence C, Emma, wife of William De Couders, and Bertha Hill, the twoi latter residents of Tompkins county. New York. December 31, 1887, Dr. Hill married Lelia, daughter of E. W. and Lurana (Levering) Brown, of Knox county, Ohio. The former died in 1894, at the age of seventy years, and the latter in 1887, at the age of sixty years. Victor Brown, the only brother of Mrs. Hill, is a resident of Morrow county, Ohio. Grandfather Joseph Hill was a native of New Jersey, and resided in Tompkins county, New York. >■ The earlier years of Dr. Hill were spent in Tompkins county. New York, and from the age of twelve to twenty-one in Warren, Pennsylvania, where he had the advantage of the public schools. In 1872 he entered the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, where he remained one year, and then entered the Bellevue Medical College in New York city, at which he graduated in 1874. For one year after graduation he conducted a drug store for Dr. Rei- chart at Sligo Furnace, Clarion county, Pennsylvania, and in the spring of 1875 began his practice in Johnsville, Ohio, which he continued for two years, and then moved to Levering, Knox county, Ohio. In 1877 he went to the Polyclinic at Philadelphia, and after the completion of his course he located in Meadville. This was in the spring of 1888, and he has since practiced as a leading specialist. Besides this the Doctor has been extensively interested in oil development in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. He is an active worker in the First Presbyterian church at Meadville. Charles T. Waggoner, M. D., of Sparta township, is a son of Dr. George J. Waggoner, and was born in Ellington, Chautauqua county, New York, December 10, 1855. He attended the high school at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and 826 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. aftei-ward studied medicine under the instructions of his father and Dr. Cogs- w,ell, of Odar Rapids ; later he attended the Hahnemann Medical College at Chicago, Illinois, where he was graduated in 1886. He engaged in hospital work in Chicago for the two years following, after which he settled in Spar- tansburg, where he has since resided. He married Rose Grififith. James T. Murray, Athens township, is a son of William Murray; was born in Sparta townshii>, October 18, 1847. ^^ 1864 he enlisted in Company C, One Hundredth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was discharged in 1865. He married Ann Post, daughter of Harvey and Chloe (Hatch) Post, and settled in Athens township. He is a farmer and has one son, James L., who married Anna Stearns, daughter of David Stearns. William Thomas Ncill, who at the time of his death was a resident of Titusville, was born at Neillsburg, Venango county, Pennsylvania, June 13, 1804, and died in December, 1873. He was a conspicuous landmark for a long time in all this section of country. While he did not establish his residence in Titusville until December, 1868, about five years before his death, he was a familiar figure here for more than a generation. He had large business asso- ciations ; was a stockholder and director in both the Savings Bank and the Ex- change Bank, but practically had no voice in the management of either. He died not long after the Savings Bank closed its doors in the fall of 1873. In attempting to save something from the wreck of the Exchange Bank, his sur- vivfng son, Joseph A. NeiH, was financially ruined, and the wealth which William T. Neill had spent a lifetime in gathering was suddenly swept away in the crash of the fall of 1873. In 1828 he was married to Miss Jane McCaslin, who survived her hus- band about six years. At the time of his death five of his children were living ; now only two members of ^Villiam T. Neill's family survive : Nancy, the wife of the late Charles R. Church, and Julia, wife of the late E. H: Berry. Mary died some years after her mother's death. Joseph A. died suddenly in Wash- ington, D. C, in the early part of March, 1896, from supposed heart difficulty, and Samuel T. dropped dead from the same trouble off Cape May, in the sum- mer following. William T. Neill was a hero all his life, was good to the community in which he lived, and was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church and thoroughly devoted to its interests. A quarter of a century has passed since his interment in Woodlawn cemetery, but a fragrance floats over his memory. The writer discharges a grateful duty in the above tribute to a man whom he personally knew, only to remember his character with the highest respect. The world would be good if all the inhabitants were like William T. Neill. OUR-COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 827 William H. Abbott, whose name appears many times in this history, is so closely identified with oil development in the early years of production ; his enterprise so soon started the manufacture of petroleum as an illuminant and opened for the product a market ; his record as a citizen of Titusville has been so closely for a generation interwoven with the history of the community ; he was so long the leading citizen in the progress of Titusville interests; gave so liberally of his means to many public undertakings, — that the history of the community which should omit a frequent use of his name would be a very imperfect production. William Hawkins Abbott was his full name, but Will- iam H. Abbott is a name that long has been and long will be cherished by the inhabitants of Titusville. He is now in the eightieth year of his age. Mr, Abbott was born Octotfer 27, 1819, in Middlebury, New Haven county, Con- necticut, the oldest son of a family of twelve children, — six sons and six daugh- ters. When Drake made his discovery, in 1859', Mr. Abbott was engaged in a large mercantile trade at Newton Falls, Trumbull county, Ohio. Early in i860 he came to Titusville, and was quick to invest in oil property. He pur- chased one-half of the one-quarter interest which William Barnsdall owned in the James Parker farm, also a like interest in the Crossley well, then being drilled; also a like interest in Mr. Barnsdall's lease of one hundred acres at Shreve Rock, all near Titusville, for $10,000, and immediately returned to Newton Falls to get word a few days afterward that the Barnsdall well, the next well after the Drake, was producing fifty barrels a day. Then he went to New York and opened a market with Schieffelin Brothers. At that time he was successful in enlisting George M. Mowbray, a practical chemist, to apply his art in refining oil. Mr. Abbott built the first oil refinery in the oil country. The character of packages for carrying both crude and refined oil so as to avoid leakage had to be learned by experience. ,In the experiments which Mr. Abbott made to that end not a small amount of money was sunk. But he was equal to the undertaking and he pushed his experiments to a suc- cessful result. To Mr. Abbott's enterprise in overcoming the many difficulties incident to the beginning of so important a business, the trade was heavily indebted. Drake was the pioneer producer, and Abbott was the pioneer in establishing petroleum as a marketable commodity. Mr. Abbott also purchased the Van Syckel pipe line from Pithole to the Miller farm in 1866, and laid the foundation for the Pennsylvania Transporta- tion Company. To Mr. Abbott was due the construction of the Union & Titusville Railroad. That Titusville afterward lost the road by Gould's sale of it to the Oil Creek Road, was the result of no fault on the part of Mr. Abbott, who oflfered to Gould ten thousand dollars as a bonus if he would keep and operate the road as an independent line. Mr. Abbott also helped to build, in the fall of 1865, the plank road from Titusville through Pleasantville to Pithole. 828 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. In the building of the St. James Memorial church and in its support for many years afterward, and always until overwhelmed by financial reverses, Mr. Abbott poured out his money without measure. He built at his own ex- pense, expending about four thousand dollars, a mission church, connected with St. James. His public spirit and generosity in the past are known to the whole community, in whose grateful recollection and in whose respect and honor Mr. Abbott has a monument. Obed Wells. — Among the prominent early settlers of Spring township was Obed ^Vells, who located about two miles north of Springboro, on a very large tract of land. He had come from Vermont with Zachariah Thomas and had stopped for a time in New York state. The' Thomas family located on what was known as the "Ridge Road," in the present town of West Spring- field, Erie county, on a sandy soil ; while the Wells family preferred the heavier clay soils and more heavily timbered lands south of there. Two brothers of Obed Wells located in the vicinity ; one, Julius Wells, established a tannery at Wellsboro, and the other, Samuel Wells, located a farm and brick-yard near Lockport, — four or five miles apart. The Wells and Thomas families inter- married, Obed Wells having married two sisters of Zachariah Thomas, whose brothers, Eri and Elijah, located in immediate proximity to the "Wells farm. Obed Wells had fourteen children. Having located a thousand acres of land, he commenced what seems now a vast undertaking for one man, — to clear a thousand acres of the heavy timber by himself, — and before his death he had created a valuable farm with all the then modern improvements; he was the first farmer to introduce a mowing machine in that country, it re- quiring four horses to work it. His sons, Shepherd, Obed, Samuel, Justin, Jefferson, and daughters, Dorcas, Lodicia, Sylvia, Beulah, Phoebe, Malinda, Mary and Martha, all assisted in the development of the great farm and received their education in its proximity. The oldest daughter, Dorcas, married Henry Magee, the mail carrier who then carried the mail between Meadville and Erie, on horse- back. At an early day they emigrated by wagon to the then wild west, and located in the village of Chicago, where their son Henry W. Magee, born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, has been engaged in the practice of law for thirty years, and is still a member of the Chicago bar. He was educated in the public schools of Chicago; at West Spi^ingfield, Pennsylvania; at Kingsville, Ohio; was graduated in Hillsdale College, in Michigan, and pursued his law studies in Ann Arbor. He was admitted to the bar in Chicago in 1868, and then made the circuit of the world before entering upon the practice of law in Chicago, where he has remained continuously since 1871. He also served for three years in the civil war, and has a military record of which he may indeed be proud. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 829 In the early days of his residence in Crawford county, Obed Wells fre- quently walked through the forest to Meadville, a distance of fifteen miles,— for the purpose of making a small payment on his land, and he carried his wheat to the mill there, as he could get his grist ground no nearer home. Mem- bers of both the Wells and Thomas families were men of sterling worth, in- dustrious and energetic, and they did much toward developing the wild region in which they located. The toils and privations suffered by these early settlers were many and severe, but developed in them a self-reliance and de- termination to succeed, which resulted in their becoming the owners of good properties in their later years. Obed Wells, having amassed a competency, erected a fine home, which commanded an excellent view of the lowlands in the west and overlooked the Erie and Pittsburg canal, which ran by the front of the house. He enjoyed seeing the then luxurious method of travel : three horses towing the^ "passenger packet" at a fast walk, under the crack of the canal boy's whip, along the "eleven miles level." The "packet" then repre- sented the luxury of life in travel, as much as the "Pullman" does now, and made the farmer boy envious of the travelers who could indulge in such a palatial ride to Erie. In later times the railroad paralleled the canal, and the old Wells homestead, the pride of the country when built, became a mere re- minder of the days of the stage coach and canal packet. William S. Morris, Rome township, was a son of Richard Morris, and was born September 9, 1842. In 1870 he married Elenora Harrison, daughter of John and Ellen Harrison, and settled on the farm where his widow now resides. He died July 25, 1891, and left seven children, — Leon, Jennie, Eliza- beth, Ella, Richard B., Bertha and Clarence W. Hon. Frank Mantor, of Conneautville, was born in the township of Con- neaut, this county, on December 31, 1827, was a bright and diligent student in the public schools and supplemented the education there acquired by at- tendance at the academies at Albion, Pennsylvania, and Kingsville and Austin- burg, Ohio. His active mind was early interested in business, and at the age of twenty-three he was a member of the mercantile house of Harmon and Mantor at Conneautville. On November 22, 1849, he married Sarah M. Foster, of Conneautville, thus forming a union that proved most felicitous. They had a- son on Novem- ber 19, 1854, whom they named George G. and who met a hero's death on December 30, 1867, while endeavoring to save a playmate from drowning. Not long after marriage Mr. Mantor removed to Minnesota, where he became prominent in politics as a Republican. He was elected and served as a member of the constitutional convention which framed the constitution of the state in 1857, and was the first Republican candidate for treasurer of the 830 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. new state. Returning east in 1861, Mr. Mantor entered the employ of a large wholesale house of New York city, with which he remained for thirteen years, and in 1876 was a candidate for state senator in this senatorial district. From 1879 to 1883 he held by appointment a responsible position in the state de- partment at Harrisburg under Governor Hoyt, and later for four years held one equally responsible in the insurance department. He was a member of the constitutional convention of this state held in 1882-83, and took an active part in its deliberations and work. After serving many years in the executive department at Harrisburg he returned to Conneautville, where he held most of the offices of the borough. But the crowning work of Mr. Mantor's active and useful life was the plan- ning and organizing of the Conneaut Lake Exposition Company, which holds sessions at Conneaut Lake, where are discussed from the platform the most advanced topics of scientific and religious thought by leading lecturers, divines and statesmen, untrammeled by party lines or ecclesiastic dogmas. That Colonel Mantor and his associates succeeded in making this one of the most at- tractive of summer resorts tens of thousands can testify. It is a grand monu- ment to his m.emory. His death occurred January 18, 1895, and Mrs. Mantor is now one of the directors of the association and the superintendent. Dr. Frank L. Markham, of Bloomfield township, is a son of George Markham, End was bom in Panama, New York. His education was ob- tained at a common school until he was capable of entering Jamestown high school, and from there he entered Wooster University, at Cleveland, Ohio, where he graduated in 1879. He then located at Centerville, where he re- mained uMil 1893, and then settled at Riceville. Amos Woodzvard, of Bloomfield township, was a son of Jonathan Wood- ward, and was born in New York state, his father having settled in Bloom- field township at an early day. He married Altana St. John, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Eggelston) St. John, who lived in Saratoga county, New York. He was a farmer and died in 1878, leaving ten children, four of whom are now living. Frank lives on the old homestead in Athens township, Penn- sylvania ; Peter and Emma are school-teachers, the former residing at Lin- colnville ; and L'win lives in Athens township. Samuel H. Nelson, merchant, Cochranton, was born in Fairfield town- ship, in 1847. His parents, Allen and Hannah (Dunn) Nelson, were among the early inhabitants of southern Crawford. Allen Nelson, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born June 6, 1814, in Fairfield township, on a farm occupied by his parents, David and Jane (Milligan) Nelson. He died in 1895, at the age of eighty-three years. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 831 ■ His father, David, came to Crawford county in company with Captain Buchanan in the fall of 1796, took up land in Fairfield township, built a small cabin, cleared one acre of ground, sowed rye thereon and shortly returned to Westmoreland county, and in 1797 married Jane, daughter of John Milligan; returned in the spring and began as a pioneer in the woods. His death oc- curred June, 1848, when he had arrived at the age of seventy-two'years. Their family consisted of the following children: Polly, Mrs. Myers, deceased; Betsy, wife of Thomas McDonald ; John, James and David, all deceased ; Jane, Mrs. McClintock; Allen, William and Daniel. Allen married, in December, 1835, Hannah, daughter of Allen Dunn, of Sandy Lake, an old settler. She was the youngest of a family of seven children. She died in 1883, at the age of seventy-three years. To Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were born : Elizabeth, wife of William Line, now living in Kansas ; David, deceased ; Dunn, who married Martha Bell; Francis, married to Sarah A. Williams; Samuel H., the subject of this sketch; Leslie; Margaret, now Mrs. Applegate, of Kansas; Emory and James, deceased. David Nelson was a colonel in the war of 1812, and served seven months at Fort Meigs. Our subject has, with the exception of four years in the state of Kansas, resided in Crawford county. He began in the mercantile business first as clerk for Robert Patton in 1874, and after the death of Mr. Patton he purchased an interest in the business, which has since been conducted under the name of Patton & Nelson. In 1880 he was married to Mary P., daughter of Robert, deceased, and Jane (McMahon) Patton. They have one son, Robert Patton Nelson. Mr. Nelson has held several municipal offices, and has been otherwise prominently identified in local affairs. Holder T. Head. — The late Holder T. Head of Spring township was born in Cayuga county. New York, in 1823, and in 1837, when he was four- teen years old, he came to this state. Here he received a common-school edu- cation, learned the trade of carpenter and also adopted the business of farm- ing. Lidustrious and prudent, Mr. Head was long a faithful worker in his chosen fields, and died on April 4, 1897, leaving many friends to mourn his loss. In September, 1845, he was married to Miss Lydia Turnure, of that part of Allegany county. New York, now comprised in Wyoming county. For over half a century they trod life's pathway together. They had five sons: William G., Jasper R., Fred C, Mark E., and O. Dorr. William married Minerva Deiter, of Saegerstown, and had three children, — Pearl E., Roby and Clarence E. Their mother died in 1892. Jasper R. Head married x-Vnna Alee. Their children are Ralph, Bernice and Frank. Fred C. Head married Bertha Rossa and has a son, Floyd. Mark E. Head married Lizzie Hanlon, and they have two children, — Alexander and Mabel. O. Dorr Head is a resi- 832 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. dent of Erie, where he is an ironworker. Mrs. Head's father, Peter Turnure, was a New Yorker by birth and he married Hannah Brunson, a native of Mas- sachusetts. Both are now dead. Their children were Ellen L., Lorin B., Uriah B., Lydia, Harriet N., Egbert, Lucy L., Flavius J. and Hannah. William A. Hart, a farmer of East Fairfield township, was born near where he now resides February 14, 1838, a son of Philip and Julia (Peter- man) Hart, of East Fairfield township. He was the second child of a family of five children, viz. : Sarah Levina, William A. (our subject), James, Rachel and Julia, wife of W. C. Harvey, of this township. In 1863 he married Mar- garet M., daughter of Jacob and Abigail ( Acherman) Stenbrook, of East Fair- field. This union has been blest with one son, Edmund Hart. The Sten- brooks were among the first settler-s of the township, and the Hart family were originally natives of Pennsylvania, coming from York county at an early day. A family relic well preserved is a German Bible supposed to be one hun- dred and thirty years old, and has been handed down through the generations. This was faithfully read by the grandparents of our subject, Philip and Catha- rine Leist. Mr. Hart, has always been a resident of the township, and has resided on his present farm since 1857. John W. Cridcr, Conneautville, was born in Cooperstown,- Venango county, this state, on November 2, 1849. He was educated in the common schools and thoroughly learned the manufacture of wool. He is now pro- prietor of the Cormeautville woolen mills, doing a flourishing btisiness in the manufacture of blankets and yarns. On November 2, 1875, ^^ married Anna Kimball of Conneautville. They have two sons, T. Howard and Gerald W. Mr. Crider's father, William B., was born in Center county, Pennsyl- vania, on February 14, 181 7. He was for many years a woolen manufacturer. During the civil war William B. Crider served in the Third Artillery, Penn- sylvania Volunteers, Fifty-second Regiment, was wounded in action on James ■ river, Virginia, and honorably discharged. John W. Crider has been prom- inent in political and social circles ; was treasurer of Crawford county for three years ; is a member of Western Crawford Lodge of Freemasons at Conneaut- ville; of Oriental Chapter, R. A. M., of Northwestern Commandery, Knights Templar, of Meadville, and Zem Zem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Erie, and of Presque Isle Lodge, of Erie. Ancestry of family, Englisli, German and Scotch. Jiidd C. Drury, of Beaver township, was born September 8, 1856, at Hartford, Trumbull county, Ohio, educated at the academy at Hartford, and when about se\xnteen years of age engaged in the produce business for three years catering to a flourishing demand from the seat of a huckster wagon. Mr. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 835 Drury was married in 1877 to Lucy F". Goist, of Hartford, and during August of that year located at Beaver Center, where he opened a general store and has been in continuous business ever since. Mr. Drury is an extensive shipper of hay to the extent of about one hundred and twenty-five cars each year, his partner in the hay business since 1891 being William Grubham. In 1893 he bought six hundred acres of heavily timbered land in McKean county, Penn- sylvania, and has since been manufacturing lumber and shingles, on a large scale, his timber consisting mostly of hemlock, cherry and oak. In connection with his general merchandise trade he carries a large assortment of agricul- tural implements. Mr. Drury is a self-made man, and as the representative business man of the township has been unusually successful. Mr. Drury is a member of the Christian church, and is an ardent Pro- hibitionist. He has been township treasurer and school director, and is active in all that pertains to the Prohibition party. In 1898 he represented the county at the state convention, and was a candidate for the legislature. Harry L. Bail, of Spring township, was born in this township, on December 21, 1854. His education at the public schools was sup- plemented by attendance at the normal school at Edinboro. Early in life he was a farmer, but, having a decided taste for business, he was for seven years a salesman of fruit and ornamental trees. He is now, after various opera- tions, engaged in lumber interests and conducting a steam sawmill at Hickernell in company with Timothy Beals, under the firm name of Bail & Beals. Mr. Bail has held the offices of school director, auditor and assessor, and in Feb- ruary, 1896, was elected a justice of the peace, to which office he was installed in the following May. He is also^ an Odd Fellow, holding membership in Spring Valley Lodge, of Springboro. ^l, On May 23, 1881, he married May Sperry, of Spring township. Their children are Ethel D.and Homer M. Mr. Bail's father, Isaac S. Bail, was born in Chautauqua county, New York, on June 23, 1825, came to this state in 1836 and was both a carpenter and farmer. He married Hannah J. Sloan of Spring township, and had three children, — Dora E., Harry L. and Archie F. Dora married Wm. R. Potter, of Springboro, and has a daughter, Edith B. Isaac S. Bail survives his wife, who died on February 28, 1895. Mrs. Harry L. Bail's father, Amos Sperry, was a native of Spring township, born July 3, 1833, was brought up as a farmer and educated at the district schools. He was twice married, — first to Adeline Grain, whose only child was May (Mrs. Bail). Mrs. Sperry died on July 28, 1858, and Mr. Sperry married, secondly, his present wife, Mrs. Eunice (Morris) Nelson. Frederick Bail, the grandfather of Mr. Bail, was a soldier of the war of t8i2. Ancestry of family, New England with Scotch and German origin. 5.3 834 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Hiram Sheldon. — The late Hiram Sheldon, of Spring township, was born in Shoreham, Vermont, on September 27, 1812. When he was but a lad his parents removed to Steuben county. New York, where he obtained his edu- cation in the district schools and became a farmer. The family home was in Steuben county until 1831, when they came to this state. Mr. Sheldon was three times married. By his first wife, nee Almira Gates, he had four children — Melinda, Ruth, Oscar and Amanda. For his second wife he married Mrs. Maria (Hurd) Hall. They had one son, Wallace B. His third and surviving wife was Mrs. Lucy (Humes) Andrews, for- merly of Greenfield, Saratoga county. New York, and his death occurred on May ID, 1895. Wallace B. Sheldon, now a traveling salesman, married Jessie M. Davenport, of Conneautville, and has one son and two daughters, — Earl D., Winifred M. and Ruth M. Mr. Sheldon and family are members of the Baptist church. Mrs. Lucy Sheldon was married twice before she married Mr. Sheldon, — first to Allen Green, of Saratoga county, New York, by whom she had two children, Davis and Celia F. Green; in 1847 Mr. Green died and his widow next married Allen Andrews, also of Saratoga, New York ; he died in 1852. Davis Green, his mother's only son, a soldier of the Union in the late war, was killed in the battle of Antietam in 1862. John Taylor. — For nearly forty-five years this worthy citizen of Beaver township has dwelt in this neighborhood, engaged in agricultural pursuits. No man is more highly esteemed hereabouts or is more worthy of the respect of his neighbors, for his life has been above reproach. He has followed the teachings of the golden rule in all his dealings with others and has had the welfare of his fellows deeply at heart. The cause of education and religion finds in him a sincere friend, and for five years he served efficiently as a school director. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, and he was elected tax collector of this township on one occasion and acted in that office for about twelve months. One of the native sons of the grand old Buckeye state, John Taylor was born in Trumbull county, on the 12th of August, 1832. From his earliest recol- lections he has been an agriculturist, as he was a mere child when he began to give his assistance to his parents in the work of the old homestead. He acquired an intimate and practical knowledge of every detail of farming, and long before he attained his majority he was fully competent to manage a farm successfully. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty years of age, when he started out upon an independent career. At that time he rented a farm and industriously engaged in its cultivation and improvement until 1855, when he left Trumbull county and came to Crawford county, this state. Having purchased a farm in Beaver township, he proceeded with its development and has since made his home thereon. For a period of ten years OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 835 he bought and sold cattle and live stock and was very fortunate in his efforts in that direction. His homestead, a place of one hundred and sixty acres, is one of the best in this township and represents his own hard labor and indus- try. In every sense of the wprd he is what is termed a self-made man, for he has had to rely solely upon his own efforts in the acquisition of a competence. In all his struggles, joys and sorrows Mr. Taylor has been aided and en- couraged by his faithful wife, whose maiden name was Susan Read and whose early home was io this township. Three children, two sons and a daughter, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, namely, Josephine, who died at the age of twenty-four years and ten months, and Rodney and Osprey, both successful farmers of this locality. The parents are devoted members of the Christian (Disciples) church, and are liberal in their contributions to religious and char- itable enterprises. Theodore J. Young, M. D., the oldest son of Colonel David Jung (Young), was born at Neustadt, on the Haardt mountain, in the Palatinate Bavaria, December 9, 1834. His father was a royal engineer and architect under King Ludwig of Bavaria. With his two sons, Theodore and William, Colonel Jung participated- in the rebellion of 1848-9. The revolution failing, the father was exiled and the family fled to France, where, under an edict of Napoleon III, ihey were permitted to remain nine months. At the expiration of that time they joined Colonel Jying, who had preceded them to the United States, and located at Baltimore, Maryland. Soon afterward Colonel Jung was appointed to the United States coast survey, and Theodore J. went to Philadelphia to pursue his studies. Iri 1854 he located in Meadville and devoted himself to the study of medi- cine. (The medical record of Dr. Young is given in this work among that of the other physicians of Titusville. ) He was secretary twenty-six years of the Shepherd Lodge of Masons in Titusville, Recorder of the Rose Croix Com- mandery in the same city four years, and a member and secretary of the Titusville school board several yeairs. He cast his first vote for Freniont in 1856, and he has been ever since a Republican. Richard Graham, who occupies a responsible position in the office of the superintendent of the Meadville division of the Erie Railroad Company, was born in Slatersville, Tompkins couiity. New York, on the 19th of October, 1836, his parents being John Smith and Hannah (Gee) Graham. He acquired his education in cornmon and select schools in Jasper, Steuben county New York, and remained upon the farm with his father until eighteen years of age', when he entered upon an independent business career as clerk in a dry-goods store in Addison, New York. He was thus employed until twenty years of age, when he entered the service of the New York & Erie Railroad Company 836 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. as clerk and telegraph operator, at Addison. He has since been connected with that road and its successor, holding the various positions of operator, station agent, train dispatcher and superintendent's clerk. He is now occupying the last named position, and is one of the most trusted and faithful employes of the corporation. On the 14th of March, 1862, Mr. Graham was married at Ramsey, New Jersey, to Miss JuUa Thorpe. Her death occurred in Mead'ville July 5, 1893, and one daughter was left to mourn her loss, May T., who was born in Mead- ville, April 13, 1872, and is now a teacher in the Pennsylvania College of Music in this place. Mr. Graham has never held political Office save in connection with the edu- cational interests of his city. He has been school director of Meadville since 1882, and since 1888 has been president of the board of control of the Mead- ville public schools. He holds a membership in the Central Presbyterian church, in which he has been ruling elder for eighteen years, and in both church and educational wofk^s deeply interested. Daniel Bement, Rome township, is a son of Benjamin Bement, and was born in Middlebury, Connecticut, married Nancy Kimball and came to Rome township with an ox team and wagon in the fall of 18 16, being six weeks on the journey. He built and operated one of the first tanneries in this section, on the place now owned by Webster Bement. He had eight children, — Henry, Julius, Silas, Nancy, George, Joel, Miranda, and Frank. Robert Donaldson Crawford, the second son of Archy and Mary Jane (McChestney) Crawford, was born at Pardoe, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1856. His father was born at East Liberty, Allegheny county, this state, and was one of a family of fourteen children. His father came in the latter part of the last century from a point east of the Alleghany mountains. His father's mother was a Donaldson. The ancestors on the father's side were Irish and Scotch. The maternal grandmother of the subject of this sketch was a Barnes, belonging to those of that name that were among the first settlers of Mercer county. The McChestneys were Scotch-Irish. Mr. Crawford was educated at Grove City College, securing from that institution in 1884 the degree of A. M. He had received from the Edinboro Normal School in 1879 the degree of M. E. D. In 1897 he took a post-grad- uate course at the Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, receiving the degree of Ph. D. He organized and conducted the North Washington Academy one year, was principal of the Cambridge Springs public schools for three years, and was principal of the Tidioute public schools seven years. He established there a course, combining manual training with literary studies, one of the first schools of the kind in the United States. He was superintendent OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 837 of the Titusville city schools from 1893 to 1897, four years. He is now en- gaged in business in Titusville. Prof. Crawford regards his achievements in introducing and perfecting the system of manual training as among the most satisfactory parts of his work as an instructor. On November 24, 1879, he was married to Miss Hattie Blystone, at Edin- boro, Pennsylvania. Of this union four children are now living: George Hatch and Ploi-ence Esther, twins, born February 27, 1872; Josephine, born June 6. 1885; and Harriet Julia, June 16, 1892. Dr. Andre L. Cozvles, of Sparta township, is a son of G. W. Cowles, and was born in the town of Harmony, New York, August 7, 1850. His education was obtained at. the Jamestown Academy, at which he graduated in 1868. He afterward attended the Bellevue Hospital, in New York city, at which he grad- uated in 1873, and was at the University of Buffalo in 189 1 and 1892. In 1874 he settled at Bremen, Ohio, and in 1879 he came to Spartansburg, where he now resides. John Klippel, a farmer residing near the north border of East Fairfield township, was born in the city of Meadville, February 8, 1843, •'^o" of Daniel and Christiana (Walter) Klippel, deceased, former residents of Union town- ship, Crawford county. He is the third child of a family of four children, namely : Christina, wife of Henry Keburts ; Henry, of Union township ; John, the subject of this sketch; and Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Ehrgott, of Union township. In April, 1873, he married Margaret, daughter of John and Mar- garet Keburts, of the adjoining township, and to this union have been born four children: W. Frank, John D., Florence May, and Mary J., who died June 9, 1897, at the age of fifteen years and eleven months. Mr. Klippel purchased and removed to his present location in April, 1879 > and besides this highly cultivated farm of one hundred acres he owns another of seventy acres in the same township, on what is known as the Creek road. Gilbert Gordon, drayman, Titusville, was born August 24, 1839, "^^i" Clyde, Wayne county, New York, a son of D. S. and Electa (Betts) Gordon. The former died in 1897, at the advanced age of ninety-five years, and the latter in 1894, at the age of ninety-three years. Mr. Gordon was the seventh of eight children. In 1870 he was united in marriage with Almira Heald, a daughter of Albin and Mary Jane (Conley) Heald, of Rockland, Venango county. They are now residents of Hydetown, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Gordon is the third child of a family of eight children. They have five children, namely : Fred Raymond, William M., LeRoy Everett, Gilbert Floyde, and Ada E. Mr. Gordon was first identified with Titusville and locality in the year 1 861, during the early days of the oil excitement, beginning as an oil-producer 838 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. at Petroleum Center, and was at Pithole during the days of adventure. He served in the war of the RebeUion, in Company I, One Hundred and Fiftieth Pennsylvania Buck Tails, for three years, and was mustered out in August, 1862. He was in all the prominent engagements of his regiment, — thirteen in number, — including the battle of Antietam, until the close of the war ; was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness, and afterward made captain. After the war he was engaged in various oil interests until 1872, as above mentioned, then engaged in the hardware business for five years at Petroleum Center. In 1886 he removed' to Titusville, where he has resided ever since. Joseph C. G. Kennedy, of Meadville, is the fifth child of Dr. Thomas R. Kennedy, and was born April i, 1813, in Meadville, was educated at Allegheny College, which conferred on him the degrees of A. M. and LL. D. In 1833 he purchased and edited the Crawford Messenger, the pioneer newspaper of northwestern Pennsylvania. He was appointed by President Taylor to plan and superintend the national census of 1850, and showed such ability that he was also made superintendent of the census of i860. In 185 1 he visited Eu- rope as a United States commissioner on census and postal matters. In 1853 he was a member of the Statistical Congress held at Brussels, and later of one at Paris. In 185 1 he was secretary of the United States commissioners to the World's Fair at London, and a delegate to and the reader of a paper in the International Statistical Congress, over which Prince Albert presided. In i860 he was appointed by President Lincoln a commissioner of the Interna- tional Exhibition of that year. He served as corresponding secretary of the National Institute at Washington, and of the United States Agricultural So- ciety, and edited the journal of the latter. He was a member of numerous American and foreign scientific and historical associations, and in 1866 was presented with a gold medal by Christian IX, king of Denmark, as a token of his appreciation of his work on statistics. James Jamison, one of the representative farmers and stock men of South Shenango township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, was born in countv An- trim, Ireland, January 15, 1836. His father, Alexander, and mother, nee Jennie McKay, were of Scotch extraction, but were natives of county Antrim. The family came to America in 1842, settling on a farm twenty miles south of Shenango, Mercer county, Pennsylvania. Alexander Jamison was a stone- mason by trade and also a successful farmer. He and his wife were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He lived to be fifty years old, and his wife survived him many years and died at eighty-four. Of the eight chil- dren of this family seven are now living, Mr. James Jamison, our subject, being next to the youngest. When twenty years of age Mr. James Jamison went to Ohio and engaged OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 839 in general farming. In 1858 he removed to this county and purchased the farm which has since been his home, and which at the present time is of two hundred acres in extent. He has been extensively engaged in buying, selling and raising stock. The Jamison farm is one of the most valuable and highly cultivated in the county. It is supplied with the best improvements, and its owner is a recognized authority on all matters pertaining to the purchase, sale and breed- ing of fine stock. Mr. Jamison married Miss Nancy, daughter of James and Eliza McMas- ter. James McMaster was born in county Antrim, Ireland ; when two years of age his parents sailed for America, and the voyage over was saddened by a terrible storm, during which his father was washed overboard and drowned ! His mother bought a farm in Shenango township, upon which he lived until his' death, at the age of fifty-five. The wife of James McMaster was a native of West Fallowfield township, a daughter of Nancy and Robert Henry, born in Fayette county. She was a member of the United Presbyterian church and lived to the age of eighty-seven. Of the eight children of this family Luella married Anderson McGranahan; Sarah married Gibson Hurlbert, of She- nango ; Charles M. is a prosperous farmer of South Shenango ; Nannie E. and Ross Clark are living at home; Martin Edgar, William F. and James H. are in the hardware and furniture business at St. Anthony, Idaho. Mr. Jamison is a self-made man. He is a director of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Meadville, and is a stanch Democrat and inter- ested in all of his party's undertakings. He has held many offices, and was elected county commissioner in 1878, serving three years. The entire family are members of the United Presbyterian church. William Kinney, a farmer of Sparta township, was a son of William Kin- ney, and was born in Hudson, Washington county. New York, married Susan Burch, and about 1823, with his wife and one child, came to Sparta town- ship, Crawford county, where he settled on one hundred acres of land, built a log house and began to improve the place ; but afterward he moved to the farm now owned by his son Eli and his widow, Mrs. William Kinney, he having been killed in 1851 by a falling limb while cutting a tree. One of his nine children, Charles W. Kinney, is well known at Spartansburg from having built the brick block where the bank is located. Benjamin O. Fish, of Sparta township, was born in Washington county. New York, married Seraph Burton in 1840, and came tO' Sparta and settled at what is now called Fish's Flats, where he resided as a farmer. He and his family were members of the Free-Will Baptist church. Among his children by his first wife were Nancy (Mrs. James Chase) ; Emma (Mrs. Stephen 840 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Jude) ; Lester, Avho lives at Waterford, Erie county; Adeline (Mrs. S. W. Davis), of Union City; and Willard. His second wife was before marriage Ellen Coyle, and by her he had two children, — Laverne and Dora, the latter of whom is dead. Aaron Akin, of Sparta township, was a son of Loton, who built the first gristmill at Sparta, came to that place when it was called Akinville, and owned a gristmill and store. His son Daniel was born in Sparta and died here; and liis son Daniel married Sarah M. Miller. He was engaged extensively in lum- bering, giving employment to a large number of men. He had six children and died in 1892. A. M. Fuller, a Meadville merchant, is a native of Little Falls, New York, where he was born in 1847, son of M. A. and Mary (Holcomb) Fuller, natives of New York, of English descent, and parents of two children. M. A. Fuller was one of Meadville's leading merchants prior to 1864. A. M. Fuller came to Meadville in 1870 and embarked in the dry-goods business and has conducted a leading trade. His store, which was in the Opera -House block, was destroyed by fire January 8, 1884, and he purchased a quarter interest in the property and after its reconstruction continued business in the same location. Mr. Fuller has attained local prominence as a leading business man, and has been identified with the interests of his own town and county. For several years he was president of the P. S. D. A. The dairy has for a long time been one of the leading industries of Crawford, and has contributed largely to the interest of the farming community of this section. He has been president of the New First National Bank of Meadville since its organization in 1893, and is also the president of the Leon C. Magaw Churn Company, of Meadville. Mr. Fuller was elected president of the Meadville Glass Company (lim- ited), an enterprise he was active in establishing, and in which he has been a stockholder since its organization. He has always taken a special interest in all public improvements relating to Meadville, and in its general welfare and growth as a city. January 27, 1876, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of Leon C. Magaw, and to this union were born three children : Marian, Freder- ick, and Marguerite. /. W. Beers, an architect of Meadville, was born in Wallaceville, Venango county, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1869. His father, George W. Beers, was a native of Montreal, Canada, but when the Civil War in the United States came on he valiantly offered his services to our government, and in 1862 was made ship carpenter of the gunboat Bentin, which was assigned to the Missis- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 841 sippi squadron. Of the three hundred and fifty men who left the Brooklyn navy yard for service at the front at the same time as did Mr. Beers only eleven lived to return, he being one of the few survivors. He is now sixty-two ' years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy E. Richey, and who was born in Venango county, this state, died when in her thirty-second year. They were the parents of four children, of whom J. W. is the eldest, and the others are C. W. and H. E., of Plum Postoffice, Pennsylvania; and George, de- ceased. H. E. served through the Porto Rican campaign in the war with Spain. J. W. Beers received a liberal education in the common schools of his na- tive town and in Tidioute, where he lived for some time. Upon completing his studies he engaged in teaching for several terms at Pleasantville and Coop- erstown, this state, after which he joined his father in the building and con- tracting business in Cooperstown, their patronage extending to Oil City and Titusville. Later, the young man became a student in a Boston architectural school, at which institution he was graduated at the end of two years. In January, 1898, he concluded to locate in Meadville, where he will undoubtedly find abundant opportunity to display his genius, and that he has talent there can be no question, judging by what he has already accomplished. Mr. Beers also has made a thorough study of the various systems of stenography, and it is his purpose to give to the public, at no distant day, a revised, simplified and comprehensive method of shorthand which he believes will supersede those now in use. He is a member of Bradleytown Lodge, No. 854, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Meadville Tent, Knights of the Maccabees, and Daughters o£ Rebekah of Bradleytown. On the loth of May, 1892, Mr. Beers married Etta M., daughter of Israel and Hannah (Kiester) Ferringer, and to them have been born two children, — Winnie Minola, and another daughter who died in infancy. George A. Chase, Esq. — Jonathan Titus, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, settled, in 1784, in the vicinity of Titusville, and gave the name to the town of which he was the founder. Another noteworthy fact in the history of the family is that his father was the fii"st merchant, first burgess and first postmaster of Titusville. The family has been largely identified with the development of that section of the oil country, and Mr. Chase himself is a gentleman known extensively in that region as a lawyer. He has established a wide-reaching practice and as an official has made a good record. Mr. Chase was born at Titusville and received his education in Allegheny College. He commenced the study of law in the city of Pittsburg with Alex- ander Miller, and after his admission to the bar there was appointed United States commissioner, and since has continuously filled that office. He held the office of city clerk of the city of Titusville during the years 1869, 1870 and 842 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 1 87 1. He is a Republican, and in April, 1888, was elected city solicitor for a term of two years, and was re-elected in 1890, 1892, 1894 and 1896. His office .is in the Chase & Stewart block, — a building erected by his father. Mr. Chase frequently attends state and county conventions. He is a member of the order of Elks and of the Royal Arcanum. William R. Elston, of Sparta township, is a son of Cornelius R. and Julia- (Deland) Elston, and was born in Ellicott, Chautauqua county. New York, October 25, 1831. He married Ellen M. Beach and moved to Sparta, Craw- ford county, Pennsylvania, in 1857, where he was a farmer. He enlisted in August, 1 86 1, in Company C, Eighty-third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volun- teers, where he became a first sergeant. He was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness while acting as lieutenant, was discharged in 1864 and came home, where he resided until 1883, when he moved to Spartansburg, his present home. He has been burgess of the village two years, one of the councilmen of the borough, also commander of John R. Russell Post, No. 626, G. A. R., and an active member of Spartansburg Lodge, No. 772, I. O. O. F., and politically is a Republican. He has one son, Emory A. Elston, who married Mary Bel- lows, is a representative citizen and an assessor of the township. ■W. A. Doane, city engineer of Meadville, was born in Ellicottville, Cat- taraugus county. New York, September 17, 1854, a son of I. S. and Elizabeth (Morse) Doane, natives of Massachusetts. He was educated at Oswego, New York, and Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he pursued a course in civil engi- neering. Soon after completing his course he came to Crawford county, where he resided for a time with his parents in Mead township. Later he was engaged in railway construction. Following is a list of prin- cipal engagements: July, 1874, to August, 1876: assistant engineer during construction on the Lake Ontario division of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdens- burg Railroad. Thirty miles of work, including stations, tanks, etc. Oak Orchard viaduct, eighty-five feet high by seven hundred and fifty feet long. March, 1878, to May, 1880: assistant engineer and later chief engineer of the Lehigh & Eastern Railway ; running preliminary lines and locating. August, 1880, to September, 1881 : chief engineer during the construction of the Mead- ville & Linesville Railway; twenty-two miles. September, 1881, to August, 1882 : principal assistant engineer of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad; designing arch culverts, filling trestles, building machine shops, and general reconstruction work. August, 1882, to June, 1883: assistant engineer of the Ontario & Quebec Railroad, on construction. Resigned to take a posi- tion on the Canadian Pacific Railway. June, 1883, to October, 1885 : as divis- ion engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway on construction ; had charge of drafting office, designing the masonry, Howe truss bridges and high wooden OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 843 trestles in Main and Selkirk Ranges of the Rocky mountains. May to Sep- tember, 1886 : assistant engineer for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Rail- road, on construction. Resigned to accept a position on the Atlantic & North Western Railway. October, 1886, to October, 1887: division engineer for the Atlantic & North Western Railway; designing masonry, trestles and other structures. October, 1887, to October, 1889 : as resident engineer and as engi- neer of bridges on the Oregon Pacific Railway, making standard bridge and trestle plans ; designed set of strain sheets, with estimates of material for Howe truss bridges, deck and through, from thirty to one hundred and fifty foot spans. Resigned to accept a position on the Norfolk & Western Railroad, October, 1889, to January, 1893 : principal assistant engineer in charge of all work during the construction of the Ohio Extension of the Norfolk & Western Railroad ; one hundred and ninety-five miles in a mountainous country ; tun- nels, masonry and bridges; classification of material; bridge over the Ohio river. In May, 1893, our subject was elected city engineer of Meadville, and re- elected in May, 1896. May II, 1882, he was married to Hattie, daughter of David Ellis, of Mead township, and they have had four children, — Ethel, Morse, Arthur, and Nor- man. Mr. Doane is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and of Albion (N. Y.) Lodge, No. 97, F. & A. M., and of the Royal Arcanum. Captain Joseph L. King was an early settler in Athens township, who took up a lot of four hundred and forty-eight acres of uncultivated land, was a sol- dier in the Revolutionary war, and married Sarah Hayes, a daughter of John Hayes, an early settler in Rockdale township. He died in town, and his widow married John Osborne, a soldier in the war of 1812, and a farmer who resided on the King farm. - * Francis Magee, of Rome township, was a son of Patrick Magee, and was a small boy when his father came to this township, in 1800. He married Nancy Swaney and settled at Mageetown. His son, Francis M. Magee, was a soldier, serving as second lieutenant in Company D, Eighteenth Regiment, till the close of the war. Dr. Franklin N. Norton, son of Joseph Norton, is a resident of Athens township, was born in New Hudson, Allegany county, New York, studied medicine at Waterford, Pennsylvania, under the guidance of Dr. Vincent Pitts, and at Friendship, New York, under Dr. B. Babcock, and graduated at the Eclectic College at Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1870 he settled at Little Cooley, where he is now in practice. 844 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Henry Haas, a clerk at Meadville, is a native of this city and was born in 1845, a son of Christian and Catharine (Shunk) Haas, who emigrated to America in 1840 and soon after located in Meadville. The former died in 1868, at the age of fifty-seven years, and the latter in 1877, aged sixty years. Christian Haas was employed for several years by James and John Dick and C. B. Richards & Brothers of New York. He afterward conducted a shipping agency, and it was through this source that many Germans were induced to settle in this county, as many were furnished transportation from New York. In connection with this he conducted an extensive grocery trade which ex- tended throughout Crawford county. This was located in what was familiarly known as "Old Cullum Row," and extended over a period of ten years, — from 1854 to 1864. Our subject was the third child of a family of four children, as follows: Daniel, who died at sea; Jacob C, who died in 1875, at the age of twenty- seven years; Henry, the subject proper of this sketch; and Catharine, who died in infancy. Mr. Haas was educated at the public schools and under the private tutorship of William Dixson. He has held the position of bookkeeper for several firms, and has had the position of clerk at the new Budd House under its different proprietors since 1883. November 3, 1893, he was united in marriage to Margaret, daughter of William Hunter, of Mill Village, Erie county, Pennsylvania. He has pur- chased a home at 103 Poplar street. Mr. Haas is a member of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, Meadville Tent, No. 83, and of the Prudential Insurance Order of America. As to local office we may state that he has been elected judge of election for the third successive term. Homer P. Tucker, of Springboro, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, October 24, 1855, educated in the common schools, and was in early life a farmer with his father and his assistant in his jelly factory. In 1882 he learned to be a miller. Early in 1891 he erected roller-process flouring mills at Spring- boro, which he put in operation the same year, doing both a merchant-milling and custom business. He very soon secured as a partner one of his old school- mates, Sydney W. Squires, and they are successfully operating the mills under the firm name of Tucker & Squires. On March 19, 1879, Mr. Tucker married Hannah M. Stevens, formerly of Illinois, and they have five children, — Wilbur S., Earle R., Frank W., Leah D., and Herbert R. Mr. Tucker's father, Phineas R., was 1x)rn in Massachu- setts, October 20, 1808, and came with his parents to Ohio when four years old. The family moved with ox teams, and were several weeks on their jour- ney, making roads through the dense forests and swamps. When they arrived in Ohio, in 1812, there were only fourteen houses in the township where they settled, and they were all log structures. P. R. Tucker married Barbara OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 845 Stevens, of that locality, and had two sons: Nelson R., who owns and occu- pies the original homestead; and Homer P. Mr. Tucker died on SepteiTiber ^3, 1880, and his widow on September 23, 1881. Mrs. Tucker's father, Simon Stevens, was born in the state of New York, on December 16, 1818. He was twice married, first to Margaret Ray, of Ohio, and they had three children,— Corydon R., Hannah M., and Melvin G. Mrs. Stevens died in 1852. Mr. Stevens married, secondly, Mary Ann Raney, who died April 28, 1897, the mother of five children. Mr. Stevens is now ( 1898) living. Mr. Tucker's family attends the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Tucker also was a member. Mr. Tucker is a Republican in politics. Ancestry of family. New England, but of English and Irish origin. George H. Bethune, of Conneautville, was born in Massachusetts, No- vember 20, 1843, was educated in the public schools, and by occupation is a contractor and builder. He came to Titusville in 1865, and on June i, 1870, married Elizabeth M. Koehler, of Cussawago township. They have three children, — Frederick W., Mary P. and Annie B. Frederick W. is a barber at Union City, Erie county, Pennsylvania, and both daughters reside at home. Daniel Bethune, father of George H., was born in Inverness, Scotland, about 1805, where he was educated. He married Maty Blackwood, of Edin- burg, Scotland, and their eight children were David, Agnes, Margaret, Mary H., George H., John, William and Christiana. After leaving Scotland they came to the United States and located in Massachusetts. Mr. Bethune died about 1865, and his widow about 1867. Mrs. Bethune's father, Frederick W. Koehler, was born in the Hague, Holland, in 1800. He was educated there and was a farmer by occupation. He married Penelope Fan Elza, of his native place. They had thirteen children, the two oldest born in Holland. They came to Philadelphia and soon afterward settled in Cussawago township. The names of their children are Anna, Frederick P., William, Charles C, Catherine, Elizabeth M., George H., August, Mary, Christiana R., Lydia, Ella and Henry. Mr. Koehler died in 1884 and his wife irl 1876. The family are members of the Episcopal church. In his political choice Mr. Bethune is a Republican. Ancestry of family, Scotch and Dutch. Miss S. L. Boyd, principal of the Meadville Commercial College, bears the distinction of being a native of Crawford county, her ancestors having set- tled in Mosiertown at an early day. She is a daughter of Dr. Hiram and Sophia Boyd. The former practiced medicine at Mosiertown from 1817 to 1857, and was a well known practitioner throughout the county. Miss Boyd was educated at the Edinboro State Normal School, grad- uating with the class of 1868. Soon afterward she began the work of teaching in the public school at Saegerstown, and a year later was elected principal 846 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. of the Meadville South Ward school, a position she held without interruption for eighteen years. Impaired health made a change necessary, and after a brief period spent in recuperation she, in 1889, started a school of shorthand in one small room. The success attained in practical teaching created a demand for making it a commercial school. In December, 1895, the school formerly known as the Meadville School of Business Practice was incorporated as the Meadville Commercial College, placing the institution on a firm foundation, with widely known, progressive and successful business and professional men identified with it and pledged to its interest and advancement. The principal takes pride in making the college distinctively a first-class business school, and seeks to merit the requirements of its numerous patrons in fitting young men and women for business life. Charles S. Campbell, of Conneaut township, was born October 8, 1833, at South Shenango, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. His father, Charles Camp- bell, was an enterprising and interesting man, and a native of Hunterdon, New- Jersey. When a toy he learned the blacksmith's trade, and later operated a shop at Espyville, Crawford county; for three years. He then purchased a farm in South Shenango, where he lived for many years, combining his trade and farming interests. For twenty years he bought and drove stock. When seventy years old he disposed of his farm lands and for a time retired to Spring- field, Erie county, but later moved back to Espyville, where he spent the latter part of his life; he died at the age of eighty-three years. Mr. Campbell was a stanch Republican and one of the pioneers of his party, and held many local offices. Much of his time was devoted to the interests of others, being a mem- ber of the North Bank Methodist church, one of the first churches in that sec- tion of the country, toward the maintenance of which he was a liberal sup- porter. His home was the headquarters for visiting' clergymen, and for all- around general hospitality. Mr. Campbell's wife, ncc Sarah DeForest, of Hunterdon, New Jersey, lived to be sixty-seven years old. Of their nine children seven attained maturity, but two only are living at the present time : George, a retired farmer of Espyville ; and Charles, the subject of this sketch. Charles S. Campbell was educated at the public schools and when twenty- nine years old married Miss Mary Clark, of Williamsfield, Ohio. They have eight children : Emily, who is the wife of C. B. Corey, of this township ; Elmer C, a progressive farmer; two children died when very young; of the twins, Ida and Inez, Ida is at home and Inez is the wife of Martin Donaldson ; Vernie is at Normal school ; and Fenn C. is at home. For a time Mr. Campbell operated his father's farm, but later owned and worked independently about two hundred and fifty acres. One hundred acres he has since given his son, but he still lives on and o\yns the remainder. Mr. Campbell is a prominent banker and was one of the organizers of the Linesville OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 847 Savings Bank and president thereof for several years. He now holds the posi- tion of vice president of the same bank. He is a heavy stockholder in the Mutual Loan Association Bank of Conneaut, Ohio. Mr. Campbell has also been prominent in local affairs and has always identified himself with the Re- publican party. He has held the offices of assess9r and tax collector, and school director for six years. He is a member of the Linesville Lodge, No. 395, L O. O. F., and is also a Royal Templar. As a member of the Congregational church he has extended his influence for good, having been trustee for several years and Sunday-school superintendent for four years. Mr. Campbell is one of the most prominent, influential and highly re- spected citizens of the community. Alonso A. Potter. — The Hon. Alonzo A. Potter was born in Conneaut township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, where he has lived nearly all of his life. His great-grandfather was bom in England, and after coming to Amer- ica served all through the Revolutionary war in the Second New Jersey Infan- try ; was ^younded at the siege of Yorktown, and died in consequence. His son and namesake, Samuel Potter, was a native of Newark, New Jersey, and when young learned the brick-mason's trade. He came tO' Crawford county in 1799 and took up two hundred acres of land near Steamburg, and afterward purchased four hundred acres more. He served in the war of 1812, and died at the age of ninety-two. He was a quiet, unostentatious man and a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Potter's father, George Potter, was born in Conneaut township, on the farm where his entire life was spent. He was alert and active until a short time before his death, at the age of eighty-two. He was formerly a Whig, but later became a Republican and held most of the local offices. He married Louise Wilder, a native of Batavia, New York, and a daughter of Reuben Wilder, who was a native of Vermont, and served as first lieutenant all through the war of 1812. Mrs. Potter lived to be eighty-one years old. Mr. Potter and wife were members of the Methodist church. There were five children born to this couple, of whom Mr. Alonzo A. Potter is the oldest; Frank H. was formerly a school-teacher, but now owns and works a part of the farm that belonged to his great-grandfather ;' Mary J. died at, the age of twenty-one; Sarah A. married E. S. Penfield, of -Conneaut township; and Corlie, who is the wife of George Huntley, of Conneaut. Alonzo A. Potter had an early farm training, his literary education being derived at the public schools and at Grand River Institute, Austinburg, Ohio. After teaching school for ten years and undernraning his health Mr. Potter engaged in general farming, dairying and stock-raising, which have since been his chief occupations. His farm comprises two hundred and seventy acres. Mr. Potter was united in marriage with Miss Nancy J. Grover, and they 848 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. have one daughter, named Janie, who is living with her parents. She is the especial pride of her family and friends, having signally distinguished herself in music. Her talent was developed at the Meadville Conservatory, also at Utica, New York, and at Oberlin, Ohio. Mr. Potter is a prominent member of the Grange ; of Pine Lodge, No. 498, F. & A. M., at Linesville, this state; of Oriental Chapter, No. 187, R. A. M., at Conneautville ; and of the Northwestern Commandery, No. 25, K. T., at Meadville. In his politics he is a stanch Republican, and his ability and integrity have received the hearty appreciation of the community. He was secretary of the school board for eleven years, justice of the peace for twenty years, and during the years 1888-90 he was a member of the legislature, where .he was secretary of the committees on education and agriculture, and was largely instrumental in securing an increase in the appropriation for common schools, — from one to five million dollars. In April, 1898, he was unanimously nominated for state senator by the Republican party of Crawford county, but at the election in November was defeated by a fusion of Populists, Prohibi- tionists and Democrats. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Robert Anderson Cunningham, deceased, was born May 7, 1839, in North Shenango township. His father, Robert, was born in Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, and while still an infant was brought by his parents to Conneaut town- ship, where he lived until his death, at the age of eighty-five. He was a mem- ber of the United Presbyterian church. Robert Cunningham lived in North Shenango until three years after his marriage. In March of 1869 he purchased the farm that his son Charles now owns, and where he lived until his death, February 7, 1896. August 16, 1 86 1, Mr. Cunningham enlisted in the Twenty-ninth regular Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served in the battles of Bull Run, Winchester, Manassas Junction and Cedar Run. He was discharged February 8, 1863, owing to disability occasioned by rheumatism contracted during war service. During the latter part of his life he was a confirmed invalid and cripple, owing to the ravages of rheumatism. He left an excellent farm of eighty-four acres. Mr. Cunningham's political inclinations are with the independents. For several years he was a tax collector. Mr. Cunningham married, September 21, 1865, Miss Rachel L., daughter of Samuel Bennet, of South Shenango township. There were six children born to this couple : Charles E. is a farmer, living in South Shenango ; Samuel and Robert are partners in the general merchandise business at Westfoi'd ; James B. died October 3, 1898 ; and Bertha and Alvertie are at home. i OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 849 Homer H. Campbell, of South Shenango township, was born November •21, 1859, in West Shenango township. Isaac Campbell, his father, when a young man, lived in West Shenango, but later moved to South Shenango, and purchased his father's old homestead, where his death occurred at the age of sixty-two years. Isaac Campbell was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and active in all its undertakings. He was a successful farmer and an ardent Re- publican, and was known as an exceedingly conservative man. He left a farm comprising two hundred and seventy-five acres. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Trumbull, was a native of New York state, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church; she lived to be sixty-nine years old. Of the eight children born to this couple William W. is a farmer in Shenango; John C. is a farmer in Conneaut ; Susan E. is the wife of David Patten, and Sarah Elizabeth married John Johnson. Homer H. Campbell made his home with his parents until his marriage. to Miss Laura A. Gepford, of South Shenango, at which time his father pre- sented him with a portion of the old homestead, upon which he has since lived,, and which, with subsequent additions, now comprises one hundred and thirty- five acres. Mr. Campbell is independent in his voting, believing in the selection of the best qualified men irrespective of party. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Cathrine Willson. — The late Thomas Willson was born in Ayrshire, Scot- land,- in 1830, where he was educated, and was a farmer. On June 2, 1857, he married Cathrine Cleland, who was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1838, and came to the United States in 1857, leaving their native land four days after marriage. They first located in Trumbull county, Ohio, and in 1865 they came to Beaver township, this state. They came to Spring township in 1882. and in 1891 to Springboro' to reside, as Mr. Willson had then retired from the farm. They had five children:" James M., Thomas G. (who died at the age of twenty- two years), Mary Y., Robert Burns, and John C. (who died at the age of twenty-five). James M. married Laura Rugg, of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and they have two daughters, — Kate and Jennie. They reside in Ashtabula county. Robert Burns married Janet Gibson, of Fifeshire, Scot- land. They have one daughter, Maggie. Mary Y. resides at home with her mother. Mrs. Wilson's father, Thomas Cleland, was born in Lanarkshire^ Scotland, in 1802. He married Mary Young, of his native country. Their children were: Agnes, who died young; Isabel, Catherine, James, Agnes (second), Janet, Elizabeth, John, Maggie and two who died in infancy. Mr. Cleland died in 1884 and his wife in 1882. Thomas Willson died September 54 8so OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 25, 1897, regretted by the entire community. The family are of the Presby- terian faith. Ancestry of family, Scotch on both sides. John Eason, son of Robert and Mary (Coleman) Eason, was born at Somersetshire, England, October 21, 1834. He was educated at the public and high schools of his town, making the study of bookkeeping a specialty. In 1852 he was married to Ann Sly. The next year he came with his wife to America. In his boyhood he had learned the miller's trade from his father, who was a miller. Upon his arrival in this country he went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged one year in the mills of Bryan, Kennedy & Company, one of the largest flouring establishments in the United States. The senior member of the firm was the late S. S. Bryan, of this city, father of S. S. and George Bryan, residents of Titusville. At the end of the year he went to Slip- pery Rock, Butler county, Pennsylvania, and took charge of Kennedy's mills there for five years. For the next two years he was engaged in a woolen mill at Wolf Creek, Mercer county, this state. Then he went to Sandy Creek, Ve- nango county, Pennsylvania, where he bought two hundred and forty acres of land of Arnold Plumer, and for two years he ran the Sandy Creek mills. He next went to Columbus, Pennsylvania, and bought there a flouring mill, which he operated three years. He then sold that mill, and, coming to Titusville, in 1870, he first leased the City Mills here, which were owned by Fertig & Cady. In 1877 he bought Fertig's interest in the mills, -which interest he continues to own. He has been the manager of these mills now nearly thirty years. Mr. Eason has five children: Robert, William, Joseph, Elizabeth and Margaret. Robert lives at North Lewisburg, Ohio, and Elizabeth at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In politics Mr. Eason has been an active Democrat since his first landing in the United States; in 1853, over forty-five years ago. Sidney W. Squires, of Springboro, was born in Vienna, Trumbull county, Ohio, was a farmer in early life and a coal driller and prospector, and later was for several years a merchant. Before coming to this state he sold his mercantile interests to his partner and entered into copartnership with H. P. Tucker in the merchant and custom roller-process milling business at Springboro, under the firm name of Tucker & Squires, On October 23, 1879, Mr. Squires married Ida V. Stilson, of Hartford, Trumbull county, Ohio. They have had three children : the two sons died in infancy; the daughter, Blanche W., is a student in the high school at Springboro. Mr. Squires' father, William, was born in Connecticut on Octo- ber 23, 1810, and came to Trumbull county with his parents in 1818, when only eight years old. He always followed the honorable occupation of farm- ing. He married Serepta Woodford, of Trumbull county, Ohio, where her people were among the first settlers. They had six children, — Jason A., Docia OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 851 W., Lucia M., J. Willard, Sidney W. and Nellie J. William Squires died August 22, 18.79, ^"d his widow on September 9, 1889. Mrs. Ida V. Squires's father, Cyrus B. Stilson, was born in Boardman township, Mahoning county, Ohio, on June 24, 1824, was educated in the district schools and was a cooper by trade. He married Lucretia Bow and had four children, — Oliver H., Mary E., Ida V. and Phebe E. Mr. Stilson died September 19, 1882, and his widow survives at this date (1897). The famil)^ attend the Christian church, of which Mrs. Squires is a member. Mr. Squires, in his political choice, is a Republican. The family is of New England origin on both sides. Lucius F. McLaughlin was born in the township of Spring- on May 8, 1836. His education was obtained at district and select schools. Early in life he followed the occupation of school teaching ; for sixteen years he conducted a mercantile establishment at Springboro as a grocer, and, a natural mechanic, he could "turn his hand to anything." He has perhaps devoted more time to the nursery business and to real-estate transactions than to other pursuits, and has in them acquired a comfortable competency. In politics he is a sterling Democrat. He has been burgess of Springboro, a school director, a notary public, justice of the peace, and held the office of captain in the national guard of the state. On April 2, 1874, Mr. McLaughlin married Mary A. Minneley, Lines- ville, Pennsylvania. They have five children, — Frank H., Ray I., Lucius E., Mary E. and Leon O. The three oldest are teachers. Mr. McLaughlin's father, Henry McLaughlin, was born in Vermont on October 30, 1801, became a me- chanic and on October 30, 1824, married Sophronia Long, also of Vermont. In 1826 they made the perilous western journey to this county and located in Spring township. Their children were Amanda, Cordelia A. and Lucius F. Mr. Henry McLaughlin died on September 16, 1854, and Mrs. McLaughlin on June 5, 1874. Lucius F. McLaughlin's paternal great-grandfather, a native of Scotland, came to the United States on the same vessel with the emigrant ancestors of Horace Greeley. He was a captain in the Revolution and served with distinction. His home was in New Hampshire, where all of his children were born. His grandfather was a lumberman of the Green mountains of Vermont. On one occasion, while in the woods on the mountain observing the disadvantages of the long sled, he conceived the idea of using short ones. He was the originator or inventor of "bob sleds," so generally in use now. His uncle, Ira McLaughlin, of Arlington, Vermont, was a great inventor. Among his best inventions are the boring machine so much used by carpenters and the mortising machine so generally used in making doors, window sash, etc. Charles C. Minneley, father of Mrs. McLaughlin, was born about 1826 and educated in Canada. Coming to the United States and to this county in his 852 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. early manhood, he married Deborah Gleason, of Conneautville, and made here his permanent home. They had three daughters. Mrs. Minneley has long survived her husband, who died in 1874. Ancestry of the family, Scotch-Irish. Luman Sturtevant. — The late Luman Sturtevant, of Spring township, was born in Rutland, Vermont, in 1802. His parents moved to Cortland, New York, when he was four years old, and there he was educated in the schools of that early day. In 18 18, when he was sixteen years old, the family came to this county. Mr. Sturtevant was always a farmer. On November 23, 1829, he married Hannah Allen, of Rome, Oneida county, New York. They had four daughters, — Eliza A., Sara A., Cordelia E. and Lestina I. Eliza A. married Thomas Fisher, of Spring township. Their three children were Har- riet E., Luman S., and J. North, who died at the age of ten years. Harriet E. married James E. Williams, of Periopolis, Pennsylvania. Their seven children are James N., Wilson W., Luman F., George H., Amy E., Albert J. and Linn. Luman S. married Sophia J. Hesner, of Iowa, and they have seven children, — Lemuel L., Lisle N., Frank L., Nellie B., Mabel C, Grace E. and Ruth E. Sara A. married Rev. Andrew Willson, of Shenango, Pennsylvania, and died in 1883. Cordelia E. died in December, i860. Lestina I. married Fletcher W. Chess, of Pittsburg. Their two children are Luman F. and Sara D. Luman F. married Louisa Breninger, of Indiana. They have a daughter, Irene Marie. Sara D. is a student at Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio. Mr. Chess died March 20, 1888. Mr. Sturtevant died July 22, 1878, and his widow November 16, 1886. The father of Mrs. Luman Sturtevant, John P. Allen, was born at Prudence Island, Rhode Island, July 17, 1767, married Elizabeth Wall, of Long Island, New York, and had twelve children. He was a major in the state militia. Flis father, James, was born at the old Rhode Island home, and married Martha Allen, by whom he had thirteen children. Ancestry of family, English, French and Welsh. Mrs. Celestia Kendall. — The late Stephen Kendall was born in Windsor, Vermont, on December 7, 1827, and came with his parents to Conneaut, Ohio, when he was fourteen years old. He was educated in the common schools and thoroughly learned the blacksmith's trade. He came to Spring township when a young man and conducted blacksmithing both before and after his marriage, which occurred on November 3, 1850, to Abigal Celestia King, of Springboro. Three children were born to them,^ — Ruble L., Lena M. and Sarah N. Ruble L. married Lilly Ross, of Rundelltown; they have one son, Ross C. Lena M. married Emory Muynch, of Conneautville; they have two children, — Jes- sie and Willis C. Sarah N. married Willis J. Farr, of Springboro. Mr. Ken- dall died August 24, 1872. His widow survives at this date, 1897. Mrs. Kendall's father, Alonzo King, was born in Oneida county, New OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 853 York, December 8, 1802, and moved with his parents to Chautauqua county when a boy, where he was educated in the common schools, and followed the honorable occupation of farming. March 14, 1825, he married Celestia Max- ham, of that county. They had five children, — Joseph W., Celestia and Jerusha CaHstia (twins), Hurlbert H. and George H. They came to this county in 1836. Alonzo King died June 9, 1891, and his wife died in 1883. The ancestry of the family is English and French. Professor J. Laverne Free, of Springboro, was born near little Cooley, Athens township, this state, on March 7, 1873. In 1878 his parents moved to Kansas, but after over three years' residence in that state returned to this county, making their home in Townville. Until he was nine years old the lad's education was supervised by an able and devoted mother, who laid an excellent foundation for the subsequent intellectual advancement of her son. He was then placed at school and made rapid progress. For nine successive winters he was an apt and a' diligent student and then joined the ranks of pro- fessional teachers. He ha-s shown ability, giving satisfaction, and now honor- ably fills the responsible office of supervising principal of the schools of Spring- boro. Mr. Free's father, Joseph P. Free, was born in southern Ohio, the young- est of five children. In 1870 he was married to Helena, daughter of Daniel and Margaret Hopkins. They had three children, — ^J. Laverne, Victor J., a prominent teacher of this county, and Charles H., a student of the Spring- boro high school. On August 27, 1896, Professor Free married Enna, daugh- ter of James Lamb, Sr., also a teacher in the Springboro school. Her father, born in Venango county in 1832, married Maria Gates (born in Rockland, Venango county) about the commencement of the Civil war. Of their ten chil- dren nine are now (1898) living, — Mrs. John Boyd, of Boone county, Iowa; Delma; Mrs. Augustus Wenzel, of Tionesta, Pennsylvania; Enna, Samuel, Harry, Bessie, George and James. Professor and Mrs. Free have been enthusiastic workers in the cause of education, and are prominent in the Methodist Episcopal church and the ranks of the Prohibitionists. The ancestry of the family is German and Irish. William Hunt, upholsterer and furniture dealer at Titusville, was born in Ireland in 1838 and was brought to this country with his parents at the age of seven years. He served in the Confederate army during the Rebellion, after which he located in Mobile, Alabama, where he learned his trade and remained until 1870, when he removed to Titusville, where he has since continued an upholstering and furniture business. In 1884 he became interested in a device known as the upholsterers' vise-support, which has since been perfected and brought into use as one of the most valuable devices known to the trade. This 8S4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. support is made of iron and steel and is indispensable as a labor-saving device of great utility. Mr. Hunt early made several experiments with this apparatus, but did not fully succeed until July 23, 1897, when, by the assistance of Cor- nelius C. Wright, of Erie, an inventor of repute, he perfected the plans which made it a success. It is so arranged that the adjustment can be made at any position and saves at least from one-third to one-half of the labor needed by the old method. As an invention it is a device of unusual merit and will be recorded as one of the permanent inventions of Crawford county, of which Mr. Hunt is the instigator. Seth C. Lincoln, of Bloomfield township, came to Lincolnville, this town- ship, about 1838, took up a section of uncultivated land and built a saw and gristmill. He had lived here but a short time when he was killed while raft- ing lumber on Oil Creek, leaving a wife {nee Lucinia Wood) and eight chil- dren. W. S. Smith, register and recorder of Crawford county, is a native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, his birth having occurred May 8, 1864. He was but six years of age when he came to America, and his education was obtained in the public schools of Oil City. Subsequently to his graduation in the high school there in 1880, he commenced teaching, and in 1887 accepted a position as principal of the Spartansburg school. He continued there and in a similar capacity in the Springboro public school until 1891, when he became the book- keeper for the Shadeland stock farm, in this county. In 1893 he was elected on the Republican ticket to his present office as recorder and register, and upon the expiration of his term was honored by re-election. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In October, 1890, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Mary E. Fisher, daughter of John and Rachel Fisher, of Bloomfield township, Crawford county, and to the young couple two children have been born, namely : Rachel and Agnes. Rev. James J. Dunn, pastor of St. Bridget's church at Meadville, is a native of Malahide, Dublin county, Ireland, and was born June 9, 1841. At the age of eight years he arrived in the city of Baltimore and entered Mount St. Mary's College, Emmittsburg, Maryland, August 24, 1857, and graduated there in June, 1863, receiving the degrees of A. B. and A. M. He entered the seminary attached to the college in the fall of the same year and was or- dained by Bishop Quinlan, of Mobile, for the diocese of Erie, in the church attached to the college, on October 28, 1866. He remained for one year attached to the college as adjunct professor of Latin and Greek ; entered upon missionary work at Oil City, Pennsylvania, in October, 1867; and was placed OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 855 in charge of the congregation of Petroleum Center in June, 1868. March 4, 1874, he was transferred to the charge of St. Bridget's church, Meadville. During the twenty-five years of his pastorate in Meadville Father Dunn has shown great executive ability in improving and reconstructing the church property, during which time the membership has greatly increased ii> num- bers and the church work been greatly facilitated. James D. Miller, son of Abner, was born in East Hamilton, Madison county. New York, and married Eunice Wentworth, daughter of Benjamin.. About 1828 he came to Sparta, where he selected a section of uncultivated land. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died in 1894 and his wife died in 1884. They had six children: James B. ;; Albert C, Corry, Preston A., George W., and Nancy I., — all deceased; and' Sarah (Mrs. Daniel W. Akin). Henry Donor, an enterprising farmer of Athens township, Crawford county, deserves mention in this work. His father, Matthias Donor, who was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, was killed ia 1882. The birth of our sub- ject occurred March 23, 1841, in Erie county, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in L662 in Company I, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania; Volunteers, and at the battle of Fredericksburg was wounded in the head by a fragment of a shell. He was granted an honorable discharge from the army in the following year, and later became a member of John Fisher Post, No. 337, Grand Army of the Republic, at Riceville. In 1864 Mr. Donor came to Athens township, where he has since contin- ued to live. He married Samantha, daughter of John G. and Elvira S. (Wheeler) Stratton, and their three children are Jennie E., wife of Ernest Saunders; Fred C. end William H. George C. Campbell, of Espyville, was born October 27, 1835, at Espyville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. He was married February 17, 1859, to Mis& Mandana Hollister, daughter of S. C. Hollister, late of North Shenango, Mr. Campbell settled on a farm one and a half miles south of Espyville and en- gaged in general farming and stock-raising. He raised thoroughbred cattle and made a specialty of short-horns. His farm was known as the Spring Run farm ; it is now rented and the former JDroprietor is living at Espyville. There are six children in this family : Jessie Justine married Edgar Collins, of North Shenango; ;Elton Fremont lives in Espyville; Nellie is the wife of H. N. Line, a merchant of Kent, Ohio ; Fred H. lives on his father's farm ; Chloe D. mar- ried George L. Marvin and lives at Andover, Ohio ; Albert B. lives in Kent, Ohio. Mr. Campbell has held several offices, but entertains no political aspira- 8S6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. tions. His family and himself are members of the North Bank Methodist Episcopal church, which was founded by his father, and he has contributed largely toward its maintenance. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and attends the grand lodge. Mr. Campbell is a director of the Linesville Savings Bank and a member of the Andover Banking Cornpany. Mr. Campbell's father, Charles Campliell, was one of the most unique and interesting characters in the county. He was born May 4, 1 797, in Hunter- don county, New Jersey, and was of Scotch descent. He came to North She- nango in 1820 and his two sisters came several years afterward, namely : Eliza- beth, who married a Mr. Meisner, and Sarah, who became the wife of Jonathan Cook, — both of North Shenango. Charles Campbell was a blacksmith and followed his calling on the site in Espyville now owned by William Bennett. He had pne child. When he arrived in Espyville his worldly possessions con- sisted of a horse and wagon, a set of tools, and money amounting to fifty cents. His companion in immigration and business was William Zonner, upon whose farm they settled, building a shop and operating both shop and farm for some time. Mr. Campbell later secured the farm now owned by William and Homer Campbell, sons of Isaac, Charles' eldest son. With the aid of William Zonner he started, in 1842, the North Bank Methodist church, toward the support of which both men were liberal contributors as long as they lived. While a strict Methodist, and vastly enjoying discussion along that line, Mr. Campbell was yet tolerant of other denominations and materially aided them. He lived on his farm until he sold out to his son Isaac and went to liye at West Spring- field, Erie county, Pennsylvania, lived there ten years and later was with his son-in-law, N., W. Wolverton, at whose residence he died February 25, 1878, aged eighty-three years. Mr. Carnpbell was originally a Whig, but later became a Republican, and held several town offices. He was extensively interested in stock and stocky ■driving, and for years handled nearly all of the stock in that part of the county, driving it over the mountains. His rise in the stock trade had a unique origin. He used to take stock on his blacksmith accounts, and after accumulating a large number would drive them to Pottsville, Philadelphia, Trenton and other centers of trade. This became more profitable than the blacksmith industry and in consequence he sold out his shop and devoted him- self exclusively to the occupation of stock-driving. He was obliged to hire -several men on his farm to help him. He did a large business in the line of buying and selling farms, and at times would have several on his hands. His permanent farm consisted of three hundred acres. •Mr. Campbell's family consisted of Isaac, who died at North Bank October 5, 1882 ; Jemima, who married William French in 1848, lived in South Shenango and died in 1875, aged fifty-two years (Mr. French died in 1852) ; Melissa, wife of N. W. Wolverton, of North Shenango, neither of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ■ 857 whom is now living; Elizabeth, who married Lewis Freeman and died in 1867, aged thirty-five years; Charles lives in Conneaut township; Hiram King- sley, who died at Camp Annapolis, Maryland, in 1864. He enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Volunteers of Pennsylvania, and was captured at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. He was confined at Belle Isle pi-ison, and also at the hospital at Richmond, being a prisoner for one hundred and thirty-seven days. He was finally exchanged and died three days after reaching Annapolis, being literally starved to death. Mr. Campbell was never quarrelsome, but the nature of his transactions engendered many disputable points, which he settled out of court, believing that the best lawyers were the people who- knew enough tO' keep away from law and settle their own disputes. Louis J. Beuchat, of Randolph township, was born December 10, 1865, in Louisville. Stark county, Ohio, his parents being John and Clementiiie Beuchat. His father had emigrated from Switzerland, and his mother was born in New Jersey. The other children are Louise, wife of Ernest Medo; Edward, deceased; Jennie, Frank, Albert, Charles, Mary and Leon. The family moved into Randolph about thirty years ago, where most of its younger members were born. On July 24, 1888, Louis married Josephine, daughter of Marcel Popeny, of the same township, and they have had two children, who are deceaseds Mr. Beuchat's farm consists of fifty acres, and is situated a short distance south of Guy's Mills. /. 6". Hotchkiss, a leading wholesale merchant of Meadville, was born June 9, 1853, in Randolph township, Crawford county, and is the eldest son of Henry C. and Phoebe (McCall) Hotchkiss, who were also natives of the Key- stone state. His paternal grandfather, William Hotchkiss, died March 9, 1884, and his wife passed away in 1882. The maternal grandfather, Samuel McCall, came to this country in 1800. In 1874 the subject of this review became actively identified with the business interests of Meadville by joining Mr. Rittmayer in the drug trade. In the spring of 1876 he entered the retail general mefchandise and drug business in Valonia, in partnership with his brother, and conducted that enterprise until 1890, when they established a wholesale grocery business in Meadville. They are still conducting this and are accounted among the progressive and enterprising men in their line in the city. Curtis C. Cummings, proprietor of the Crawford Hotel at Meadville, was born February 27, 185 1, in Venango township, Crawford county, and he has been proprietor of this hotel since 1895. Mr. Cummings is a son of the 858 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. late Isaac W. Cummings, who died in 1896, at the age of eighty-five years. Louisa, his mother, who is Hving, was the daughter of Dean and Bede Swift, who moved from Connecticut to this county in 1815. Mr. Cummings is a grandson of the late Dr. Nathan Cummings, the first physician in Cambridge- boro, who mo^ed from Massachusetts to this county in 18 14, With the exception of two years he spent in Michigan, — 1873-74, — while engaged in the grocery business, and a short time in Oklahoma in 1893, Mr. Cummings has always been a resident of Ci'awford county. April 13, 1879, he married Mary, daughter of Wesley and Orrilla St. John, of Bloomfield township, this county, and they have two children, — Louisa Orrilla and Wesley Isaac. James Curtis McKinney, the son of James and Lydia Drury (Turner) McKinney, was born at Pittsfield, Warren county, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1844. His ancestral history is given in a preceding sketch of his brother, John L. McKinney, so that it will not be necessary to present the account here. Some other matters, common to the two brothers, are also related in that sketch, and they need not be fully repeated in the record of the younger brother. J. C. McKinney was educated at the local public schools and at Water- ford Academy, in Erie county. In the spring of 1861 he left the academy and joined an engineer corps of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and helped locate several railroad lines in this part of the country. One line ran from Garland, Pennsylvania, a station on the P. & E. R. R., through Enter- prise to Titusville. Another ran from Enterprise through Pleasantville, Plumer, Rouseville and Oil City to Franklin, Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1863 he resigned from the engineer corps, and opened a lumber yard at Oil City, and in the spring of 1864 he established another yard at Franklin, where he made his home. On April 16, 1868, he was married to Miss Agnes Eliza- beth Moore, the only daughter of Thomas Moore, of Franklin. The general history of the McKinney brothers in oil operations appears elsewhere in these pages, but certain early work by the younger brother may here be added. In the spring of 1864 he drilled his first oil well, in which he operated alone, at Foster, below Franklin, on the Allegheny river. Then in company with C. D. Angell he drilled a well on what was known as Scrub- grass Island, afterward Belle Island, named by Mr. Angell after his daughter. In 1868, in company with his brother John L. McKinney, he drilled several wells at Pleasantville. In 1869-70 they drilled several heavy oil wells at Frank- lin, which they afterward sold to Egbert, Mackey and Taft. In the fall of 1870 John L. went to Parker, and sunk the first oil well which used 5 f-inch cas- ing. This well was on the east side of the river, near the station of the A. V. R. R. In the same fall J. C. McKinney went also to Parker, and afterward the McKinney brothers carried on extensive operations in producing oil for OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 859 many years in that part of the oil country. Subsequently H. L. Taylor & Co. joined the brothers in a new firm, with the name of John L. McKinney & Co. This association continued until the fall of 1889, when the Standard Oil Company purchased all the oil properties belonging to John L. and J. C. Mc- Kinney. Since then the brothers have been associated with the Standard Oil Company, with merged interests in the production of oil. In 1877 Mr. McKinney moved to Titusville, where he has since resided. He is the general manager of the Midland Division of the South Pennsyl- vania Oil Company, one of the largest, as stated, oil producihg associations in the United States. He is closely associated with his brother in local enterprises. He is a large stockholder and a director in the Commercial Bank and in the Titusville Iron Company, and of the latter company he is also vice-president. He is also one of the directors of the Titusville Board of Trade. He is one of the ten citizens who subscribed each $10,000 to the Industrial Fund Associa- tion. His contributions in money to the support especially of St. James Memorial Church have been of the most liberal character. The mausoleum which he built at Woodlawn, at an expense of $20,000, is not only a permanent ornament to the cemetery, but an honor to the city and community, which will remain as a memorial of the public spirit of its author and owner long after it has received his mortal remains into its final custody. It is true that the~ mausoleum is the private property of its builder, but it is also the property of the public as a structure of beautiful art. Besides, its owner does not ex- clusively close its portals to all outside of his family. The body of the late beloved rector of St. James church was recently deposited tempoi-arily in the McKinney mausoleum; and, speaking reverently, it may be said that the re- mains of the great and good Dr. Purdon have consecrated that sepulchre. In politics, Mr. McKinney is a pronounced Jeffersonian Democrat. He has done more than any other citizen in Crawford county to displace Republi- can ascendancy and give control of the county to his party. At the municipal election in February, 1898, he was elected councilman-at-large of Titusville over the Republican candidate by a plurality of nearly six hundred votes. The result did not, of course, represent the relative strength of the two parties in the city. As a matter of fact, Mr. McKinney has come to be a power in politics. He is intense in his convictions and he supports his opinions and preferences with formidable energy, and to a degree that discourages opposition. This may be truly said: J. C. McKinney never appears before the public wearing a mask. He never apologizes for the stand he takes upon a public question. The same quality has made him a very successful business man. As a rule, he is rapid, rather than impulsive, in his conclusions. In 1897 the leading Demo- crats of Pennsylvania insisted that he should consent to be the candidate of their party for state treasurer, and nothing but his peremptory refusal to accept, prevented his nomination. Again, in 1898, he was pressed by his party to 86o OUR COUN lY AND ITS PEOPLE. take, the nomination from his district for Congress, but his refusal was un- conditional and absolute. Mr. McKinney has three children, whose names are Thomas J., Louis C. and Charlotte. Their respective ages at present are 29, 26 and 21. George N. Wilcox, sheriff, Meadville, is a native of Chautauqua county, New York, and was born February 14, 1853, a son of George and Sarah Spen- cer Wilcox, the former of whom died in December, 1886, aged seventy-seven years, and the latter still survives, at the age of eighty-four years. Mr. Wilcox was educated in the common schools, and was first elected to the office of sheriff, on the Democraltic ticket, in 1890, and again in November, 1896, which office he now holds. He has always been a progressive politician and a leading citizen of the county where he has resided since his boyhood. Two brothers and three sisters of this Wilcox family survive, namely: Mary, wife of Arthur Jervis, of Richmond township; J. M., a resident of Rockdale township; Celestia, wife of G. F. McCray, of Richmond township; Sarah E., wife of W. I. Blystone, of Jamestown, New York; and Spencer N., of Rochester township. A brother, William H., was killed in 1892, by the collapse of a barn. His age was forty-two years. In 1875 Mr. Wilcox mar- ried Delia, daughter of John and Sarah Hathaway Hotchkiss. To this union have been born five children : Bertha E., wife of Dr. J. Herbert Hood, of Oil City, Pennsylvania; Gay lord, Park F., Katherine and Harold. Mr. Wilcox is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of Meadville Lodge, No. 408, A. F. & A. M., and Crawford Lodge, No. 734, L O. O. F. William A. Davenport was born on the site of his present home in Dick- sonburg, Summerhill township, September 24, 1855. His grandfather, Sol- omon Davenport, and his grandmother, Nancy Davenport, took up, in the beginning of the century, a claim of two hundred acres in the same neigh- borhood. William A. Davenport is the son of John Ashfield and Mary (McDowell) Davenport. John Davenport was a great man in the community in which he lived and exercised a conspicuous influence over public affairs. He was born in Tompkins county. New York, December 8, 1827, and lived until May 3, 1895. He came to Pennsylvania in 1834, when but six years of age. At the time of his death he owned one hundred and fifty acres of highly improved land and was one of the best farmers in the county. He was an old-time Whig, but later became a Republican and held many local offices. He was a member of the Royal Templars and the Grange, and also of the Fail Asso- ciation. His wife died May 21, 1887, at the age of fifty-eight. There were four children in this family. Alice D. married Robert G. Henry and died when a young woman, her husband being also deceased; Etta married George OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 86 1 Parkinson and died March 8, 1889; Lina is the wife of J. H, Cole and owns the old homestead ; James E. died March 26, 1898, at the age of twenty-eight : he was a railroad employe at Conneaut, Ohio. William A. Davenport had an early farm training, but spent eight years of his youth in Illinois ; he later lived with his father on the home farm until the latter's death. February 28, 1875, he married Miss Alice D. Dearborn, a daughter of William H. and Ruth Morrison Dearborn of Summerhill town- ship. One child was born to this union, — Harry L. He married Jessie Hag- gerty, and with their one child, Fenton, they reside near the old homestead; Mr. and Mrs. William A. Davenport have an adopted daughter, Daisy B., who still resides at home. Mr. Davenport is a Republican in politics, and has been town treasurer for five years, and is inspector of elections. He is a member of the Grange and Fair Association, and has been a delegate to conventions. James J. Jolly. — There are few more interesting careers in Summerhill than that of James J. Jolly, born in Enniskillen, Fermanagh county, Ireland, who justly claims distinguished parentage. His father, James Jolly, was a soldier in Her Majesty's service for twenty-six years, and during fifteen years was a lieutenant of the highest rank obtained by merit. In common with all military servants of the crown who lived during the latter part of the eighteenth and the beginning of this century, his opportunities for adventure and dis- tinction were limited only by his inability. tO' be in more than one place at the sanie time. His field of activity extended tO' the hot sands of Africa when, in 1 80 1, he fought at Alexandria, Egypt, and his son has a watch, captured from an enemy, that is a memento of this memorable occasion. Mr. Jolly also took part in one of the twelve important battles of the world, witnessing under Wellington the fall of the great Napoleon. It is not recorded that he was seriously wounded in either heroic encounter, for he lived until 1877, attain- ing the age, remarkable for a soldier so long in active service, of ninety-three years. In 1852 James J. Jolly, in response to- the call of a westward spirit, sailed for America, going direct to Summerhill, Pennsylvania. The Erie Extension canal was then a source of vast revenue to the stockholders, and with this canal James J. Jolly was identified for eighteen years as a tender of locks, until, in 1872, the famous old waterway was abandoned for more progressive means of transportation. So highly were Mr. Jolly's worth and services ap- preciated that he has since been the company's agent for selling their lands, am.ounting to several hundreds of acres. . Mr. Jolly was married July 5, 1847, with Miss Eliza Jane McDowell, a daughter of Alexander and Julia Ann Fetherman McDowell. Alexander McDowell came to this county when nine years of age and served in the war 862 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. of 1812. Since his marriage James Jolly has made the McDowell farm his permanent home, and while working on the canal was greatly interested in agriculture and improved and extended his domain. Mr. Jolly has filled most offices within the gift of the township, including that of supervisor for six years, and that of county committeeman for eleven years. He is a member of Summerhill Grange and the A. O. U. W. Mr. Jolly is a Republican and takes a vital interest in all of his party's campaigns and issues. From 1876 to 1879 he was a county sealer of weights and meas- ures, and was one of the organizers of the Fair Association. Mr. Jolly has four children : Elsie Ann, who before her death, in 1886, was the wife of John Ellis, of Meadville, left one son, Clarence, now living with his grandparents. Lizzie Jane married G. W. Belknap and is how living in Erie, Pennsylvania ; they have five children. Irvin, farmer, married Miss Fannie Ellis of Meadville, a granddaughter of Colonel Horace Ellis, of Mead township ; there are three boys. Tina Cordelia is the wife of Merton J. Webb and has no children. Mr. Jolly came to America without money or influence. Of all the changes that he has witnessed, none are more startling or praiseworthy than that wrought in his own condition. From the locks of a canal to a position of trust and influence in the community is not cleared at a single bound. He has risen on the confidence inspired by his own industry and integrity, and while so doing has accumulated lands and property and is one of the town's most en- terprising citizens. Z. R. Poivell, farmer, was born in Fairfield township, March 3, 1828, a son of Jesse and Susan (McFadden) Powell, natives of Pennsylvania. He is ihe seventh child of a family of twelve children: Silas, deceased; Alexander; Sally Ann, deceased ; Rebecca, who married John Long ; Ellis ; David ; Zach- ariah R. ; Hiram K. ; Louise, deceased ; William ; Lucy Ann, who became the wife of David Culver, and Melissa, now Mrs. Dennis Grennell. Jesse Powell built a log house and began pioneer life on the very farm now owned by his two sons, Zachariah and William, and during his hfetime often related his adventure in killing twenty-seven deer in the locality during a single winter. He was a veteran of the war of 1812. February 8, 1849, Mr. Powell married Miss Lydia Beard, and to them have been born seven children, viz. : Margaret Jane, born November 12, 1850, and died June 23, 1871 ; Silas Warner, born October 28, 1852 ; George Weston, October 26, 1854; John H., born October 10, 1856, died February 13, 1858; Emily Ann, born July 29, 1859, died June 30, 1871 ; Hannah Elizabeth, born February 23, 1862, died July 2, 1871 ; and Frank Oliver, who was born May 20, 1869, died June 30, 1871. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 863 Amos C. Quigley, proprietor of the Midway Hotel at Conneaut lake, was born March 16, 1839. His grandfather, John Quigley, located on a farm of four hundred acres at Watson's Run in Vernon township, in the early part of the present century, and he died in 1862, aged, ninety-three years. Henry, the second child of John Quigley and father of Amos C, was born in 1810, at Watson's Run. He was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Frederick Brown, of Vernon township, and they had nine children, of whom Amos C. was the fourth in order of age. Henry Quigley died in 1856, and his wife in 1863. Amos C. was married October 2, 1868, to Elizabeth, daughter of John and Eliza Van Liew, of Summit township, and they have two children, — Harry L. and Alfred V. Mr. Quigley erected the Midway Hotel in 1895, and enjoys a prosperous summer business. He has a farm of one hundred acres surrounding the hotel, with a frontage of seventy rods on the lake. The boat was built and launched by H. L. Quigley, son of Amos C. Quigley. It is named the Iroquois, and is the finest steam excursion and pleasure craft on Conneaut lake. H. L. Quigley is also a stockholder in the Conneaut Lake Milling Company. L. Frank Norton, of Richmond township, was born in Fredonia, New York, in 1842. With his father. Colonel James Norton, he removed to Erie Pennsylvania, and in 1850 to Conneautville. In 1859, with his father and brother-in-law, he went to Atchison, Kansas, and Denver, Colorado, driving wagons over the plains, but returned to Conneautville in i860. The year 1 86 1 he married, at Edinboro, Martha E., daughter of George W. Townley, Sr., and this union has been favored with two daughters, — May E., wife of Elmer L. Smith, of Detroit, and Katie E., wife of Edward L. Williams, of East Mead, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. During the war Mr. Norton held the sutlership of the Fourth Corps Re- serve Artillery, under General Keyes. Although now engaged in farming he is by profession a musician, and has given particular attention to orchestral music. Benjamin Rosahack, of Sparta township, is a son of Peter Rosaback, of Holland descent, and came from Smithville, Qienango county. New York, to the town of Sparta, this county, with his wife and family in 1824. He took up a section of land containing seventy-five acres, which after building a log house and clearing up his farm he enlarged to one hundred and twenty-five acres. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and drew a pension. He was an upright farmer and good citizen, was very fond of hunting and fishing, and in the early days used to keep his family in fresh meat and fish, the products of his skill. He had six children. The name was originally Rosibaugh. 864 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Henry Pease, sttperintehdent of schools at Titusville, was born in West Leyden, Lewis county, New York, May 30, 1856, a descendant of Puritan ancestry. His grandfather,. Major Alpheus Pease, served in the Revolutionary war and- was a prisoner in the Jersey prison ship. He built the first gristmill and sawmill on the upper Mohawk in 1804. Mr. Pease received his early education in the common schools of his native town, prepared for college in the State Normal School at Brockport, New York, and graduated at the University of Rochester with the degree of A. B. in 1887. The degree of A. M. was given by the same university in 1890. He first began his teaching career in the district schools of Lewis and Oneida counties, New York. After his graduation at Rochester University he was appointed principal of the public school at Holfy, New York, and this position he held until 1889, when he was elected principal of the Tonawanda, . New York, high school' which position he held in 1 889-1 891, when he was elected superintendent of Medina, New York, public schools. In 1897 he was elected superintendent of the public schools of Titusville, which iK>sition he now holds. As an educational worker Mr. Pease is always found in the front rank in anything that pertains to the building up and extension of general school work, and under his management every detail has the closest attention with only one motive in view, and that along the line of improvement with a view to higher educational work. Sylvester H. Ray, contractor and builder, at Meadville, was born in this city, April 28, 1832. His ancestors were from New England. His parents, Cooper and Hannah (Hemingway) Ray, came to Crawford county, from New Haven, Connecticut, coming in company with two other families in covered wagons and taking forty days to make the journey, and settled in Meadville in 1816. The former died in 1861, at 'the age of seventy-two years, and the latter in 1857, at the age of sixty-six years. They reared ten children, four of whom survive, viz. : A. R. ; Adeline, widow of Rev. E. B. Lane ; Jerome, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio ; and Sylvester H., who was the ninth child. December 29, 1856, Mr. Ray married Miss Margaret A. Hart, and this union has been blest with three sons: William H., a representative of the Woodward & Tiernan Printing Company, of St. Louis, Missouri; Frank E., in the engineer's office of the Erie Railway, at Meadville; and George S., who graduated in the medical department of University of Pennsylvania in 1895, and located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Mr. Ray began his trade in Jan- uary, 1 85 1, with Joseph Butler, and in 1856 began on his own account. Many of the most prominent buildings of Meadville were built either under his per- sonal supervision or from plans furnished by him. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 865 Hiram C. Smith, of Randolph township, was born on the Smith home- stead, December 31, 1837. His grandfather, Lemuel Smith, who came from Massachusetts in 18 19, had three sons, — Reuben, John and Lemuel. John married Lucy Jones, and their children were Affie F., wife of Daniel Ban- nister, David J., Warren M., Hiram C, Mary M., wife of Leonard Kyle, Catharine L., wife of Smith Byham, Lucy'ett, wife of Sylvester Byham, John L. and Leonard A. David and Warren were soldiers in the Civil war, the for- mer serving three years and the latter succumbing to the privations of Ander- sonville prison. Li 1862 Hiram C. married Sarah J., daughter of James and Jane Wykoff . Their children are J. Mortimer ; Hiram Elbert, the present county treasurer; Rev. Wilbur C, of Oregon; Anna A.; Raymond E., a soldier of the Spanish-American war; and Larue Free. Mr. Smith has a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Samuel Post, of Athens township, was born in New York state and mar- ried Mary Sprague, who was born in Vermont. He came to Crawford county, settling in the town of Spartansburg in 1830, with his family of nine children, and afterward settled in Athens township, where, he lived until his death- There are four of the sons living, namely: Leonard, in New York; Joshua lives in Athens township; Samuel, in Centerville; and Harvey, in Athens township. The last mentioned married Chloe, daughter of Henry Hatch, an early settler in Athens township. Lewis S perry, of Athens township, was born in the town of Woodbridge, Connecticut, and came to Crawford county, about 1820, with a wagon and a yoke of oxen, being six weeks on the road. When he arrived he took up a piece of uncultivated land, erected a log house and cleared up his farm. He married Mary Wooding and had ten children. His son Garry married Lucy Boyles, daughter of Jesse Boyles. Li 1865 he moved to Little Cooley, where he now lives. Stephen Jude, son of Stephen Jude and Anne Holiday Jude, was born in Charteris, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, in 1832. He ran a stationary engine from his thirteenth year until he came to America, in i860, and settled in Sparta township, this county. He was the first man in the United States to utilize steam for running a threshing machine, and he has owned and oper- ated a steam thresher ever since coming to this country. He was twice married. Before coming to America he married Ruth Smith, by whom he had two children, — one a son, Allison W., who^ is married and lives in Oil City and is a railroad engineer; and a daughter, who died in infancy. Mr. Jude's second wife was Emma Fish, daughter of Oatman Ifish, ss 866 QUR COUNTY ■ AND ITS PEOPLE. one of the pioneers of Crawford county, who came here from "York" state and settled in Sparta township on what is still called Fish Flats. Lorenzo Washburn, a farmer, of Sparta township, is a son of Abijah, and was born in Rochester, Vermont. He married Gratis Aikins, who was born in Barnard, Vermont, May ii, 1825. In 1848 he moved to Ellirigton, New York, and in 1853 to Sparta township, where he was a farmer. He had five children, two of whom are living, — Charles B. Washburn, a farmer, and •Clark, who enlisted in the navy in 1864 and was stationed on the war vessel Fair Play, and also was with the Mississippi squadron. He was discharged in June, 1865, when he returned home. Abram Wheeler, a son of L. D. Wheeler and a resident of Meadville, was born June 16, 1849, ^^ Athens, Pennsylvania, lived on a farm until he was twenty-one years of age. He learned the blacksmith trade and conducted a shop in Lincolnville, then learned to be a stone-mason, and since 1885 has been contracting bridge work. In 1896 he built the bridge at Cambridge Springs, using thirteen hundred perch of stone and employing from ten to twenty men. He married Harriet King, and they have had four children, two of whom are living. His wife died March 21, 1883. George A. W. Tarr, son of Jacob and Barbara Tarr, was born August 17, 1827, in Cherrytree, Venango county, Pennsylvania, and the second child of a family of eleven children, namely: Mary, George A. W., Thomas J., Samuel P., Elizabeth, Daniel, Isaac, Fannie, Lydia, Susan and Jacob J., Jr. Mr. Tarr's grandparents were natives of Germany, who emigrated to America in 1792, where they settled in Oakland township, Venango county, Pennsylvania. About 1848 Mr. Tarr bought a small farm situate about two and one-half miles west of the Rynd farm, which he continued to work for a number of years. In 1858 he bought a few acres of timber land adjoining the celebrated Rynd farm and the McClintock farm, of "Coal-Oil Johnnie" fame, and for the purpose of removing the timber, in 1861, he established his residence thereon, where he remained until 1865, during which period he was occupied a consid- erable time at the business of teaming. He was one of the pioneer oil-carriers along the historic Oil creek between Titusville and Oil City. In 1865, when the oil excitement ran high and just prior to the great panic which followed, Mr. Tarr sold this strip of land for oil purposes, and a few years thereafter iiold the first mentioned farm for the same purposes and from each of said sales be realized handsomely. After this, on the isth day of April, 1870, he moved bis family to Titusville. In 1 85 1 he married Nancy, daughter of Peter and Catharine (Knoel) Bennehoof . Nine children were born to this union, namely : Matilda, wife of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 867 John Whelan, Olean, New York; Eli C, an accountant; Catharine, wife of George B. Carr ; Annetta, wife of William Fibbs ; Mary E. ; Zula, deceased ; an infant son, deceased ; Peter B., an attorney; and Goldie. Fredei-ick Benne- hoof, grandfather of Mrs. Tarr, was a native of Germany. He married Eliza- beth Wert and emigrated to America at an early day and located first in Union county, Pennsylvania. About 1830 he removed to Venango county and pur- chased what is known as the Mason farm, on Oil creek. Peter, his son, there- after came into possession of this farm, which produced oil in fair quantities. His son, John Bennehaof, whose name has been heralded over this country, was the victim of a cruel three hundred thousand dollar robbery, which took place at his farm on Oil creek, near Petroleum Center, in 1866. This farm became the most valuable piece of oil property on record, from which he real- ized immensely. After losing a fortune in the failure of a bank at Franklin, Pennsylvania, he decided to purchase a safe and be his own banker. A month later the safe was robbed of three hundred thousand dollars, not a cent ever being recovered, although five thousand dollars was spent in the attempt. With all these losses he died leaving four hundred thousand dollars in cash to his family ! Mrs. Tarr was born in Cherrytree, Venango county, Pennsylvania, July 17, 1834, being the oldest of a family of seven children, namely: Nancy; George W. ; Elizabeth, wife of Elias Long ; Daniel ; Isaac, a clergyman ; Mary Jane, deceased ; and Samuel, a physician. Jennie E. Young, M. D., Meadville, was born in Highland, Ulster county. New York, in 1862, a daughter of Dr. C. H. and Sarah M. (Osborn) Yelving- ton, natives of Dutchess county. New York. She is the second child of a family of four children: Dr. A. P. Yelvington, of Binghamton, New York; Jennie E., our subject; Lottie B., wife of Cornelius Blackman, of Forest City, Pennsylvania ; and Stephen O. Yelvington, a student in Allegheny College. Dr. Young was educated at the common schools in Susquehanna, Penn- sylvania, and served several years in the Cumberland Hospital at Brooklyn, New York, as a trained nurse. She afterward spent some time in the Woman's Infirmary in New York city, and received a portion of her medical education in the college connected therewith. In 1891 she graduated at the Woman's Medical College, at Atlanta, Georgia, and during the same year began the practice of medicine in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, and a year later removed to Forest City, Pennsylvania, where she followed her chosen profession until the fall of 189s, when she removed to Meadville, and here she continues to enjoy a large practice. She was married April 25, 1894, to C. J. Young, of Forest City, Penn- sylvania. 868 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Samuel W. Roberts, of Spring township, was born in Rochester, Monroe county, New York, on December lo, 1828. His father, Chester Ives Roberts, died in Adrain, Michigan, in 1863. He mart-ied Rachel Staats, who died in Toledo, Ohio, about 1834. (At that time there was but one frame house in Toledo, the rest being log structures. ) Originally a shoemaker, in late years our subject has been a farmer. In the war of the Rebellion Mr. Roberts served ' his country well. He was captain of Company B, Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, and was in service until discharged, on August 13, 1863. Mr. Roberts had married, in 1853, Miss Permelia Smith, of Fredonia, Chautauqua county. New York, and in November, 1854, had permanently made his home in this state, as a resident of Rundell. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have two chil- dren, — Mabel M. and Clarence J. Mr. Roberts was postmaster at Rundell for several years and has held the office of justice of the peace and also been a conveyancer for twenty-two years. Both himself and son are strong adherents of the Republican party. Almon Smith, father of Mrs. Permelia Roberts, was born in Schenectady county, New York, on December 9, 1803. He first came to this county in 18 18, but soon returned to Penfield, New York, where was his home for many years. He married, on February 12, 1827, Mrs. Amy Beatty, whose maiden name was Vosburg. They were parents of four children, — Nelson B., Eli P., Per- melia and Theron. Mr. Smith died January 17, 1878, Mrs. Smith on October 14, 1873. Mabel M. Roberts married Charles Amidon, of the township of Hayfield. Their children are Millicent G., Paul R., Dorris, Florence, and an infant boy. Clarence J. Roberts was born at Rundell, in Spring township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 1865. Educated at the local schools, he en- gaged in business on his own account at the age of fifteen, and right well has he succeeded. On December 27, 1884, he married Florence A. Spaulding, of Pennside, Erie county, Pennsylvania, and they have a daughter, Georgia P. He owns a fine farm one mile south of Springboro, and here, when not traveling as a dealer in nursery stock, Mr. Roberts enjoys himself in much loved farm labor and in the care of his sleek Jersey cows. Mrs. Roberts' father, George W. Spaulding, was born in 1842, in Erie county. His occupation has ever been that of a farmer. Marrying Josephine Palmer, formerly of Ohio, they have three children, — Florence A., Garner P. and Nellie J., — and both are now living. Ancestry of Roberts family, Welsh, Scotch, German and Dutch. Elisha Madison Gilbert was born in Buffalo, New York, on April 5, 1826." When a child he went to live with an uncle in Toronto, Canada, on account of the death of his mother. Here he received a limited education and also learned the cabinet-maker's trade, at which he worked at various places in Canada. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 869 Coming to the United States to live in 1848, three years later he married, on November 6, 1851, Laura E. Carr, of Chautauqua county, New York. They made their home in Conneautville in 1856. Their only daughter, Mary E., resides with them. Harvey Gilbert, father of Elisha M., born in Massachu- setts in 1783, came with his parents to New York state when a boy, was edu- cated there and learned the carpenter's trade and was a builder. By his wife, ncc Sarah Bigelow, he had seven children,— Hiram B., James A., Lovia and Sophia (twins), AngeHne, Elisha M. and Alonzo W.,— all being dead except Lovia, Sophia and Elisha. Mrs. Gilbert died June 14, 1829, and Mr. Gilbert December 29, 1847. Amos Carr, the father of Mrs. Gilbert, was born in Massachusetts July 13, 1790. He married Laura Mallory, of the same state, and had fourteen children, of whom eleven attained maturity, namely: John M., Mary W., Hannah R., Anna M., George W., Julia A., Laura E., Whipple, Amos, Willard P. and Lansford B. Two of his sons were Union soldiers in the Civil war, and General King, of the war of 1812, was a member of the Carr family. Mr. Carr brought his family from Massachusetts to New York in 1835. Mr. Carr died May 15, 1866, and Mrs. Carr on the 13th of March, 1855. Mr. Gilbert is a loyal citizen and a strong Republican. The ancestry of the family is English. Mrs. M. Ethel Kirk, M. £>.— Since 1894 Dr. M. E. Kirk has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Vrooman, Rome township, Crawford county. A daughter of G. H. Wentworth, she was born May 24, 1863, and finished her English education in the high school at Guy's Mills, this county. In 1890 she commenced the study of medicine under the tutelage of Dr. W. S. Flower, of Cochranton, Pennsylvania, and later she attended the Northwestern Ohio Medical College at ToledO' for one year, the Cincinnati Medical College for a similar period, and at the close of three courses of lectures at the Lebanon Medical College the degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred upon her in 1892. John Fowler Wheeler, of Meadville, is a native of New England, having been born in Grafton, Massachusetts, June 24, 1834. His parents, Riley and Amelia (Fowler) Wheeler, were both natives of the Green Mountain state. During the gold excitement on the Pacific coast Riley Wheeler started for Cali- fornia, and is supposed to have lost his life while he was crossing the plains. While the civil war was in progress our subject entered the employ of the government as an engineer on a southern railroad, his headquarters being in Nashville, Tennessee, for the most part. Subsequently he returned to the north and, locating in Meadville, entered the service of the Atlantic & Great Western, with which company and its successor he has continued, a faithful and trusted engineer. 870 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Mr. Wheeler married Miss Fannie Daniels, February 28, 1854, and to this union four children have been born, namely: Mabelle, wife of Frank Woods, of Kansas City, Missouri ; George Alfred, also of Kansas City ; Emily Maria, and Fannie Daniels, — the twO' younger sisters being residents of Mead- ville. William T. Griifiths, of Meadville, son of William J. Griffiths, was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1855, learned the baker's trade and, in 1882, came to Meadville, where he kept a bakery for two years, when he purchased the old steam bakery, which was burned the same year. In 1881 he married Laura McMichael, daughter of Andrew McMichael, and they have three children. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the family are members of the Presbyterian church. His father, William J. Griffiths, was born in London, and his grandfather, Thomas Griffiths, was born in Wales, and the latter came to Pittsburg about 1825. The former went to Zanesville, Ohio, in 1852, where he married Lucinda Josselyn and had eight children, four of whom are living. William J. Griffiths still resides at Zanesville, Ohio. Reuben E. Taft, of Titusville, was born at Kinsman, Ohio, April 3, 1844, the youngest of the seven children of Benjamin E. and Deborah Taft. His father, a native of Taftstown, Vermont, was a shoemaker and farmer. He took part in the war of 18 12, in the American army, and was engaged at the battles of Plattsburg and Aquania creek. About 1828 he moved tO' Ohio, set- 'tling on the site of Cleveland, but lost his land there by a defect in the title. He then came over to the Pennsylvania line, adjoining Mercer county, where he purchased a farm, but he eventually lost that also, by going as security for a friend charged with arson. He next moved tO' Vernon, near Kinsman, re- turning to his trade, and he continued to live there until 1854, when he moved to Greenwood township, Crawford county, this state, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land. After remaining there a year he returned to Vernon, where he lived three years, and next he was for three years again a resident of Kinsman. In 1864 he moved to Conneaut, Ashtabula county, Ohio, and he died in December, 1865. Reuben E. Taft, our subject, spent his early years at Kinsman and Ver- non, employed in the shoe-shop during the colder portion of the year and on the farm during the summer. On May i, 1861, he enlisted in the Vernon Union Blues, an independ- ent company, and was in service there about four months, when he re-enlisted, as a private in Company K, Forty-first Ohio Volunteers, in September, 1861. While in the hospital he was promoted as second sergeant. June 24, 1862, he was discharged for disability from wounds received. He was sick and on OUR COUNTY AN.D ITS PEOPLE. 871 crutches for over two years, and in the spring of 1865 he re-enHsted, but upon examination he was rejected for disabihty. He came,to his brother's at Centerville in 1866, where he learned the cooper's trade, but worked only a little. He obtained a position as foreman in a manufactorjf and assisted in building a refinery. After his father's death he returned to Centerville, and soon afterward took a journey to the west, for the benefit of his health. In the spring of 1869 he came to Titusville, where he has since made his home. He engaged in refining and shipping oil and also worked as a cooper. For four years he was on the Titusville police force, and for three terms of one year each was constable. In 1885 he was elected justice of the peace, since which time he has been twice re-elected. In 1888 he was' appointed oil inspector, and both these offices he still holds. In 1873 he was married to Cora S., the daughter of Jacob Clark. Eight children came to bless their union, six of whom are now living. Mr. Taft is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of Oil Creek Lodge, No. 303, F. & A. M., Aaron Chapter, No. 207, R. A. M., Occident Council, No. 41, R. & S. M., and Rose Croix Commandery, No. 38. K. T. George Owen Moody, M. D., deceased, in his life a resident of Titusville, -was born in Lebanon, York county, Maine, July 17, 1833, and graduated at Bowdoin College in 1859. He had intended to follow the profession of teach- ing, for a time at least, but on account of unexpected- circumstances he was induced, after leaving Bowdoin, to study medicine. He therefore entered Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, and after a course of study in the medical department he was graduated, in the fall of 1862. On the advice of Dr. Crosby, a friend of the late Dr. F. B. Brewer, then a resident of Titusville, Dr. Moody came directly from Dartmouth, arriving here on the last day of 1862, and at once entered upon the active practice of medicine. He continued in his professional wprk in Titusville until May, 1864, when he was sent for to assist at the Columbian Hospital at Washington, D. C, at the head of which was Dr. Thomas K. Crosby. He continued at that hospital until the middle of the following December, when he returned to Titusville, and remained in practice here till the summer of 1871, when occurred the death of his wife. In July following he went tO' Europe for the purpose of obtaining advanced instruction in special branches of medical practice. His first sojourn was at Dresden, Prussia, where he lived with a German family of culture for the purpose of learning the German language. Next he attended advanced med- ical schools at Vienna, where he made a special study of the eye and ear. On his returning trip to America he visited London and other hospitals, to witness the modes of treatment administered by experts of high professional standing in the various branches of medical practice. Whether he found in the hospital practice of Europe skill superior to that of the best hospitals in this country 872 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. it is not certain; but a study of methods somewhat different, perhaps, from those of America was doubtless profitable. He arrived at his home in America in the autumn of 1872, resuming practice in his profession, which he continued until his death, which occurred February 6, 1887. By his first marriage he was united with Miss Charlotte, daughter of Rev. Reuben Tinker, of Westfield, New York, who bore him one son, who also died in 1871. In 1876 the Doctor married Miss Emma, daughter of Nelson Kingsland, of Keeseville, New York. By this marriage there were three sons, namely : Nelson Kingsland, George Owen and Robert M. Dr. Moody was a man of high moral principle, conscientious and faithful in all the relations of life. He had a large and active brain, and he was espe- cially fond of intellectual pursuits ; his professional attainments were excellent. Without ever giving countenance to charlatanry, he was not hide-bound in his medical creed. He sought to gather and distribute among others in his pro- fession information of value obtained from any source. If he had great diffi- culty in understanding a case presented to him for treatment he was not ashamed to say so. The example of his life was of the highest value to his community. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. ' Jules A. C. Dubar, of Titusville, is a native of New York city, born June* 23, 1864, the son of Peter Alphonse Dubar, of Paris, France, and Lescadia Dubar, of Bordeaux, same country. On a trip westward he came to Erie, Penn- sylvania, where he made the acquaintance of several prominent citizens, some of whom recommended him to H. C. Bloss, of the Titusville Herald. In his boy- hood he had been very active in study, learning with unusual rapidity. He attended school one year in New York, but largely educated himself. He studied and practiced for a time with a brother in that city. In 1885 he became connected with the Titusville Herald, and with his versatility and active mind he easily performed the duties of reporter, local editor and assistant in genera! editorial work. Subsequently he wrote for the American Citizen and the World. (His professional record will be found elsewhere in this work, among those of the Titusville members of the bar. ) He was elected city controller in February, 1893, and re-elected in 1896, and he performed his official duties in a thoroughly efficient manner. He is a linguist, conversing fluently in German, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, besides his native tongue. May 5, 1 88 1, at Erie, this state, he was married to Miss Elizabeth B. Longnecker, who has borne him four children, three of whom are living. Claes J. Anderson, grocer, Titusville, was born April 16, i860, in Bringe- tofta, Sweden, and emigrated to this country in October, 1884, first locating in Corry, Pennsylvania, and also resided for a time in Spring Creek and Buf- falo, and again returned to Corry, where he was employed in the Ajax Machine OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 873 Shops foi- three years. In 1892 he came to Titusville and opened a grocery business, which is still conducted by him. In January, 1889, he married Hulda Wallin, and they have three children, — Hulda Vejmina Maria, Esther Laura Elizabeth and Arvid Harold Emanuel. Mr. Anderson spent his boyhood days in Olmstads, Prestgord, and is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church. William Brown was born in Vernon township, at his present home, about three miles from Conneaut lake, on March 4, 1820, the fifth child of a family of twelve children of Benjamin and Fannie (Brindle) Brown, who came to Crawford from Berks county, this state, about 1803. In 1848 Wiilliam was married to Lydia, the daughter of John Cble, of Woodcock township, and they have two children living. Mrs. Brown died December 9, 1886. George W., who lives on the home farm with his father, was married in 1876 to Hettie, daughter of Dudley Raydure, and they have three children : Alda, the wife of William First, of Philadelphia ; and Irvin and Elsie, who are still at home. William Best, farmer, East Fairfield township, was born in East Fairfield township in 1850, and has since resided in his native township. During his boyhood and until 1878 he resided near the center of the township on what is known as the Turnpike, and since that time he has resided on the present farm near French creek. He is a son of Samuel and Susan (Woodring) Best, natives of Pennsylvania. They reared the following children, namely : Han- nah,' wife of James Masters ; Mary, wife of James Minum ; Elizabeth, de- ceased, wife of Eugene Wells; Susan, wife of John Masters; William, our subject; Amelia, Jonas and John Best. December 24, 1874, he married Etta, daughter of Aaron and Olive (Coburn) Weller, and this union has been blest with three children : Olive, Clare A. and Ira L. Mr. Best is a citizen of worth and highly esteemed in the community in which he resides. Lee Bannister, of Titusville, was born in Brockport, New York, February 15, 1839, and passed the early period of his life in Rochester, New York, with his grandparents. . His parents died prior to his third year. He attended the public schools at Lima, that state, and at the age of eighteen went to Buffalo and was employed in the freight department of the New York Central Rail- road. After a period of about three years he went to Michigan and in the fall of i860 to Washington, D. C, where he was in government employ until August, 1865, when he came to the oil region here and had charge of the inter- ests of the Mingo Oil Company for two years, and then he entered the employ 874 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. of the firm of Emory & Caldwell,, as superintendent. He was next employed by the Standard Oil Company, and had charge of the natural-gas office of Titusville for a period of six years. At the expiration of this time he engaged with the United States Pipe Line Company for two years, during which period he had charge of the construction of the line between Titusville and Bradford. Since 1894 Mr. Bannister has been engaged in the cigar business. He is an active Democrat of untiring energy, whose business qualifications make him one of the stanch and reliable citizens of Titusville. June 26, ,1860, he was united in marriage with Miss Altha C, daughter of John Force, of Rochester, New York. Alonzo Gray. — The surname of the subject of this article,, when traced to its origin, is found to have been taken from the name of a place in Burgundy, France. Gradually the spelling was changed from its original form, Cray to-' de Gray, DeGray and finally Gray. As the latter it can be traced back to the ninth century, and it is said that the Grays accompanied William the Con- queror to England in 1066, as they are frequently mentioned in the annals of that time. The first of the name in America came across the ocean in 1620^ and the first record of the family in New England refers to a John Gray, who was here i.n 1680. He married Ruth Hubbard in 1704, and from the worthy couple is descended the subject of this memoir. Joseph Gray, son of John and Ruth Gray, was a native of Windham, Connecticut, and his death took place in Chenango county. New York. Eldei* Jeduthan Gray settled in Concord, Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1823. He married Anna Warren, and their son Silas wedded Polly Hare, and lived in Concord. W-illiam, one of the children of Silas and Polly Gray, was twice- married, his first wife being Dolly Rose, while his second wife was Louisa Akin- ' prior to their union. Alonzo Gray, whose name heads this sketch, is a son of William and' Dolly (Rose) Gray, born in Concord, Erie county, Pennsylvania, January 25,. 1838. In 1864 he married Miss Charlotte Drown, a daughter of John S. Drown, and they have since resided on the old homestead, in Rome township,. Crawford county, belonging to Mrs. Gray's father. They have two children^ Alton L. and Dolly R. John S. Drown. — The first of this name came from England in 1 700. The first of the family born in America was Cyril Drown, a native of Massa- chusetts. He married a Miss Wheeler. Cyril, the eldest son, married Miss Susan Luther, a descendant of Welsh ancestry, and a native of Massachusetts. They moved to Plainfield, New Hampshire, in 1792 and to Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1818. John S. Drown, whose name heads this sketch, was the son of Cyril and OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 875 Susan (Luther) Drown, and was born in Plainfield, New Hampshire, January 8, 1799; in 1829 married Miss Charlotte Fisk, and they, in 1836, moved from Erie to Crawford county and settled on a farm where they resided until death. Charlotte F. Drown died January 8, 1865, and John S. Drown died June 14, 1889. They had three children : Emily E., Ceylon C. and Charlotte A. Drown. Orrin H. Hollister, of Meadville, was born in Warrensville, Ohio, on Jan- uary 30, 1837. In 1840 his parents removed to Crawford county and settled in North Shenango township. He acquired his education in the common and select schools of the county and until his twenty-fifth year was chiefly employed upon his father's farm and in teaching. On June 5, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Allegheny College Volunteers, Company I, Tenth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, and promoted corporal in February, 1862. He saw considerable active service and was sO' seriously wounded in the left arm at the battle of Gains Mills, Virginia, on June 27, 1862, that amputation was rendered necessary, and on September 12, 1862, he was honorably discharged from the service. Soon afterward he was appointed deputy United States col- lector for the twentieth district and served in that capacity until October, 1863, when he was elected clerk of the county on the Republican ticket, and was re- elected in 1866. Having served his second term he was, in 1870, appointed deputy United States marshal for the census bureau for Meadville and Val- lonia, and upon the completion of this duty was appointed clerk of the board of county commissioners, going into office March i, 1871, and served until 1891, when he was appointed postmaster of Meadville by President Harrison. In 1892 Mr. Hollister was selected as one of seven — out of three thousand first-class postmasters — by John Wanamaker, Postmaster General, tO' confer with him at the ixjstoffice department in Washington, D. C, in making sug- gestions for the improvement of the mail service. In 1896 he was elected city assessor for three years. In April, 1874, Mr. Hollister was married to Mary E. Wilson, daughter of Major R. Wilson, of Espyville. Mr. Hollister had two children, Charles W. ; and Anna, wife of R. B. Thompson, merchant of Meadville, who has one child, — Dayton B. In t866 Mr. Hollister was initiated into Cussewago Lodge, No. 108, 1. 0. O. F. In 1870 he was one of the charter members who organized Craw- ford Lodge, No. 734, I. O. of O. F., and still retains his membership (January 1, 1899), having been a member of the order for over thirty-two years, and was noble grand two terms. He has also' been a member of the I. O. of O. F. Endowment Association of Western Pennsylvania since 1880, and he is also a member of Sergeant Peiffer Post, No. 334, G. A. R., at Meadville, Department of Pennsylvania. 8^6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Hon. Pearson Church, eldest son of Hon. Gaylord Church, was one of the most prominent citizens of Crawford county. He was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1838, but resided all his life in Meadville. His edu- cation was acquired at private schools in Meadville and at Allegheny College, where he was graduated in 1856. Previous to his graduation he spent a year studying law with his father, and was admitted to practice in 1858, when but twenty years of age. For twenty years he was a successful practitioner, but was in 1878 elected president judge of the district. He took his place on the bench on January i, 1878, for a term of ten years. He rendered several important decisions while an incum- bent of this office, being the first judge in Pennsylvania, — and perhaps before such a decision was- given in Minnesota also, — to decide that colored children should have the same access to our public schools that white children have. After this decision the legislature of the state made it a part of the statute law. In 1883 he decided the Tidewater Pipe Line case, which supported the inde- pendent pipe line companies in their efforts to break the monopoly enjoyed by the Standard Oil Company. It has been the good fortune of Judge Church to decide grave questions of great public as well as private importance and interest, — more, probably, than often falls to the lot of a common-pleas judge. Judge Church was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and always took a lively interest in all that pertains to that organization. He was also active in almost every public enterprise in the place ; was elected a member of the school board in 1870, and in 1872 president of the board of control of the public schools. In the same year he was elected a delegate to the constitu- tional convention, and during the years 1872 and 1873 assisted in framing the present constitution, which was ratified and adopted December 16, 1873. In 1859 he was made a Freemason, and later became a member of the Grand Lodge of the F. & A. M. ; member of the Grand Chapter, R. A. M., and of the Grand Commandery of K. T. He took thirty-two degi'ees in Scottish Rite Masonry, and for ten years was district deputy grand master of Masons for the district of which Crawford was a part. In 1868 he was married to' Miss Kate, daughter of Hon. Samuel A. Law, of Delaware county, New York, and to this union have been born two daugh- ters, — Alice and Ethel. In politics Judge Church was a Democrat, and was an active worker. In 1896, when the Democratic convention declared for free silver, he took a prominent part in the "gold" Democratic party. He died at his home in Meadville on the 13th day of June, 1898. The Braivley Family. — In the annals of "Crawford county the Brawley family occupies an honorable and distinguished position, one of which all who bear the name have reason to be proud. Many of the members of the family have been remarkable for statesmanship and have taken an active part in the OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 877 councils of Pennsylvania and other states, while others have risen to high rank in the various professions. Hugh Brawley, an early settler of Crawford county, was a man of recognized worth and ability, his influence being exerted for the welfare and advancement of his own community and state. In 1823 he was elected to the position of sheriff, and subsequently was a notable figure in the halls of the state legislature. He married Lucy Daniels, a daughter of one of the pioneers of his own county. The second child of Hugh and Lucy Brawley was the Hon. J. Porter Brawley. He was finely educated and from his boyhood it was seen that in all probability his career would be no ordinary one. Having finished a thorough course in literature and the sciences at Allegheny College, he took up the study of law and made a success in that profession. He was elected to the state legislature and served for two terms in that hQnorable body, after which he was elected to the state senate in 1846, and from 185 1 to 1857 was surveyor-general of Pennsylvania, his term being one of six years' duration. The marriage of Hon. J. Porter Brawley and Miss Isabella Hurst Brooks was solemnized December 28, 1841. Her father, Hon. John Brooks, one of the pioneers of this county, made purchases of land here as early as 1794. He was one of the state commissioners appointed to lay out and construct the Susquehanna & Waterford turnpike, and he also served as treasurer of Craw- ford County, and in minor offices, besides being the first justice of the peace in this county, after its organization. In 181 3, during the war with Great Britain, Mr. Brooks organized and commanded a company of soldiers who went to Erie to resist the threatened invasion of this state, it then being believed to be in danger. After his arrival in Erie he was appointed aide to General Mead, with the rank of major. In 1817 he was appointed associate judge of Crawford county by Governor Simon Snyder, and this position he occupied until his death. Twice married, his second union was with Susan Nichols, who came of Revolutionary ancestry, and whose family had been obliged to flee for their lives at the time of the Wyoming massacre. Her father, Thomas Nichols, was an early settler of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. The children born to Hon. J. Porter Brawley and wife Isabella were six in number. Those who attained maturity were as follows : James Buchanan, an eminent lawyer, who died in May, 1886; John Brooks; Frances Lucy, whose death took place in June, 1896; Hugh Porter; and Isabella Hurst. John B. Brawley studied law and was prothonotary of McKean county for two terms and served for one term as clerk to the county commissioners of Craw- ford county. Active in the support of the Democratic party, his services in its behalf were recognized by President Qeveland, whg^ appointed him to the position of sixth auditor and assistant register of the United States treasury. Of late years he has been engaged in the oil business, in partnership with his 878 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. brother, Hugh P. The latter is at present the chairman of the fourth division of the Democratic state executive committee. Curtis S. Clark, clerk of the courts of Crawford county, was born in Chautaucjua county. New York, February 20, 1840. When five years of age his father died, and his mother removed with her children to Crawford county, where he has since been a continuous resident, with the exception of fifteen years spent in Cleveland. Much of his education was acquired at home, under the instruction of his mother, and this was supplemented by a course at the Edinboro Normal School. In 1858 Mr. Clark began teaching school in Crawford county, and in 1863 engaged in the oil refinery business, and the next year went into the drug busi- ness in Titusville with his brother. He sold out his interest in Titusville in 1868 and removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he engaged in the manufacture of a proprietary medicine. In 1884 he located permanently on his farm in Crawford county, and followed the occupation of a farmer until 1893, when he came to Meadville, and the next year established a paper known as the Sledg^e Hammer. In 1896 he became the candidate of the allied Democratic and Pop- ulistic forces for clerk of the courts, to which office he was elected, and which he now fills. Elbert Smith, treasurer of Crawford county, was born at Guy's Mills, Pennsylvania, on the 17th of January, 1865. His early education was acquired in the schools of this county, and he entered Allegheny College, at which insti- tution he was graduated in June, 1888, having won several honors during his college course. The ensuing year was spent at Harvard University. In the summer of 1889 he visited Europe, spending some time in England, Germany and France, particularly in London and Paris. Returning to America in the fall of 1889, he taught school in Crawford county for a year. In 1890 he received the Republican nomination for county treasurer, the Democrats endorsing his candidacy, and he was elected by a majority of thir- teen thousand votes. In 1894, his term of office having expired, he took up the study of law in the office of Joshua Douglass, Esq. In 1896 he was again elected county treasurer, for a term of three years, and is still serving in that capacity. Mr. Smith is an active worker in the Republican party and is a promi- nent member of the Columbia Republican Club, in which he has held various offices. Mattheiv R. Snodgrass. — Sixty-five years ago Matthew R. Snodgrass was born on the old homestead in West Shenango township, Crawford county, where he is still living. This property has been in the possession of his family for almost a century, and thus it may be seen that they were numbered among OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 879 the early pioneers of this locaUty. Our subject's paternal grandfather, Benja- min Snodgrass, and his son John, the father of our subject, came to this vicin- ity in 1800 and took up land which, after they had assisted in clearing and improving it, rightfully enough fell to the three sons of John Snodgrass, — Benjamin, Matthew R. and J. W. Matthew R., who is the subject of this biographical notice, has greatly improved his homestead since it came into his possession and has made of his eighty-three acres a most desirable country place, furnished with substantial buildings, neat fences and well-kept orchard and shade trees. He purchased the interest of his brother, J. W. Snodgrass, who now lives on the farm just east of that owned by our subject, who is a thorough, practical farmer, making a success of most of his undertakings, and enjoying an excellent reputation for business, honor and fairness in all his transactions. The son of John and Mary (Rankin) Snodgrass, Matthew R. Snodgrass, was born December 11, 1833. His boyhood was spent on the farm where he has always resided, and such education as fell tO' his share was that gained in- the district schools of the vicinity. By judicious study and reading he has added to the knowledge thus acquired and is now well posted on the great events of the past and contemporaneous history. In the school of practical experience he has also necessarily had his mental horizon broadened and his sympathies with his fellow men deepened and strengthened. In religion and politics he strives to keep his mind free from strong bias, that he may be able to judge fairly the merits of every question coming beneath his notice. December 29, 1880", Mr. Snodgrass married Miss Orpha Gregory^ daugh- ter of William and Lottie (Lafferty) Gregory. The father was a well known farmer of this county and for years successfully conducted a tannery business at Turnersville. The mother, a lady of rare culture and ability, was for some time engaged in teaching school and was a popular and successful educator. Mr. and Mrs. Snodgrass are the parents of one son, Lloyd, born October 24, 1885. When the war of the Rebellion was being waged M. R. Snodgrass offered his service and fought tinder and for the flag of his country more than three years. Enlisting September 5, 1861, he was faithfully at his post of duty during the weary years up to the time of his honorable discharge, ^November 4, 1864. He took part in numerous skirmishes and minor encounters with the enemy and, among others, was actively engaged in the battles of Aritietam, Cedar Mountain, Resaca, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He was a private in Company G, One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment of Pennsylvania Infan- try, which was a part of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth and Twentieth Army Corps, under command of Generals Hooker and Slocum. Much of the time Mr. Snodgrass was detailed to duty with the wagon train, but wherever his place was assigned there he was always to be found, prompt, 88o OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. obedient, faithful and cheerful. At the battle of Antietam he was struck in the left arm by a fragment of shell, but he did not leave the ranks and only fought the harder. The principles for which he was then ready to sacrifice his life he has always abided by, and has endeavored to do his whole duty as a citi- zen of this great republic. At present he is in favor of free silver. For the long period of forty years he has been a member of the United Presbyterian church of Shenango, and has freely contributed of his means to worthy religious and benevolent enterprises. Delzmn A. Stebbins, of Cussawago township, was born in that township August 31, 1854. His father, John A. Stebbins, was born in Lebanon, Madi- son county. New York, on January 4, 1813, and was the youngest son of Daniel Stebbins. Daniel Stebbins married for his first wife a Miss Fuller, and had one son, Daniel, Jr., who died at Mosiertown many years ago. For his second wife Daniel married Rachel Blodgett, and he died before the family came to Cussawago township. In 1820 Rachel (Blodgett) Stebbins and family came to Cussawago township in an ox cart and settled on the farm owned for many years by Horace Fields. At this time her family consisted of these children : Daniel, Jr., Lem- uel, Elizabeth, Ursula, Ralph, John, Mary and Louisa. Lemuel married Lu- cinda Greenlee, Elizabeth never married, Mary married Edmund Greenlee, Louisa married Harry Fields, Ursula married Rev. Ray Green, and all are dead. John A. Stebbins married Hannah T. Dawley for his first wife, and they had two children, Wheeler Dan Stebbins and Minnie C. Stebbins; for his second wife John A. Stebbins married Phebe M. Green, daughter of Rev. Ray Green. Ray Green was born in Rhode Island, and came to Alfred, Allegany county, New York, and married Lucy Smith, who was born in Connecticut. They had these children : Erastus, Eunice, Moses, Phebe, Joel and Selina. Erastus married Nancy Green, Eunice married Barton W. Millard, Joel mar- ried Rebecca Reading, Selina married first Elisha B. Green and second Jerome Remington. All are dead except Selina, who lives at Independence, Allegany county. New York. Ray Green married for his second wife Ursula Stebbins. John A. Stebbins and Phebe M. Stebbins had two children, Delwin A. and Nina. John A. Stebbins died on the farm now owned by John Davis, where he had lived and which he had owned for many years, in Cussawago township, on April 15, 1872. Phebe, his wife, died at Independence, New- York, September 26, 1886. Both are buried at Mosiertown. Wheeler D. Stebbins was born in Cussawago township, June 30, 1845. He enlisted in the Second Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, which regiment was later divided, and he remained in the Second Provisional Heavy Artillery. He was wounded while placing the colors on the rebel breastworks at the battle in OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 88i front of Petersburg, Virginia, was shot in the left shoulder and died in hospital at Washington, D. C, on July 26, 1864, and is buried at Arlington Heights, in the national cemetery. Minnie C. Stebbins was born April 9, 1847, married Geore'e W. Lloyd, and died at East Springfield, Erie county, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1886. Nina Stebbins was born July 16, 1856, and now lives at Independence, New York. Delwin A. Stebbins married Nellie, daughter of Luther Spencer, of Alfred, New York, on September 25, 1881. They had one child, Myrta Rose, born July 20, 1882, who is still living. Nellie Stebbins died December 28, 1887. On November 25, 1889, Delwin A. Stebbins married, for his second wife, Mary S., daughter of John Loper, of Addison, Steuben county. New York. Her grandfather. Sir John Loper, was one of the pioneers of Steuben county. Delwin A. Stebbins attended school at the "sand bank" school house, in Cussawago township, and later a select school at Mosiertown, also' the Edin- boro state normal school. He moved from Cussawago in 1873, lived at Little Genesee, New York, for some time on a farm, later attended Alfred University, teaching school winters. He studied law with General Rufus Scott at Belmont, New York, was graduated in the Albany law school on May 22, 1884, and admitted to practice law at Binghamton, New York, on May .9, 1884. He has since resided and practiced his profession at Almond, New York. William Pents, of Meadville, was born April 2, 1820, at York, Pennsyl- vania, a son of Daniel and Rachel (Shaffer) Pentz, both natives of York and of German ancestry. William received his education in the public schools at York, and learned his father's trade, that of a tobacconist, and later became a plasterer. He afterward was a butcher, which occupation he followed for eight years. William came to Meadville in 1845. His father removed here in -1856. He remained but three years, when he returned to his native home. In 1870 William was appointed court crier in Meadville, and in 1872 was elected justice of the peace, serving until 1877. In 1879-80 he was superin- tendent of the Odd Fellows Home at Meadville, and in 1882 was again elected justice of the peace, which office he still holds, his present term expiring in 1899. In 1841 Mr. Pentz was married, at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, to Miss Mary A. Campbell, a native of Kentucky, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. They had nine children, four of whom are living. Mr. Pentz is a devout Christian and has been for many years a deacon in the Methodist Episcopal church, of Meadville, and for a time was engaged in preaching on a circuit. Samuel Pratt, a baker in Meadville, was born February 15, 1842, in Amos- ville, Virginia, a son of Henry and Rachael Pratt. His father died in 1842, and his mother in i§76. In 1869 Mr. Pratt married Miss Hattie Jackson, r.nd S6 882 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the children of this union are : Minnie Bertha, born April 20, 1872, and Bessie Lorena, July 10, 1878. Mr. Pratt came to Meadville in 1866, and has followed an active life. He first began as a butcher, which vocation he fol- lowed until 1892, when he began as a baker, and thus he still continues. He was elected to the city council in 1892. James Henry Caldzvell, the son of John W. and Susannah Caldwell, was born in Montour county, Pennsylvania, March 27, 1839. His great-grand- father, Robert Caldwell, came from the north of Ireland tO' the United States, bringing his little son James at the age of four years, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Caldwell's maternal gi-andfather, Follmer, came from Germany. James passed his early years upon his father's farm and at the district school; in the winter months of 1858-59 he attended the academy at Milton, Pennsylvania. At the age of twenty-one he received as wages nine dollars a month for work upon his father's farm, and in the winter following he taught a district school. When twenty-two years of age he worked the farm, on shares, the stock and implements with the farm being furnished by his father, and he putting in his labor and receiving one-fourth of the crops. In 1865 Mr. Caldwell came to the oil country, first engaging in boating oil from Rouseville to Oil City. This business not suiting him he withdrew from it and undertook the drilling of wells for oil, and after two years of work at drilling and 1>ecoming interested in eight wells he obtained a paying well in company with Lewis Emery, Jr., on the Foster farm at Pioneer. In 1867 he was married to Miss Mary A. Wagner, of Montour county, this state, who was born March 13, 1841, and with his wife he settled at Pioneer, an oil town on Oil creek, and while there he became a member of the firm of Emery Brothers & Company. In 1869 he moved to Titusville- and built the residence on East Main street, now owned by Mrs. B. E. Moreland, and also carried a half interest in the building and ownership of the Emery & Caldwell block. In the autumn of 1873,, discouraged by the effects of the financial panic, he sold his residence in Titusville; liquidated his obligations and moved to Butler county. By close attention to business in producing oil he repaired losses and in a short time was on the road to prosperity. In 1876, while on a visit to the state of Virginia, he purchased the plantation known as Varina, near Dutch Gap canal, on the James river, containing thirteen hundred and twelve acres. In 1877 he moved back to Titusville and in 1881 purchased the estate of Jonathan Watson. In 1884 he took the option of a large coal property in Fremont county, Colorado, in company with McDonald & Norris, of Denver; and during the year McDonald was killed by the cars at the mines. This acci- dent was followed by a strike of the miners, and the year ended with a loss to SeUM^^Jli^ OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 883 the operating company. With all these discouraging circumstances, however, Mr. Caldwell purchased a small interest in the mine and obtained a lease for another year; but discriminations by the railroads in freight rates and in fur- nishing cars caused him to sell his interests to the other coal companies, im- pressing upon his mind the necessity, for successful operation in coal-mining, of owning a railroad or at least of possessing a remunerative "pull" on railway managers. Before leaving Colorado permanently he sunk three wells for oil, the last one drilled proving to be a fair producer. Mr. Caldwell ranks as one of the large producers of oil. He has been engaged in the business for over thirty years and in nearly all the fields east of the Mississippi river. In 1882 he was elected mayor of Titusville for the term of two years. A few evenings after the first meeting of the city councils the Parshall block and the Brunswick hotel were burned. Mayor Caldwell lived in the suburbs, and when the fire bell was rung he looked out of his house and saw from the reflection of the light that the fire was apparently gaining. He lost no time in hurrying to the spot where the fire was raging,to find all the firemen, except one company, in revolt. On inquiring as to the cause of the trouble, he was told that the men would not work under the chief whO' had just been elected by the council. They gave as a reason that they did not feel safe in serving under a chief whom they regarded as incompetent. Mayor Caldwell did not stop to debate the matter with the men, but sent for the old chief and placed him in command. By this timely action the fire was prevented from spreading beyond the Brunswick hotel and the Parshall block. Mayor Caldwell convened the councils on the following evening and reported officially what had occurred at the fire; and he recommended that in place of the volunteer system, which had been in operation since the founding of the city, a paid fire department be organized at once. His recommendation was immediately adopted and a paid department was organized and put into operation without delay. This system, which now has been in operation in Titusville over sixteen years, gives almost universal satisfaction. The police force was also dissatisfied, claiming that their duties were too onerous and asking that the number of patrolmen be increased. The Mayor, on investigating the subject, comparing existing work with past service, recommended that one patrolman be dropped from the list, and this was done. At the beginning of Mayor Caldwell's administration the city water-works were barely paying running expenses; at the close of his term the works were not only paying current expenses, but also the interest on the water bonds. He was indefatigable, by personal attention, in effecting both large and small reforms. The system which he inaugurated in the management of the water- works has continued to go forward, and now the water-works are both a great 884 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. public convenience and a large source of revenue to the city. Mr. Caldwell is a director of the Titusville Board of Trade. In 1888 he commenced the refining of benzine, and since then he has constantly increased the capacity of his works and the number of its products. He now manufactures lubricating and refined illuminating oils and all qualities of gasoline and naphtha, calling his plant the Climax Oil Works and the com- pany the Climax Oil Manufacturing Company. Mr. Caldwell's political faith is that the government should be adminis- tered for the people as a mass and not for classes. He has twice been a candidate for congress, in the district where he resides, a district largely Re- publican, upon the Democratic ticket, and the last time he carried Crawford county against a party majority of fifteen hundred. To Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have been born two sons, — ^John Wagner and James Henry ; and one daughter, — Gertrude May, who was born February 21, 1876, and died at the age of two years and two months. John Wagner was born July 28, 1871, and JameS Henry, March 7, 1877. John W. was educated in the Titusville schools, the Kiskeminetas school at Saltsburg and the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York. On January i, 1898, he took full management of the Climax Oil Works. James Henry, Jr., was educated at the Titusville schools and the Lawrenceville (New Jersey) School; he entered Princeton University in the autumn of 1894, at the age of seventeen, and he left college in the spring of his senior year and enlisted in Light Bat- tery A, of Philadelphia, and saw service in Porto Rico in the late war. Be- fore leaving for the seat of war, however, he returned from camp on furlough to Princeton and received the degree of A. B. with his class, on June 15, 1898. The eulogy upon the character of James H. Caldwell, who now is almost sixty years of age, is to be found in a life of noble deeds. His manhood, his fidelity to truth and his pure integrity are more eloquent than panegyric of any historic pen. Jesse Hazcn, a farmer of West Fairfield township, this county, is a native of Mercer county, this state, and vi^as born September 10, 1826, a son of Peter and Barbara (Lackey) Hazen, who settled in Crawford county in 1838, on the farm where the subject now resides. Their family consisted of ten chil- dren, and our subject was the fifth child : Margaret, wife of Perry Crookham ; Joseph, deceased; David; Jonathan; Jesse, our subject; Martha; Melinda; Mathew ; and Matilda and Hulda, both deceased. Mr. Hazen was first married to Esther McAdoo, who died August 18, 1867, at the age of thirty years. Children: Sarah Matilda, wife of William Grute, and a resident of Mercer county ; and Alfred Hazen, of West Fairfield township. March 15, 1888, he was again married to Jennie M., daughter of Thomas and Eliza (McCurdy) Lyon. Four children have been born to this OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 885 union, namely : Mary Elizabeth, widow of Peter Tighe, who died January, 1895, aged thirty years; Esther Ann, who married Edward Borland, and they are residents of Mercer county; Margaret Grace, wife of Chauncey Kelly, West Fairfield township; and Thomas L. Hazen, who died March 15, 1895, at the age of twenty years. Mrs. Hazen is the eldest of a family of seven chil- dren, namely: Jennie, wife of our subject; Joseph, John M., James A., of Mercer county, Mary and Maggie D. Lyon. Thomas Lyon is still living, at the age of eighty-five years. The grandchildren of our subject are Thomas Wilton Tighe, Esther Grute, Mildred, Ralph Borland, Adeline Kelly and Paul Kelly. Mr. Hazen has been among the important citizens of the township, having been director of the school board two terms, treasurer, auditor and trustee of Powers' church for several years.' Robert P. Marshall. — One of the loyal citizens and stanch Republicans of South Shenango township, Crawford county, is Robert P. Marshall, the sub- ject of this notice. He has long been recognized as an important factor in the success of the party in this immediate locality, and has exerted his utmost ener- gies to achieve its triumph, as he is an earnest believer in its principles and is certain that the wonderful prospei'ity which blesses this nation is the direct result of the beneficent rule it has so long exercised in our history since the Civil war. For twelve years Mr. Marshall has officiated as a constable and has also served as supervisor of his township. His personal popularity is so strong in this district that his friends brought forward his name as a candidate for the nomination as sheriff in 1896; but he was not the lucky man. In the Masonic and Odd Fellows societies he stands deservedly high, being identified with Adelphi Lodge, No. 424,* F. & A. M., of Jamestown, Pennsylvania, a member of the Knight Templars Commandery of Greenville, and connected with the Linesville Lodge of Odd Fellows. Moreover, he is a member' of the Woodmen of the World and belongs to the Grange. Michael Marshall, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of the north of Ireland, where he probably was married to Mary Thompson. He was one of the pioneers of this county, and hewed out a farm in the forests of South Shenango township. One of the fii'st settlers of this section, he suffered many of the hardships incident to frontier life, but left to his children a legacy of an honorable name, an unblemished record and a goodly estate. In politics he was an old-line Whig, and religiously he was connected with the United Presbyterian church. Of this church, the first of the denomination in this county, his son James, the father of our subject, was also a member. He was born, reared and passed his entire life within this township, respected and admired by all who knew him. He was a stalwart Republican and occupied various official positions of trust and honor. His death occurred 886 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. when he was in his fifty-seventh year. For his wife he chose Miss Catherine Maxwell, of Conneaut township, this county. She lived to the age of three- score and ten, dying March 3, 1882. Like her husband she was a zealous worker in the United Presbyterian church, and was universally loved and hon- ored. Of her eight children five are deceased, and of those who sui'vive our subject is the eldest, and the others are James B., a farmer of Tuscola county, Michigan, and Susan, wife of Frank Corson, of this township. The birth of Robert P. Marshall occurred not far from his present home, April 12, 1854. When he was a lad of about twelve years his father died, and as he was the eldest son the duty of looking after the farm fell upon his young- shoulders. He made a heroic struggle to meet the unaccustomed cares man- fully and was not unsuccessful in his undertaking. | He continued to reside upon the old homestead and to manage the place as long as his mother lived, and after her death he purchased the interest of the other heirs and has since carried on the farm in his own right. In all his efforts since he reached manhood Mr. Marshall has found a true helpmate in the person of his devoted wife, formerly Miss Ollie C. Johnson. Her father was the well-known citizen William F. Johnson, now deceased, and for years a prominent farmer of this section. Four children blessed the mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall, namely : Grace C, wife of Matthew L. Mc- Elheney; Mabel Clare; Edwin D. and Paul Mack, — the younger three being still at home. The entire family are members of the Presbyterian church of Jamestown, Pennsylvania. Isaac JVestheiiner. — Proininent among the business men of Titusville is Isaac Westheimer, who for a third of a century has been closely identified with the history of the city in connection with the tobacco trade and as a boot and shoe merchant. He is a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment, and his executive ability and excellent management have brought to the concerns with which he is connected a high degree of success. Mr. Westheimer is one of the worthy citizens that the Fatherland has furnished to the New World. He was born in Merchingen, Baden, Germany, on the 8th of April, 1848, and is a son of Louis and Mollie Westheimer, the former a commission merchant of Germany. He attended the public schools of his native town and then took a special course under private tutors, prepar- ing for college. Reverses in his father's business, however, forced him to abandon the idea of entering college, and in 1865, at the age of seventeen years, he came to America, hoping to better his financial condition in the New AA'orld, vvhose advantages, he had heard, were many. During the first three years after his arrival in the New World he engaged in clerking for the firm of Strauss & Stettheimer, at Titusville, and in 1868 established a cigar and tobacco business in Pleasantville on his own account, being very successful OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 887 from the beginning. In 1870 he sold his store in Pleasantville, and in connec- tion with his bi'other established the wholesale and retail cigar and tobacco business at No. 31 Spring street, Titusville, where they have since carried on operations. They are leaders in their line of trade in this part of the state, and the excellent quality of their products insures them a liberal share of the public patronage. In 1887 the brothers also opened a boot and shoe store, which is- under the direct management of Isaac Westheimer, and has also proved ' a. profitable investment. He is a man of progressive methods, of diligence and sound judgment, and his commercial success is well deserved. Mr. Westheimer is thoroughly American in thought' and feeling, and does all in his power to promote the interests of the city, with which he has so long been connected. He is especially active in educational circles, has been an efficient and valued member of the school board for sixteen years, was secre- tary of the board for eight years, — from 1881 until 1887, — and its president for two years. In his political associations he is a Democrat, but h!as never been an aspirant for office, preferring to devote his time .and energies to his business interests, in which he has met gratifying success. Charles Stols, flour and feed merchant, Meadville, was born August 12, 1850, in Mergentheim, Wtu'temberg, Germany, and came to America at an early age with the intention of making his way in the world in a new country. He first located at San Antonio, Texas, where he was naturalized and spent seven years, and was extensively engaged in the raising and care of stock. This period being but a short time after the close of the Civil war, general peace and harmony in that locality was quite unknown; consequently Mr. Stolz, being engaged in active pursuits, met with many hair-breadth escapes, which he vividly recalls. He came to Meadville in 1872 and entered the em- ploy of Gill & Son, ill the flour and feed business, and succeeded them in the retail business in 1885, at the same location, No. 992 Water street, at which place he continues to conduct a large establishment. April 4, 1878, Mr. Stolz married Elizabeth, daughter of John and Eliza- beth Kreider, of Vernon township, Crawford county. Her father died in 1873. William H. Andrczvs, Titusville. — A striking instance of the power, of energy well directed is thi:t which is furnished in the career of William H. Andrews, state senator from Crawford county and conspicuous in the recent political episodes of Pennsylvania. Mr. Andrews comes of one of the oldest families in this country, and his services to the people, coupled with his excel- lent genealogical connections, place him high upon the roll which embraces the leading men of the commonwealth. In the earlier part of his career he was prominent as a business man, and in the commercial world was recognized as an energetic and enterprising man. 888 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. William H. Andrews was. born in Youngsville, Warren county, Pennsyl- vania, January 14, 1842. One of his paternal ancestors fought under the ban- ner of William the Conqueror, and was knighted for gallantry and meritorious service in the battle of Hastings, October 14, 1066. On his mother's side Mr. Andrews is of Puritan descent, the first of his maternal ancestors in this coun- try dating his advent in America to the earliest settlement made by the Massa- chusetts pilgrims. A great-grandfather on his mother's side served in the Continental army during the Revolution, and was under Montgomery at the storming of Quebec; was with General Gates at the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, and with Washington at the surrender of Cornwallis at York- town. Another ancestor served under Washington throughout the struggle. In the war of the Rebellion, also, the family name was well represented among the defenders of the Union. His father. Dr. Jeremiah Andrews, was born in Mitchellstown, Ireland, educated in Dublin, and emigrated to this country when twenty-five years of age. He was recognized as a skillful practitioner and possessed to a remarkable degree the esteem and confidence of the com- munity in which he lived. Dr. Andrews' wife, the mother of W. H. Andrews, was the daughter of Dr. Noah Weld, a member of one of the oldest families and one of the best known and respected citizens of Warren county. After obtaining that rudimentary education which the public schools of his time and section afforded W. H. Andrews entered upon a mercantile career, and up to the year 1880 was largely engaged in the pursuits thereof, part of the time at Cincinnati, Ohio, and subsequently at Meadville and Titusville, Pennsylvania. His many commendable traits soon brought Jiim into associa- tion with the local managers of his political party, and in this way he developed a liking and fitness for political work, and he became one of the most earnest and zealous of Republican leaders of the county. In 1880 he was elected chairman of the Republican county committee, — a position he held for three successive terms. He was again unanimously elected in 1886. He served with credit to himself and advantage to his party as first assistant secretary to the Republican state committee of Pennsylvania during the years 1887 and 1888, and so ably did he discharge the duties to which he was assigned that his work obtained hearty recognition from the older party leaders, Thev were so favorably impressed by his qualities for work and organization and his prac- tical common sense that he was made chairman of the state committee in 1888, and was unanimously re-elected in 1889 and again in 1890. In 1889 he further demonstrated his ability as a party leader and organizer in the election of Henry K. Boyer, state treasurer, by the uncommonly large majority of over sixty thousand, notwithstanding the fact that it was an "off year." In 1888 he was elected to the legislature from Crawford county; again elected in 1893, and sent to the state senate in 1895, which pos-ition he now holds. During his first session in the legislature he at once displayed an ability OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 889 which early placed him in the fore rank as a parliamentarian and leader of more than ordinary capacity. He was also a' delegate from the twenty-sixth con- gressional district of Pennsylvania to the Republican national convention held at St. Louis, June 10, 1896, that nominated William McKinley for president of the United States. In politics, as in business, Mr. Andrews is scrupulously exact in discharging his obligations and fulfilling his promises, and his word is regarded as good as his bond in any transaction. Mr. Andrews has been twice married. His first wife was Rose A., daugh- ter of James- H. Eddy, of Warren, Pennsylvania, to whom he was united October 18, 1862. She died March 14, 1879. On June 30, 1881, he married Mary Adelaide Fry, a granddaughter of Thomas Atkinson, a member of the first legislature of the state and editor of the first newspaper published west of the Alleghany mountains. Three children were born to the first marriage : W. H., Jr., Frank E. and Belle R., only the last of whom is living. She is the wife of J. W. Witherop, formerly of Titusville, but now residing in Spokane, Washington. Two children have been born to the second marriage, — a son and a daughter. The son, William Stanley, is living, and the daugh- ter. Marguerite L., died in 1886. John Shoffstall, Wayne township. — John Shoffstall, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came into the county in 182 1. His son Simeon married Hannah Pressler. Their only child, John, was born" on the farm he now occupies, December 20, 1857. He married Hattie Shoffstall, a distant relative. May 6, 1880, and their children are Fred, Edgar, Clara and Gertrude. Mr. Shoffstall has a farm of eighty-five acres. Eugene Wood, harness and saddle manufacturer, Cochranton, was born in Mercer county in 1859, son of Alonzo and Rebecca (Mangus) Wood; the former died in 1887. June 5, 1890, Mr. Wood married Anna, daughter of James and Rachel Fleming, and they have one daughter, Helen Louise, born August 22, 1895. Mr. Wood purchased his present business of Gilbert Dom- bet in 1889, which he has since conducted. Mead Johnson, farmer, was born in Randolph township, Crawford county, in 1832, a son of Alexander and Betsy (Slanson) Johnson, natives of Harris- burg, Pennsylvania. Alexander Johnson was a son of Alexander, Sr., a native of Ireland who located in Randolph township in 1799. An uncle, Joseph John- son, purchased an adjoining farm in an early day, where he resided during his lifetime and died at the age of thirty-four years. Alexander, Sr., died March 12, 1872, at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. Johnson was the fifth child of a family of nine children as follows : Joseph, John and James, deceased; A. C. ; Mead; Henry; Phebe, wife of J. J. 890 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Preston; Charlotte, deceased; and Mary, wife of Martin Boyd. In 1856 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with Susie E. Graham, daughter of David Graham, of Randolph township, and their children are Frank, Dudlow, Ver- mont, and Hartsan, Titusville. Mr. Johnson came to Titusville in 1879 from his native township, and has since been employed in the marble business, to- gether with stocjc and farming interests, and in politics he is a Republican. John F. Coleman, musician, Titusville, is a native of Rochester, New York, born January 22, 1842, of German parentage. Professor Coleman first started what is now the celebrated Coleman's Orchestra and Brass Band in the year 1865. He first began his musical education in Rochester at the age of twelve years, which had shown great development at the age of nineteen years. He was enrolled with the Fifty-fourth Regimental Band on the 13th day of August, 1864, to serve one hundred days, and by reason of the term of the regiment having expired he was mustered out on the loth day of November, 1864. He then returned to Titusville, where he has since followed his chosen profession. As a vocation he has taught violin and brass instruments, and has won an enviable reputation not only in his own town but also in a far-reaching terri- tory. In Titusville he is known not only as the founder of musical organiza- tions, but is also a recognized leader and an artist of recognized ability. It may, perhaps, be well to mention that Professor Coleman is entitled to due credit for all the achievements that Titusville bears in local musical fame, while the violin, his favorite instrument, he finds most fully in unison with the various instruments, and giving the peculiar charm to music in its truest sense. June 12, 1867, he was united in marriage with Miss Caroline Eichenlaub, of Titusville, and to this union have been born eight children, as follows : Mary, deceased ; Joseph, deceased ; John F. ; George L. ; Edward, deceased ; Clara M. ; May Ruth, and Fred. Professor Coleman is a member of the Royal Arcanum. /. /. Cochran, of Cochranton, was born May 14, 1837, a son of Joseph J. and Susan E. (Hugh) Cochran, natives of Adams county, Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish descent. Mr. Cochran bears the distinction of being the son of one of the founders of the borough in which he resides and for whom it was named. His father, Joseph J., was born May 10, 1809, and died in 1846. His mother, Susan, was born February 11, 1810, and died in 1884. They had two children — John J. and Margaret J. — the latter formerly the wife of M. H. McComb, who died December 18, 1885. Mr. Cochran was married in Adamsville, this county, December 25, i860, to Mary, daughter of Alexander (Kennedy) Mc- Kee, and to them have been born seven children : Margaret E., \\'ho married John McCabe; Jennie R., married to Charles Rood, Montana; Rose A., OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 891 who became the wife of George Lawrence, of Kansas ; Joseph A., Cochran- ton; James H., with the Anaconda Copper Company, Montana; WilHam H., in the mercantile business at Dillon, Montana; and Charles H., deceased. Joseph Cochran taught the first school in the village of Cochranton, and being a surveyor assisted in arranging the town plat. Henry Hart, a farmer, of West Fairfield township, began active life in that township more than three-quarters of a century ago, and has during the years intervening been more to his home locality, in his active business life, than the average citizen is wont to be. He has been an extensive land owner, having in his possession as high as seven hundred acres at one time. He has also been an extensive cattle dealer, and took large droves "over the moun- tains," during the earlier days, obtaining large and remunerative sums of money. He has led a life of great activity and no undertaking seemed too great. Imbued with a generous nature, he has been foremost in many worthy enterprises. He has been constable five years, assessor and treasurer, and his duties were well performed. Henry Hart was born March 12, 181 5, a son of Phillip and Catharine (Zeck) Hart, natives of York county; was married July 3, 1845, ^^'^ hi^ children are, Samuel P. ; William P., who married Elizabeth Berry; Emily J., wife of William K. Hill ; Mary C. ; Sarah Armeta ; Henry Harrison, who married Sarah Ann Nelson ; Ida Annetta, wife of Sylvester Louper ; Elizabeth Adeline, wife of Frank M. Bryson; Prescott Metcalf, who married Margaret C. Beninger; Homer and Clinton. Sarah Armeta died April 28, 1854, and Catherine died December 29, 1856. Jacob Fisher, of Bloomfield township, is a son of Michael and Elizabeth Fisher, and grandson of Adam Fisher, and was born in Germany, November 28, 1840. In 1852 he came to Ohio, where he resided until 1856, when he came to Anthony township, Pennsylvania, to live with his uncle, Peter Fisher, with whom he remained until i860. He then returned to Ohio, and in 1861 he went to Douglas City, California, where he enlisted in Company M, First Regiment, California Cavalry, April 28, 1863. He remained with the regiment tmtil May, 1866, and received an honorable discharge January 31, 1867. He married Mary E. Knight and settled in Anthony township, Pennsylvania, where his wife died October 12, 1871, leaving two children: Wilham E., a postal clerk at Salamanca, New York, who married Ella Niles, of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and Nancy M., now Mrs. W. G. Reynolds. Mr. Fisher married for his second wife, Mary A. Grose, on February 27, 1872. The family are members of the Evangelical church. 892 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. John W . Scott, of Rome township, is a son of Nathan H. and Caroline H. (Parker) Scott, and was born August 12, 1849, in Clarion, Pennsylvania. His father was born in Broome county. New York. January i, 1875, he married Philura L. Jones, daughter of Henry S. and Almira (Smith) Jones. He settled in Athens township, where he was a farmer and shoemaker. In 1892 he moved to Centerville, where he now lives and is proprietor of the hotel. He has three sons, — Ray H., Lyle C. and Don W. He is a member of Town- ville Lodge, No. 929, I. O. O. F., and also a member of the Empire State De- gree of Honor. Lawrence Eugene Mullen.- — Prominent among the successful agricultu- rists of Crawford county is the subject of this review, L. E. Mullen, of West Shenango township. He comes from one of the sterling pioneer families of this section of Pennsylvania, originally of sturdy old New England stock. At an early day in the annals of this county, William Mullen, of Connecticut, came to make his home in the wilds of South Shenango township, and there hewed out a farm in the midst of the dense forest and dwelt there until his death, at the age of four-score. There the father of our subject, Richard Mullen, was born and reared, and spent much of his later life, though for some years he resided across the state line, in Ohio. He died on his homestead there in 1888, at the age of sixty-three years, and is survived by his widow, who is still living at her old Ohio home. In her girlhood she bore the name of Mary Ann Brittan. As a farmer Mr. Mullen was successful, and owned, at different times, several farms in West Shenango township. Lawrence Eugene Mullen, who is now serving his fellow-citizens in the capacity of township collector of taxes, this being his second year in the office, was for six years a member of the local school board, and in many ways has sought to increase the efficiency of our educational methods in this vicinity. He espouses the principles of the Democratic party, and is now in favor of free silver. The only fraternity with which he has identified himself is that of the \^^oodmen of the World. The birth of L. E. Mullen occurred about forty years ago, on March 29, 1859, in Turnersville, Crawford county. He went with his parents to Ohio, upon their removal thither, and assisted in the management of their farm until he reached his majority. In 1885 he came to his present farm, which now com- prises two hundred and forty acres, nearly all of which is kept under high cultivation. It affords excellent pasturage to the large number of cattle which he usually keeps, and at present he owns thirty-one cows, besides other live stock. Success has crowned his industrious efforts and if he chose to do so, he might even now retire with an assured competence, sufficient to supply his needs during the remainder of his life. April 25, 1883, Mr. Mullen married Miss Viola Phelps, of Richmond, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 893 Ohio. They are the parents of four fine boys, namely : Joseph Nelson, James Free, Bliss B., and Harley Eugene. They are of great assistance to their father in the farm work and are rapidly developing into robust, well-balanced manhood. John IV. Bahcock, deceased. — During the greater part of his active busi- ness career John W. Babcock, long an honored citizen of Meadville, was con- nected with railroading, and was considered one of the most reliable and trustworthy employees of the various corporations with which he was con- nected. His busy and useful life came to a sudden close on the 15th of July, 1892, when, apparently in his usual health, he was in the Commercial Hotel, of this city. The birth of our subject took place in Newburg, Ohio, September 24, 1840, and while he was a small boy his parents removed to Wisconsin, where the father engaged in farming. Desiring to aid his senior iii paying for his property, John W. secured a position on the Cincinnati & Marietta Railroad, and turned over much of his wages to^ his father for some time. Finally the youth became a conductor for the company, but during the civil war he was in the government service, as yard-master of a railroad in North Carolina. In the fall of 1864 Mr. Babcock came to Meadville, and, entering the ser- vice of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad (now the Erie), under Super- intendent Lyford, he acted at different times in the offices of conductor and yard master. In 1866 he was placed in charge of the yards in Oil City and Franklin, after which he went on the road as a freight conductor, and from 1870 to 1887 was a passenger conductor on the same line, chieflfy on the Frank- lin branch, with the exception of two years when he was yard master in Mead- ville. On the 6th of April, 1887, he was appointed train master here, under the superintendency of Mr. Brunn, and this position he retained until he saw fit to tender his resignation January i, 1890. Subsequently, he was vice- president of the Speed Recorder Company, and at the time of his death he was general superintendent of the Wilkins' Shoe-Button Fastener Company, with which he had been connected for several years. In politics, Mr. Babcock was a Republican, and in 1886 he was honored by being elected mayor of Meadville by one of the largest majorities ever given to a local candidate, and he served accqDtably for one term. Fraternally, he was a Mason of high standing, as he had attained the thirty-second degree. He also belonged to French Creek Council, of the Royal Arcanum, and for years was associated with the local division of the Order of Railroad Conductors. A man of strong mental and physical powers, strictly temperate in his habits and honorable and just in all his dealings, he commanded the esteem and respect of all who knew him. From his boyhood he was noted for his love of nature, and he took special delight in leaving the haunts of men and. with his 894 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. favorite dogs, spent many an hour tramping through the woods and fields. He bore a reputation throughout this section of being one of the most expert of "wing shots." In the domestic circle Mr. Babcock was seen at his best, for he was devoted to his family and home. September 20, 1871, he married Miss Melda Story, of Meadville, and she, with their two sons, Fred W. and Jesse, survive. F. W. was graduated in the Philadelphia Medical College in 1894, and for a period was employed as a surgeon in Cleveland, Ohio, after which he practiced his profession for about two years in Jackson, Michigan. In 1898, during the Spanish- American war, he accepted a position as a surgeon in the United States Army, and acquitted himself to the satisfaction of all concerned. Frank B. Lester, Richmond township. — Charles Lester came from White- hall, New York, and settled in Crawford county in 1845. His son Thomas married Rhoda Russell, and to them was born Frank B., the subject of this sketch, August 19, 1861. In 1882 Frank married Kate, daughter of Jonathan and Miranda Cowden. They have one son, by name Clyde. Mr. Lester lives upon his farm of thirty-nine acres, and also cultivates the farm of his mother, which lies adjacent. His father and one uncle were in the army. John Tiddington Ray, M. D., was born in Frankfort, Pennsylvania, in 1817, graduated at the University of Pennsylvania and located at Greenville, where he practiced medicine from 1842 to 1854, when he located at Meadville, Avhere he acted as first pension examiner, the first in Meadville. He was also surgeon for the Erie Railroad. In 1844 he married Elizabeth J. Eves, of New Castle, Delaware. He was a Mason, Odd Fellow, and died February 12, 1874. Joseph York, deceased, was born in the town of West Henrietta, Monroe county. New York, January 14, 1819, and died in Meadville, July 5, 1892. He was descended from New England ancestry. His father, Jeremiah York, was born in the town of Randolph, Monroe county, November 15, 1783, and his mother in Hartford, Connecticut, February 18, 1783. Their marriage was celebrated in Randolph, Vermont, March 16, 1807, and about 1823 they re- moved to Cattaraugus county, New York, locating in the Genesee valley when it was an unbroken wilderness. They became the parents of six children, namely : L. C. ; Ellen, who died in infancy ; Lavinia ; Hannah ; Joseph and Jeremiah. At an early age Joseph York entered upon his business career, through the aid of his older brother securing a position with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. After a time he was promoted to the position of engineer and later he severed his connection with the railroad company in order to en- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 895 gage in business on his own account. About this time he married Julitte, daughter of Sanford Holbrook, of Monroe county, New York, and soon after- ward entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, Sanford F. Holbrook,' in the lumber business. They also engaged in rafting logs on the Ohio' river, but after a few months the partnership was dissolved and Mr. York removed his family to Dover, Kentucky, in order to be in closer touch with his busi- ness. The venture, ^however, did not prove successful and returning to the Empire state he entered the employ of the Erie Railroad Company. Not long after Mrs. York died, leaving a young son, W. H., and as the result of a general strike Mr. York lost his position as engineer. He next entered the employ of the Michigan Southern Railroad, was afterward with the Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad, and at the time of the construction of the Atlantic & Great Western Road he entered the employ of that company. Re- moving at the time to Meadville he continued with that road under its various managements during the remainder of his railway career. At the opening of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 he was chosen to run a grass- hopper engine, of which he had had charge as engineer sixty years before on the Baltimore & Ohio. In June he was taken ill and returned to his home, where he died two weeks later. He was one of the oldest railroad men of the country and was widely and prominently known in railroad circles. Mr. York was a second time married, his union being with Elvira B., widow of Ephraim Altenburg, and a daughter of Josiah and Julilana Bushnell, of Napoli, Cattaraugus county. New York. She still survives her husband. His only surviving son is an engineer on the Jacksonville & St. Augustine Rail- road, a position he has held for several years. William H. Forker, son of Samuel, was born March 21, 1828, in Mead- ville, and is a gunsmith. In 1849 he married Elizabeth Harrington and they nad seven children, five of whom are still living. He is an active member of Crawford Lodge, No. 234; Solomon Chapter, No. 191; Northwestern Com- mandery. No. 25, and also joined the North Star Lodge in 1853. His son, M. Tarbelt Porker, was born October 24, 1866, learned photo- engraving of M. Wolf, of Dayton, Ohio. He married Mamie Horn and has one child. Major Tarbelt, Jr. Samuel Forker, grandfather of Wm. H., was born in Brownville, Penn- sylvania, November 25, 1798, and came to Meadville in 1823. He married Rohannah Paxton and they had four children. He was a gunsmith by trade and had two brothers that wei-e gunsmiths. He was also county commissioner 'and died July 29, i860, and his wife died February 9, 1875. Adam Forker, father of Samuel, came to Mercer, Pennsylvania, from New Jersey and was a blacksmith. S96 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. John Vancise. — Among the early settlers of Crawford cdunty was John Vancise, who, coming here from Westfield, New York, located on the farm in Athens township, now owned by William Marsh. His wife was a Miss Margaret E. King, a daughter of Captain Joseph T. King, and untO' them eight children were born. Five of the number have passed away and only three sons survive, namely : Oscar L., George W. and John. The parents followed agricultural pursuits as long as they lived, and continued to dwell in this town- ship until death. John Vancise, Jr., was born August 31, 1840, and was but two years of age when he came to this locality. Since he grew to manhood he has given his whole time and attention to farming, his home being in Athens township. While the Civil war was in progress he enlisted in Company I, Eighty-third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and went to the front. At the battle of Preble's Farm, September 29, 1864, he was severely wounded in the left fore- arm and shoulder, and after suffering for many months he was honorably dis- charged from the Lincoln general hospital, April 14, 1865. Ere the close of that memorable year Mr. Vancise married Miss Maritta Elderkin, a daughter of Phineas and Maria (Noble) Elderkin. Ten children came to bless their union, and all but two of the number survive. John Hines, son of Anson Hines, was born at Angola, New York, in 1849, and when fifteen years of age became brakeman on the W. S. Railroad, aiid two years later he located at Randolph, where he was brakeman on the Erie Railroad from Meadville to Salamanca. March '23, 1877, he became con- ductor, which he continued until 1896. In February, 1877, he married Amanda M. Gehr and has resided in Meadville since March 17, 1897. He purchased the Farler Bottling Works. He is a member of the B. P. O. E. and Order of Railway Conductors. George L. Brcsee, of Richmond township, is a son of Benjamin and Eliza (Douglas) Bresee, and was born in this township in 1851. His grandfather, Michael, who was of French extraction, came into the county from the neigh- borhood of Rochester, New York, in 1820. In 1874 Mr. Bresee married Ettie, daughter of Seymour and Jane Morris Teed, of Randolph. They have no living children. Mr. Bresee resides on his farm of forty acres about one mile north of Hickory Corners. He has also a small farm in Randolph township. Charles E. Baldwin, deceased, was born in Meadville, in 1845, ^^^ ^^^^ ^ son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Hale) Baldwin, who' were natives of southern Pennsylvania. Their ancestors were prominent residents of Meadville two centuries ago. Before coming to this city the parents conducted a hotel at Saegerstown. They reared four children : John, a resident of Chicago ; Jesse, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 897 who is living in Princeton, Indiana ; Rebecca, wife of Conrad Ottenstadter, o£ Meadville; and Charles E., who is the youngest. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel and Catherine Schenck, who were natives of New York and located in Mead township about 1848. They had. eight children : Frederick, deceased ; Elizabeth ; Louise, wife of Joseph Delard,. of Dallas, Texas; John Lewis, who is living in Akron, Ohio;- William, an> engineer on the Erie Railroad ; Henry, a conductor on the same road ; Frank,, a resident of Townville ; and Mrs. Baldwin. For a number of years Mr. Bald- win was engaged in the grocery business, and was successfully conducting his; store at the time of his death, which occurred in 1880. He left a widow and three children to mourn his loss, the latter being Louise Isabella, Rebecca An- nesti and Marion Eugene. Edward Pettitt, a son of Philip Pettitt, was born in Suffolkshire, Eng- land, and crossed the Atlantic to Canada at an early day. About 1862 he settled in Rockdale, Crawford county, and is still living in that place. He chose Clarissa Grant, a daughter of Duncan Grant, for his wife. Allen Pettitt, a son, was bom in 1847. In 1864 he ran away from home- and enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Seventh Regiment of Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, serving with them until they were honorably discharged. Since the close of the war he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and for the past thirteen years he has made his home in the town of Little Cooley,, Athens township, Crawford county. Mr. Pettitt married Miss Geda Bunce, daughter of Horace and Fanny (Brown) Bunce. She died, leaving mothei'less three children, Hickory, Lillie- and Donna. Harry Radehush. — Michael Radebush came from the eastern part of the state and settled in Crawford county early in its history. To his son George and his wife, Eliza Gilmore, of Woodcock, was born Harry, the subject of this sketch, September 9, 1859, in Blooming Valley. In 1882 he married Addie, daughter of Wesley Davison. They have three children, — Belva, Lela and Cynthia. Mr. Radebush lives on his farm of sixty-one acres, located about one mile from Bloomipg Valley. His older brother, Oscar, was a soldier in the Civil war. William H. Hardy, son of John Hardy, was born at Geneva, New York, in 1853, was educated at the public schools of Geneva, and learned massage- treatment at the Hygienic Institute of Geneva. In 1872 he married Delia A. Johnson and has three children. In 1885 he came to Saegerstown and worked for Eureka Mineral Springs Company, giving baths and massage treatment, and in November, 1896, opened Turkish bathrooms in Meadville.. 57 898 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. George W. Marsteller, deceased, was born in 1866 and died October 13, 1896. He was a son of Jesse and Mary Ann (McClinstoch) Marsteller. The former died June 20, 1891. Our subject married Jennie, daughter of H. D. and Jane (Record) Walker, of East Fairfield township, who with two twin daughters, — Esty May and Jessie Day, — survive. Mrs. Marsteller is the second child of a family of seven children, viz. : William A. Walker ; Jennie S., wife of subject; Wilson M. ; John R. ; James N. ; Mary E. ; and Stewart F. Walker. He was of a family of five children : Edward ; Madison, deceased ; Monroe, Delia, deceased, and Grace. Mr. Marsteller was educated in the pub- lic schools, was a highly respected citizen, and a kind and loving husband and father. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Cochranton, in which he was an active worker, and also in the Cochranton Lodge, I. O. O. F. Milo F. Shreve, Richmond township. — The Shreve family originated in Greece, from which some of its members emigrated tO' France. On account •of religious differences they removed to Holland, but, not being pleased there, afterward crossed the ocean and settled in New Jersey. One of them was employed by General Washington, who gave him control of a large tract of land and a mill. His son Brazil settled at Riceville, where he built a mill. His son, Oliver H. P., also a miller, was the father of seven sons and three daugh- ters, all of whdm are living. One of these, Milo F., was born July 7, 1845, ^^ Riceville. In i860 he married Mahala, daughter of Jedidiah Shafer, of Rice- ville. Their children are Ernest, Harry and Forrest. His wife dying, Mr. Shreve married, in 1875, Alzada, daughter of Philander Sherlock. Their children are Preston, Emma, Susie, Bennie and Albert. Mr. Shreve lives upon his farm of ninety-six acres, and has another of twenty-one acres. He is a member of the United Brethren church. Frank W. Smith, of Randolph township, is the grandson of Lemmel Smith, who came into the county at an early day from Massachusetts. The children of Lemmel are Nelson, the father of the subject of this sketch; Lemmel, Jr. ; Sarah, wife of Merritt Hall; Mary Estie, wife of Leonard Delamater, and Hannah, wife of Daniel Bannister. Frank W. has five brothers : Herman, William, Beecher, Ansel and Millard. Born in 1863, Mr. Smith married Jane, ■daughter of John and Mary Murdoch, in 1887. They have three daughters, — Patty, Joye and Henrietta. Homer E. Bollard. — In every community there are representative citizens who stand for all that is beneficial to the general public and who are always confidently relied upon to cast their influence on the side of good government, law and order, and to uphold those things which make for progress, peace and prosperity. Of this class is Homer E. Bollard, a sterling citizen of Conneaut OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 899 township, Crawford county. He is a thrifty, industrious agriculturist, and has taken quite an active part in the affairs of his locahty, serving as road super- visor for several terms and officiating in other minor positions of more or less responsibility. For years he has used his right of franchise in favor of the Republican party. The father of the above-named gentleman was John Bollard, a native of England. There he grew to manhood and learned the shoemaker's trade, which calling he followed for a number of years with success, both in his native isle and in the United States. Upon his arrival on this continent, he settled in Ashtabula county, Ohio, where he worked at his trade up to the fall of 1850, when he came to this county, and purchased a farm in Conneaut town- ship. Here he spent the remainder of his life, occupied in the development and cultivation of his homestead. He died when sixty-eight years of age, respected and esteemed by a wide circle of friends. He was a member and for a great many years a deacon in the Congregational church and was liberal in his donations to all worthy enterprises of a religious or benevolent nature. Though not a rich man he left a good estate, which was divided among his children. His wife, whose maiden name was Elzina Barnum, was a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and died when in her forty-ninth year. Of their eight children Elizabeth Ann is • the wife of John Wyatt; Mary married Hiram Waters; Richard D. is the present county recorder of Pocahontas county, Iowa ; Homer E. is the next in order of birth ; Emma F. died at the age of fourteen years ; Joseph B. is engaged in business in Fonda, Iowa ; John E. died at the age of thirty years ; and Sarah is the wife of Frank Tyler. Homer E. Bollard was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, June 15, 1849, and was brought to this county in his infancy. Here he was reared to be a good and useful citizen and thoroughly initiated into the various departments of farming. When he was twenty-two years old he started on an independent life and two years later was married and settled down. His farm comprises eighty-nine acres, all in a high state of cultivation and showing the watchful attention bestowed by the owner. He has become well-to-do by the exercise of good judgment, industry and economy, and has an abundance for his declin- ing years. He has been active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal church and Sunday-school, having been a class-leader and steward, and at present is the superintendent of the school and trustee of the parsonage. Fraternally, he is identified with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. In 1873 Mr. Bollard mari^ied Miss Almeda Bean, of Beaver township, and four children blessed their union. One died in infancy, and the others are Grace A., Glenn D. and John Dale, all at home. Enoch Barnum, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of New Jersey and removed to Ohio, then a western state, at an early day, and there devoted himself to farming. He was a hero of the war of 1812, in 900 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. which he served as a private, and during that conflict he lost his arm by the accidental discharge of a gun, virhile he was on a march, and for that misfor- tune he was granted a pension, which he drew as long as he lived. Henry Roberts, of West Fairfield township, was born in Deer Creek township, Mercer county, in 1872, and came into Crawford county with his parents, Addison P. and Sarah Roberts, about 1887. He has three sisters: Minnie, wife of C. P. Boylan; Mary, wife of T. A. Stover, and Janey, wife of George Baker; and one brother, Samuel J. On July 11, 1892, he was united in marriage with Lizzie, daughter of Francis and Margaret Ann Bayley, of West Fairfield. James Cooper, West Fairfield township. — Robert and Elizabeth Cooper came into Crawford from Portage county, Ohio, about 1842. They reared a family of eleven children : Jane, wife of Andrew Reed ; John ; Mary Ann, wife of George Eaton ; Adeline, wife of Edward Maginiss ; William ; Eliza- beth, wife of John Chism; Benjamin, Robert, James, Richard and Nicholas. James was born in Moon township, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1830. He has been twice married, — April 20, 1854, to Margaret, daughter of Alex- ander and Pollie Leslie, and January 5, 1864, to Margaret, daughter of Alex- ander and Jane Axtell. The children by the first marriage are Cassius, Frank and William-; by the second, Samuel, Robert, Lavernia, wife of James Crow- ther, and Mary. Mr. Cooper is a member of the Presbyterian denomination, and has been a member of the session for thirty years. His farm contains eighty acres. Charles Bray.iner, of West Fairfield township, is a son of W H. and Clarissa (Oakes) Braymer : was born at Black Ash, July 19, 1863. His father, retvirning from the army, moved to the west about this time, returning in 1874. There is also a son, Ernest L., and a daughter by adoption, Elizabeth. Charles married Maixh i, 1886, Edith, daughter of William Boylan, of Mer- cer county, and settled in West Fairfield. They have three children, — Ber- deen, Edward and Leland. Mr. Braymer is a member of the L O. O. F. John H. Hilton, broom manufacturer, at Meadville, was lx)rn April 21, 1 87 1, in Dunkirk, New York, learned his trade in 1884 in the factory of the firm of Hall & Lippitt, and August 5, 1895, began business on Water street. Two months later he purchased the plant he now owns of C. P. McCurdy, corner of Park avenue and Pine street, where he has since conducted a suc- cessful business, manufacturing a superior quality of brooms for the city trade. His parents, who are of Scotch-American descent, have been lifelong resi- dents of New York state, where our subject spent a portion of his early vears. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 901 later removing to Meadville. He is a son of John H. and Elizabeth (Davi- son) Hilton. Their children are: William, of New Castle, Pennsylvania; John H., the subject of this sketch; Albert, and Grace E. Hilton, Meadville. December 24, 1895, Mr. Hilton was united in marriage with Miss May Han- nen, of Meadville. » Dr. Clarence E. Spicer, of Rome township, was born in Oshtemo, Mich- igan, August 7, 1874, the son of Nathan and Sarah (Gray) Spicer. After a suitable preliminary education he attended the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, at which he was graduated as M. D., in 1884. He began medical practice at Vicksburg, Michigan, in 1887, removed to Grand Rapids and in 1888 located at Tryonville, this county. After three years' residence there he established himself at Centerville, his present home. Dr. Spicer has attained note as a physician, has served acceptably as president of the State Eclectic Medical Society, and at the present writing is the corresponding- secretary of that organization. He is high in Masonic circles, holding mem- bership in Oil Creek Lodge, F. & A. M., Aaron Chapter, R. A. M., Occident Council, R. & S. M., and Rose Croix Commandery, K. T. By his marriage to Carrie Tryon, daughter of Henry, Dr. Spicer con- nected himself with one of the oldest families of the county. He has one child, named Irene. Ancestry of family, English. Lucius P. Morris, Randolph township, was born in Greenwood township, July 22, 1861. His father, Herman P. Morris, with his wife, Lucy M. Bentley, moved into the county about forty years ago. He has three sisters : Angelirie, wife of George Benedict; Beula, wife of Charles Randall, and Hannah, wife of Cyrus Brown. December 28, 1886, Mr. Morris married Lilla, daughter of Robert and Nar;icy Julia Porter, of West Fairfield, by whom he has two sons, — -Clinton and Melvin. Besides his farm of ninety acres, Mr. Morris has a farm of sixty-two acres in Warren county, where he for a time resided. Stephen Atherton, of Rome township, is a son of Eber and Abigail (Wheeler) Atherton, and was born in Whitingham Town, Windham county, Vermont, May 12, 1825. In 1847 he married Almeda L. Dix, daughter of Solomon and Betsy (Loomis) Dix, who was born in the same town. In 1847 Mr. Atherton came to the town of Athens, where he settled, having bought a lot of uncultivated land, built a log house and prepared to clear his farm. In 1866 he settled at Centerville, on the farm where he now resides. He has five children: B. Jane, Mrs. Orrin Dalrymple; S. E. Atherton, farmer; Eugenie v., Mrs. Frank B. Vantassel ; Albert A., station agent of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. ; and Harry D. The x\therton family were early settlers in Vermont. Three brothers of 902 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. the Dix family came to America from England at an early day. John E. Dix was a soldier in the Eighty-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was killed in the battle of the Wilderness and his body was never recovered. He was the son of Solomon Dix, who came to Athens township, in 1848, was a well known farmer and lived and died in the towfi. In 1864 Mr. Atherton enlisted in the navy and took an active part on the gunboat Fair Play, also in the western squadron on the Cumberland and Ohio rivers. He lost his health in the war and therefore draws a pension. ■Emmett W. McArthur, of Meadville, is a son of Jeremiah P. arid Hannah (Elliott) McArthur, and was born in South ShenangO' township, Crawford county, July 10, 1853, on the farm settled by his grandfather, Thomas Elliott, in 1795. Mr. McArthur's early life was spent on the farm. He was educated in the district schools of his native home, the Jamestown Seminary and the Edinboro' State Normal School, taught school for a ntimber of years, then read law in the office of J. B. Brawley at Meadville and was admitted to practice at the bar of Crawford county, February 25, 1884, and of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, February 4, 1886. In 1883 Mr. McArthur became identified with the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Crawford county, and for three years was its secretary and treasurer. He was appointed postmaster of Meadville April 6, 1886, by President Cleveland. John S. Kean, deceased, was a lifelong resident of Sadsbury township, Crawford county, and was honored and highly esteemed by all who knew him. Born November 12, 1834, he was the eldest son of Conrad and Susanna (Broadt) Kean, and in his boyhood he attended the district schools of this township. During the Civil war Mr. Kean joined the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry, enlisting October 16, 1862. He was discharged July 26, 1863, and re-enlisted on the 30th of the ensuing month in Company A, Two Hundred and Eleventh Regiment of Pennsylvania In- fantry, his service extending to the close of the war. His record while in the army was one reflecting great credit upon him, for he was brave, faithful to every trust, and equal to any emergency. When his country no longer needed him, Mr. Kean returned home and thenceforth devoted his energies to farming and dairying. He held about every local office in his township, and was a justice of the peace two terms. For some time he was a member of the executive committee of the Crawford County Agricultural Society, and in 1895 was elected superintendent of the Conneaut Lake Exposition Company, which office he held at his death. He was a member of the Odd Fellows' Society and of the Ancient Order of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 903 United Workmen, being connected with lodges at Conneaut Lake. He married Myra Congdon August 19, 1857, and of their three children two survive. W. H. Bartle, Meadville, was born in that city October i, 1861, a son of Wilmot and CaroHne (Handson) Bartle, deceased; was educated in the public schools there and was engaged in the grocery business from 1884 to 1886, then was variously employed until 1895, when he became proprietor of the St. Cloud Hotel. This hostelry he continued to conduct until 1897, and since July, 1898, he has been employed at the Commercial Hotel. May 3, 1883, he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Breene, and to this union have been born three children, — Caroline, Martha and Wilmot. ,Wilmot Bartle was prominently identified with business interests in Meadville. He was first engaged in the hardware business, under the firm name of Bartle & Sample, next, in the grocery business, under the firm name , of Bartle, Forsythe & Patterson ; after this he engaged in the tannery business in Kerrtown, under the firm name ol Bartle & Patterson, and his last under- taking was to run a malt-house. He died in 1877, at the age of sixty-seven years. He was a charter me. /oer of the Meadville fire department, and a member of the F. & A.M. and 1. O. O. F. William Lord. — The quaint old town of Penn Line, in Conneaut township, Crawford county, possesses, as one of its chief points of interest, the old hotel which has been owned and managed by the subject of this narrative for over thirty years. It has always been a popular hostelry with the inhabitants of this region and with many a chance visitor, and among the illustri®us guests which it has entertained in days gone by, was Vice-President Colfax, who was making a tour through this section of the state and stopped here for dinner upon one occasion. Mr. Lord, who has carried off the honors of host for over three decades, is as popular with his patrons as it often falls to the lot of a hotel keeper to be, and his genuine, kindly interest in the comfort of his guests is particularly grateful to the world-weary pilgrim, tired of the grasping, unc- tuous landlord and "mine host" of other cities. For several generations the Lords have been residents of New York state. Our subject's grandfather, Russell P. Lord, was a native of Oneida county. New York, and there spent his entire life, his death occurring when he had attained an advanced age. Alonzo Lord, father of William Lord, was born in Onondaga county. New York, and was reared to maturity in that section of the state. In his early manhood he removed to Genesee county. New York, and there worked at his trade of stone-cutting. Later in life, he engaged in farming and devoted the rest of his days to agriculture. He was about seventy-five years of age at the time of his death. The mother of our subject, a Miss Mary Crosby prior to her marriage, was likewise born in the 904 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Empire state and was only forty years old when she was called upon to lay down the burdens of life. She left four children to mourn her loss, and of the number Harriet, the eldest, is deceased; William is next; Hiram is a retired farmer of Cherokee county, Iowa, and Mary Jane is the wife of William Gatt of Michigan. William Lord was born in Livingston county. New York, October 13, 1 83 1. He received the benefits of a common school education, and remained at home, giving his dutiful aid to his father in the management of the home farm until he was twenty years old. At that time he came to this township and for a period found employment on a farm. He then worked at the carpenter's trade *f or several years, after which he settled down upon a good farm in this township, and for three years was successfully engaged in dairying. Having a desire to see something of the great and growing west, he went to Iowa and traveled west of the Mississippi to some extent, but ultimately returned, better satisfied than ever with this section of the Keystone state. In 1867 he pur- chased the Penn Line hotel, which he has since managed with ability and gratifying success. For about twenty years Mr. Lord has been a member of the Ancient Order sDf United Workmen and was one of the charter members of the Lodge at Penn Line. He also is identified with the Masonic order as a member of the Blue Lodge, F. & A. M., of Conneautsville. In his political affiliations he is a stanch Republican. For his wife Mr. Lord chose Miss Catherine Olive Bates, a member of one •of the oldest leading families of this township. They have one son, Fred F., who is a very enterprising young business man, and for seven years has been a traveling salesman for the wholesale drug house of Parke, Davis & Company, of Detroit, Michigan. Samuel Galbraith Maxwell was born at Woburn, Massachusetts, Septem- ber 5, 1858, the son of John and Mary Jane (Nichols) Maxwell. In his boy- hood he attended the common school and the Warren Academy at Wobuni, a preparatory school for the Institute of Technology in Boston. After leav- ing the academy he went into his father's leather store in Boston, where he remained six years, acquiring a thoroughly practical business education and training. He then went into his father's tannery and learned the art of tan- ning all kinds of leather, until he became able to superintend the leather busi- ness of his father in all its departments. Mr. Maxwell's father is a man of broad ideas, and in his time he has been, quick to adopt and appropriate to his advantage improved processes for making leather, as from time to time they have caught his attention. He believes in mechanical improvements, and he has always been among the first to appreciate improved methods in the tanning business. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 905 At no previous period in the world's history has there been such an advance in the mechanical arts as has been witnessed during the last twenty- five years. Invention and adaptation of new machinery have wrought a revo- lution in all branches of manufacturing business in this country. It may be safely assumed that in mechanics the American mind is more active and •quicker in perception than that of any other nation. American enterprise is certainly leading the rest of the world. Our manufactured products rush into foreign markets and sweep away all competition. Yankee genius has no rival.' In the processes of making leather there has been as much progress during the last quarter of a century as in any other branch of manufacturing industry. Mr. Maxwell's father, with characteristic Yankee shrewdness, always em- ployed the best methods in the tanning art, and the son was trained to the same, policy. After years of experience in the modes employed by his father, Mr. Maxwell, when he came to Titusville, ten years ago, was remarkably well quali- fied to construct plans for large tannery works, like the Queen City Tannery, to superintend its construction in every part, including the selection and placing of machinery, the organizing and employing of a large working force and marketing the products of the tannery. Experts say that the great Queen City Tannery is transcendant in its general plan of construction and economy ■of operation. (An account of these works appears elsewhere in this history.) Since coming to Titusville, Mr. Maxwell has become one of the most prominent citizens in the community. For the last three years he has been president of the Titusville Board of Trade. In 1896 he assisted in organizing the Titusville Industrial Fund Association. He was one of the ten citizens who subscribed each $10,000 to the fund of $250,000. On August 19, 1878, Mr. Maxwell was married to Miss May Belle Bloomer, daughter of Timothy and Amelia F. (Sweetser) Bloomer, of Stone- ham, Massachusetts. Mr. Maxwell has bqilt a magnificent residence, which lie now occupies, on the northwest corner of Main and Monroe streets. James Brawley, Jr., retired, and a resident of East Fairfield township, was born in 1808, in Randolph township, son of James and Mary (Glenn) Brawley, natives of Lycoming county, and the third child of a family of nine children, viz. : William R. ; Francis, deceased; James, our subject; Nancy, wife of William Dean ; Charles and Jackson, both deceased ; Mary, deceased, for- merly the wife of William Henderson of Titusville, Crawford county ; Har- riet, wife of Henry Randolph; and Sarah Brawley, deceased. William R. Brawley, of this family, bore, the distinction of being the first white child born in Randolph township. In 1833 he married Sarah Eliza, daughter of James Curry, of Oil Creek township; she died nine years later. One child was born to this union, James, who died in 1845, at the age of eleven years. James 9o6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Brawley, the father of our subject, was drafted in the war of 1812. His father, Roger Brawley, resided during his Hfetime in Lycoming county. Our subject spent his boyhood days in Randolph township, and from 1849 to 1852 in California, returning to his native township during the latter year. During the past thirteen years he has made his home with Robert Guy Murdock, and the age of eighty-nine still finds him in possession of his mental faculties. R. G. Murdock was born May 3, 1871, a son of John and Mary Ann (Brawley) Murdock, natives of Scotland. March 20, 1895, Mr. Brawley married Abbie. daughter of John and Nancy Byham, of East Fairfield township. He is a mem- ber of Cochranton Lodge, No. 902, L O. O. F., and Shaw's Landing Grange,. No. 164. Rev. Franc Winter, pastor of St. Agatha's church, is a native of Haste,, near Osnabruck, kingdom of Hanover, his birth occurring October 11, 1840. From the age of seven to fourteen years he attended the parish school, and later the Gymnasium Carolinum at Osnabruck. Father Winter came to America in 1872, and pursued a four-years course at St. Vincent's College, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. August 24, 1876, he was ordained priest and served for a time at Meadville, this county. September 24 of the same year he took charge of the newly erected St. Elizabeth church at Corry, this state, which was dedicated for divine worship on that day. In October, 1883, our subject was transferred from Corry to St. Agatha's church, Meadville, under whose pastorate the membership has been greatly increased. James M. Boyd, of Rome township, is a son of William Boyd, who was a native of Ireland. He was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, February 13, 1846, and when he was five years of age his father died, and he came to Rome township to live with Richard Carrothers, where he has since resided. He obtained his education at the common schools. March, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, Twelfth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, where he served faithfully until he was discharged July 20, 1865. In 1866 he married Harriet F. Kelly, daughter of Alva Kelly, and they have nine children. He has taken an active part in the town affairs, as he has had the office of super- visor, assessor, school director and juror commissioner, — the last mentioned for the term of three years ; at the present time he is the mercantile appraiser. He is secretary of the Regimental Reunion of the Twelfth Regiment, also a member of William J. Gleason Post, 96, G. A. R., of Townville. He is an active member of the Centerville Lodge, No. 89, I. O. O. F., and of Lodge No. 164, E. A. U. Joseph N. Clark, Conneautville, was born in the city of Sharon, Penn- sylvania, June 2, 1844, was educated in the public schools and early developed OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 907 a mercantile faculty, which he has cultivated by devoting himself to the grocer's branch of merchandising, trading in this line at various localities in the state. On September 10, 1876, he married Anna M. Davidson, of the town- ship of Beaver. Their children are Flora E., Saide D., George G. and William H. Flora E. married Emerson D. McGuire, of Conneautville, and Saide is clerk for her father in his store in the same place. Mr. Clark's father, Andrew Clark, a native of the north of Ireland, came to the United States with his parents when a lad, was well educated and became successively a teacher, a tanner and a farmer. By his wife, who was formerly a Miss Gregory, of Mercer county, he had these children : Andrew J., Jane, WilHam M., Mary, James A., Joseph N., Laura and Charles. Mr. Clark died about 1857, and his widow in 1870. Mrs.Xlark's father, Robert W. Davidson, was born, attained maturity and received his education in this state. He married Sarah Robinson, of Mercer county, now deceased. Their children were four daughters and three sons. Mr. Davidson is now living. Clark Davidson, a brother of Mrs. Clark, was a Union soldier of the civil war. Mr. Clark is an Odd Fellow, holding membership in Conneautville Lodge, and is also a member of the Protective Home Circle. The family is connected with the Presbyterian church. The ancestry of the family were of New England and of Scotch origin. Russell Bidzvell, of Athens township, is a son of Russell and Sallie Bid- well, and was born in Vermont. His parents had five children, all of whom are now dead. Mrs. Bidwell died and is buried at Allentown, New York; and subsequently Mr. Bidwell married Sabrina Chatman and came to Centerville, about 1 82 1, where he took up about fifty acres of land and lived there for twelve years, at which time he moved tO' Riceville, where he followed his oc- cupation as a farmer until he died ; he is buried in Athens township. His sec- ond wife became the mother of seven children. Jonathan Bidwell, a son, was born at Centerville, March 20, 1824, married Charlotte Evans and settled in Grove, Allegany county, New York. He lived there and at Allentown a few years and then moved to Hinsdale, where he lived several years. He enlisted in Company K, Sixty-fifth Regiment, New York Volunteers, in 1865. The same year he came to Little Cooley, where he now lives. He is a pensioner of the war. His wife died May 20, 1877, the mother of four children: Agnes; Jane, who died May 19, 1877; Alice, Mrs. Leonard Smith; and Charlotte, who died young. David S. Holman, of Conneautville, was born in Conneaut township, this county, on February 24, 1841. By occupation a mason and contractor, he has had quite a medical taste and has for a long time compounded a vegetable medicine for liver and kidney complaints, hemorrhages, running sores and piles that has met with much favor and become popular. In 1858 he married 9o8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Jane Lawrence, of his native township, and they have five children living, — Lettie A., George J., Jennie M., Aleda A. and Fay A. Lettie A. married Kit Robinson, of Summer Hill township, and they have three children, — George, Robert and Nita. George J. Holman married Saide Fuller of Kent, Ohio, and their children are William, Aleda, Glen and Sidney G. Aleda A. married Frank Crider, of Conneautville, now of Warren, Pennsylvania; they have three children : William, Helen and an infant. Jonathan Holman, father of David S. Holman, was born in Vermonton, April 20, 1790, and by his marriage to Susan Greenleaf (born just over the south line of Vermont in Massachusetts) he had twelve children, — Leonard S., Jonathan L., John G., Susan, Zilpha, Calvin J., Charles T., Abigail, Eliza- beth, Henry R., David Sidney and Maria. Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Holman, after the eight oldest children had been born, came to this state to live, and on arriving at their new home had but one dollar and fifty cents left with which to commence life in their new home. How much of labor, economy, endurance and self-denial is indicated in this statement none but the few remaining pioneers can realize. Mr. Holman died on June 26, 1855, and Mrs. Holman on March 21, 1883. Ancestry of family, English and Scotch. W. C. Fiilmcr, of Oil Creek township, is a son of Samuel and Maria (Harleman) Fulmer, and was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1838. His father, an extensive farmer, was of an old established family in this country. He sold his possessions in Northumberland county in 1844 and with his family of three children removed to Crawford county, locating at Hydetown, where he purchased one hundred acres of land. He was several times councilman of the village and also a school director. He died Sep- tember 10, 1 89 1. Mrs. Fulmer died July 17, 1888. W. C. Fulmer was mar- ried April 5, 1876, to Johannah, daughter of Peter Ridgeway, of Hydetown. She was born July 8, 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Fulmer have one child : Edith, born April 18, 1878. Mr. Fulmer has served his village as burgess, councilman, assessor, con- stable and school director. He is a member of Oil Creek Lodge, No. 303, F. & A. M., at Titusville. John Hays Culbcrtson, only son of David Culbertson, was born in Rich- mond township, April 2, 1840. His early life was spent at home with his parents, going to school, and in assisting them about the farm, until, in 1864, he came to Meadville and entered the wholesale grocery house of McFarland Brothers as bookkeeper. He retained this position three years, when he was obliged to abandon office work, on account of failing health. A portion of the summer of 1867 was spent upon Lake Superior in regaining his former health and strength, which was fully restored. The ensuing year Mr. Cul- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 909' bertson filled the position of cashier of the McHenry House, in Meadville. In August, 1868, he opened a general insurance office on Chestnut street and in 1 87 1 associated with him in that business John Reitze, under the name of Culbertson & Reitze. They have carried on this business ever since, represent- mg several of the best insurance companies in the United States. In 1874 Mr. Culbertson was appointed deputy collector of internal revenue by Hon. James C. Brown, and was reappointed in 1883. On October 12, 1871, Mr. Culbertson was married to Emma A., daugh- ter of R. C. Boileen, Esq., of Meadville, and to this union were born three children: Anna S., who married, October 12, 1898, Dr. W. B. Townsend, of Meadville; Willard B., and Blanche. Elijah N. Tubbs, son of George S. and Samantha O. (Noble) Tubbs, and a resident of Athens township, was born in Washington county, New York, March 5, 1836. In 1859 he came to Athens township, where he married Lydia R. Osborne and settled at Little Cooley, where he has been a farmer. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, Eighteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, and served till the close of the war. William A. Hammon, ConneautviHe, was born in this city on March 20, 1836, obtained his education in the common schools and Cleveland Commei'- cial College. In 1856, 1857 and 1858 he was a wholesale dry-goods merchant in New York city. From 1861 until 1876 he was engaged in general merchan- dising in ConneautviHe. He is now general agent for the ConneautviHe min- eral-water syndicate of Cleveland, Ohio. He was also postmaster of Con- neautviHe for six years. On October 8, 1861, he married Fidelia Wood, of ConneautviHe. Their only daughter, Mary, married William G. Power, then of ConneautviHe and, now of Indiana. They have two children, Annitta and William H. Mr. Hammon's father, Hiram Hammon, was born in Tompkins county, New York, in 18 10. Acquiring a good education he was early a contractor on public works and while yet a young man came to this county. About 1834 he married Maria, daughter of Alexander and Mary Power; they had but two children, — William A. and Charles H. Mr. Hammon died in 1840, Mrs. Hammon in 1887. In 1777 Mr. Hammon's grandfather, Daniel Hammon, was born at Foster, Rhode Island, and died at ConneautviHe in 1846. Robert B. Wood, M. D., father of Mrs. Hammon, was the first edu- cated physician of this county. He married Mary A. Le Fevre on May 15, 1847, ^n^ their children were Leander L., Mary, Abby, Lois (who died in 1850), Fidelia and one who died in infancy. Dr. Wood died July 25, 1834. Mrs. Wood married again and' died on May 30, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Hammon are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. 9IO OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Hamnion is a Republican in politics. Ancestry of family, English, Scotch, Dutch and French. George A. Christy, of Spring township, was born in this township, on September lo, 1836. His life has ever been that of a quiet agriculturist, but withal he is a man of independent thought, strong in his conclusions and fixed in his ideas. A Democrat in his political opinions, he has never cared for office. On October 3, 1871, Mr. Christy married Ophelia A. Hall, and their children are Qy L., Minnie M. and Leon W. Both daughters are now (1897) engaged in teaching. Mr. Christy's father, Andrew Christy, was a native of this county and born in 1797. He married Mary Meyler, of Spring township. They h&d eight children, — Elizabeth, Adeline, Ashmel, George A., Lorinda, Wilhemina, Sarah A., and Viola, who died when fourteen years old. Mr. Christy's death oc- curred on August 8,, 1876, and that of Mrs. Christy in 1880. Ebenezer Hall, father of Mrs. Christy, born in Connecticut in December, 1808, came to this county and Spring township in 1820, when twelve years old. He was reared a farmer and in addition to that vocation learned the carpenter's trade. He married Betsey Williams, formerly of the state of Ohio, and had six children, — Olive v., Ophelia A., George M. Dallas, Portia S., Mary S. and WilHam B. Mrs. Hall died on February 11, 1886, and Mr. Hall on November 21, 1894. The European ancestry of these sterling pioneer families is English, German, Welsh and Irish. John Shanberger, who was a worthy citizen of Athens township, Craw- ford county, during the last years of his life, was a native of Germany. For some time he was a resident of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, whence he removed to this county in 1825, taking up two hundred acres of wild land at fifty cents an acre. This property he partially improved and it is now in the possession of his grandsons, G. W. and W. E. Shauberger. He and his faithful wife passed away many years ago and were placed to rest in the family burying ground. George, one of the five children of John Shauberger, was born October 30, 1 8 10. He married Lucy Cross and settled upon a part of the old home- stead, which he proceeded to cultivate during his active life. In his political faith he was a Democrat. Mrs. Shauberger was summoned to the better land November 14, 1893, and in less than three years the husband and father fol- lowed her to the grave, his death taking place July 2y, 1896. Seven children of this worthy couple are left to mourn their loss and are as follows: Lavinia, wife of W. C. Beardsley, of Garland, Pennsylvania; Lydia S., wife of Silas Preston, of Townville, Pennsylvania; George W., who married Savella Rhoades and lives on the old homestead with his two children, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 911 Elwin D. and EldaP. ; Mary M., wife of Charles Gray, of the state of New- York; Rose, Mrs. Robert Jennings, of Bradleytown, Pennsylvania; William E., whose home is on one section of the old farm in Athens township ; and Alice M., wife of George Powers. Maurice M. Powell, nearly two-score years ago, took up his residence in Meadville, which city has since been his home. His family is of good old New England stock, and his great-grandfather, Daniel Powell, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Lorenzo I. Powell, the father of our subject, was a native of New York state, and at the time of his death, in March, 1884, he was seventy- five years of age. His widow, whose maiden name was Ethel Richardson, is still living, and is now eighty years old. Of the children born to Lorenzo and Ethel Powell, Maurice M. is the fifth son. The others are : Homer Lee, of Meadville; Wallace W., deceased; Owen W., of Brocton, New York; Charles R., of Corry, Pennsylvania; Mary Jane, deceased, and Sarah Jane, widow of Edward Richardson, formerly master mechanic of the Pittsburg, Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad. M. M. Powell was born in Portland, Chautauqua county. New York, April 2, 1844, and came to Meadville in 1861. Soon afterward he entered the employ of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway, as a civil engineer, and later, upon the organization of the Pittsburg, Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad he accepted a position with the corporation as a locomotive engineer, in which capacity he is still acting. He is a member of Meadville Division No. 43, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and was a prime mover in the organiza- tion of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, which was instituted June 29, 1869. In 1865 Mr. Powell married Katherine, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Houck) Harper, of Meadville. Twelve children were born to our subject and wife, namely: Lottie E., who married J. W. Quinley, of Portland, Oregon; Ethelinda, wife of M. C. McLaughlin, of Meadville; Charles M., of Pittsburg; EffieL.,wifeof George P.Edwards, of Cleveland, Ohio; Maurice M., Jr., of Bessemer, Pennsylvania; Owen W., of Erie, Pennsylvania; Kath- erine L. ; Wijliam Wallace; Philip Harper; Sarah Jane; Homer E. ; and Minnie L. Maurice M., Jr., married Annie Leisch, and Owen W. wedded Blanche Perrin. The devoted wife and mother was called to the better land March 6, 1896, when in her fiftieth year. Richard B. Gilson, of Rome township, is a son of John and Anna (Bell) Gilson, and was born in Tidioute, Pennsylvania, in 18 14. His father was an early settler in Oil Creek township. He married Betsy Harrison, daughter of Benjamin Harrison, of Rome township. He settled there on the farm now owned by his son William, was a farmer and had seven children,— John 912 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. H., Benjamin H., Christopher C, Theodore R., Nancy A., George B. and WilHam B. He died in 1894. Benjamin H. was born September 10, 1849, and married Ida Ash, daughter of David and Anna (Barber) Ash, of Pleas- antville. Mr. Gilson has been engaged in the oil field as a driller, and now owns a sawmill, and is also extensively engaged in farming. He was elected justice of the i^eace in 1893. He has two children, — Bertha and Earl O. Thomas Murdock, florist, of Titusville, was born May 24, 1869, in Dairy, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, son of Alexander and Janette (Murdock) Mur- dock. Mr. Murdock came to America in 1864, first locating in Oil City, where he resided for four years and came to Titusville in 1888. He began the work of a florist at the age of fifteen years as an apprentice to the Max- wells, where he remained four years and was employed at Kennedy's nurse- ries for two years, Drumlanrig Castle two years, Paxton House Garden two years, Burwick-on-the-Tweed two )'ears and Lythian Hall two years. His first work performed in Oil City was in the Oakwood rose garden. He had charge of the Emerson greenhouse several years and established him- self as a leading florist in 1874. March 11, 1887, he married Rebekah, daughter of William and Eliza- beth (McCloud) Stuart, descendants of the royal Stuarts of Scotland. Both the Stuarts and McClouds were United Presbyterians. The Murdocks wei-e also renowned, and reference is made to the distinguished family in rela- tion to the "Lady of the Lake." Mr. and Mrs. Murdock have three children, — Elizabeth C, William Alexander and Kenneth Douglas. Mr. Murdock is a member of the Presbyterian church and is also identified with the L O. O. F. and F. & A. M. A. B. Voungson. — Probably no one in western Pennsylvania is bet- ter known than A. B. Youngson, who has been actively interested in rail- roading and in railroad affairs ever since his boyhood, and for almost his entire life has been a respected resident of Meadville. His father, George Youngson, will be remembered by many as the editor and founder of the Spirit of the Age, a journal which was published in Pittsburg. This newspaper, which possessed considerable merit and won a high reputation, was later issued under the name of the Dispatch. In 1851 Mr. Youngson sold out his business interests in Pittsburg" and removed to Meadville, where he purchased the Cussawago Chronicle and edited it for three years. Being appointed United States consul to Sydney, Australia, he removed to that city in 1855, and has since made his home in that coun- try. In 1840 he married Aliss Martha Black, of Pittsburg, and four children were born to them, namely: John J., A. R., Laura and Sophia, all of whom are married and reside in Meadville. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 913 A. B. Youngsoil was born March 20, 1849, in Pittsburg, and as early as 1862 he entered upon his career as a railroad man. At first he was em- ployed in the shops of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway, but in 1864 was promoted to the position of fireman on a locomotive. In 1866 he was made an engineer, and for twenty-three years he faithfully served in that capacity. In October, 1890, he was elected to the place of assistant chief en- gineer in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and still retains that office. Socially he stands high in the various Masonic bodies of Meadville, and is a member of the Mystic Shrine, at Cleveland, Ohio. In 1886 he was elected and served for one term in the common council of Meadville. On the 1 8th of November, 1875, Mr. Youngson was 'united in mar- riage to Miss Clara E. Taylor, a daughter of William Taylor, of this city. She died November 4, 1894, and left three children, namely: Laurina, Will- iam 'C. and Elizabeth. D.\,p. Stewart. — The Stewart family came tO' Rome township in 1833. Ther.e were five brothers,^ — Charles, John, Joseph, David and Marcus, who were farmers, and some of their descendants are now living in the town. Francois Jeanney, of Randolph township, came into the county in 1854, from the department of Doubs, France, where he was born October 27, 1827. He settled in Randolph and the next year married Matilde, daughter of Francis and Pearl Gaudlot, of the same township. He settled on his farm of sixty acres about twenty years ago, and is also the owner of another farm of fifty acres which is cultivated by his son-in-law, Frank Brown. The second generation of the family in this county includes Mary, wife of Charles Muenzenberger ; Frank; Emil; Louise, wife of Victor Bardy; Phoebe, wife of George Brunot ; Gustine, wife of Frank Brown ; Emilia ; Clara ; Anna, wife of Fred Roueche; Joseph and Valerie. Henry Cole, of Spring township, was born in Canandaigua, Ontario county, New York, in June, 1841. His education was obtained in the com- mon schools, and early in life he came to this state and was a railway car- penter. On November 24, 1866, he married Rebecca N. Bartley, formerly of Macomb county, Michigan, and they have seven children,— Henry, Nellie, Mary E., Jennie, Brady, Orphy and Hattie. Henry married Rachel Carnes, and they reside in Linesville and have one son, Clayton C. Nellie married George Williams, and they have three children, — Dale G., Dee H. and M. Christy. Mary E. married Grant Faust, and they have two sons, — Clair' J. and Qyde H. (twins). Jennie married Burt White, and they have one son, — James N. Mrs. Cole's father, Robert Bartley, was born in the north of Ireland, S8 914 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. about 1822, was well educated, and came to the United States when a young man, first locating in Ohio and later in Michigan, where he married Rachel Holmes, of that state. They had seven children, — Robert W., Rebecca N., Mary E., Wilson A., John F., Ezra I. and Myler, who are living. Mr. Bartley was drowned in 1882, and Mrs. Bartley died on January 25, 1865. The family are Congregationalists. Ancestry of family, English, Dutch and Scotch. Jacob M. Hippie, of Randolph township, was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1823, and married Angeline, daughter of Joseph and Mary Bryant, of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. They removed to Ohio but came into this county in 1867. Their children are: Frances Lorinda, wife of Ezekiel Daniels; Harvey; Mary, wife of Jerry Thurston; Charles, Lorenzo, John W., Eva, Asa, and Pluma, wife of John Burse. Mr. Hippie removed from Troy township four years ago to his present home, a place of twenty- five acres on the Oil Creek road. He is a member of the church called The Saints. George D. King was born in Utica, Oneida county. New York, on Jan- uary 30, 1834. His parents moved to New York city when h'e was two years old and to this state when he was six years old. Here he was edu- -cated, in the select schools. He early showed appreciation of the fine points incident to cattle and horses of a high grade and became a dealer in live stock. For many years now he has dealt exclusively in fine matched carriage horses for the trade in New York city and in the other chief cities of the United States, and also in Mexico, Cuba and other foreign countries. The firm name in recent years has been George D. King & Son. They import first-class breed- ing stock from England and France, and their fine barns at Hillside (Spring- boro) are under the personal and capable supervision and superintendence of the son, Fred P. King. The firm does a safe and reliable business of from forty thousand dollars to fifty thousand dollars yearly. Mr. King stands high in the community for his business qualities, his public spirit and lib- erality and his gentlemanly courtesy. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. King's oldest son, Fred P., the junior member of the firm, is the only son of Mr. King's first wife, whose maiden name was Levantia Pond. He married Hattie, an adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Welch, of Spring township, and their children are Frank W. and Fred P. King. Mrs. Levantia King died in 1879, and Mr. King married on November 25, 1881, Emma Hart of Girard, Erie county, this state. They have two daughters, Bertha Helen and Edith Hart King. Jotham B. King, father of George D., was born at Norwich Corners, Oneida county. New York, a son of Jotham King, a native of Connecticut, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ' 915 in May, 1810. He i-eceived a good education, became a contractor and was a sub-contractor on the Croton water-works, built to supply New York city. He married Amanda Dickson, of his native county. They had five children,— George D., Hiram D., Cornelia A., Henry C. and Jotham M. Mr. King died in 1875 and Mrs. King in 1873. Mrs. Emma (Hart) King is in the ninth generation of the Hart family of the United States. Her father, Leffert Hart, was born in Hartford county, Connecticut, on December 12, 1802. He was well educated, was a merchant in Waterford in Erie county, this state, and later a contractor. He came to Girard to reside in 1839. He was twice married, first to Nancy Woodford on September 12, 1826, by whom he had seven children, five daughters and two sons. Mrs. Nancy Hart died on June 5, 1847, and Mr. Hart married Eliza Dempsey, of Girard, on July 25, 1848, and they had seven children. Mr. Hart died on December 20, 1874, in his seventy-third year. Mrs. Hart is now (1897) living. Ancestry of family, New England, of Welsh, English and Scotch extraction. William F. Johnson. — Among the agriculturists whose labor and enter- prise have been largely instrumental in bringing Crawford county into the front ranks of the counties of Pennsylvania is William F. Johnson, of South Shenango township, whose long and useful life was brought to a close Decem- ber 18, 1897. His place in the community where he was an old resident and pioneer cannot be easily filled and the numerous friends whom he had endeared to himself by the sterling traits of his character, by his goodness of heart and his love and sympathy for his fellow-men, will ever treasure his memory. For about half a century he was a member of the Methodist Protestant church, doing all within his power to promote the i^nterests of the denomination and putting into daily practice the noble faith in which he believed. He was a sincere Christian, a kind and helpful friend and neighbor and a loving hus- band and father. A native of New Jersey, W. F. Johnson was born May 17, 1818, and passed the first eight years of his life in that locality. He then removed with his parents to Dryden, New York, and there lived upon a farm, learn- ing from practical experience the various duties of agricultural and business life. At length he came to South Shenango township, Crawford county, and from that time until his death he remained a resident of this vicinity. Be- ginning in a humble way, he gradually acquired a goodly fortune and be- came one of the prosperous men of affairs of this neighborhood, as a just re- sult of the well-directed energy and industry which he always displayed. He left an estate comprising nearly one thousand acres of improved farm land, situated in this and adjoining counties. For years he was extensively . en- gaged in raising live stock and in this manner made much of his wealth. Though a loyal Republican and interested in the success of his party, he was 9i6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. not an office-seeker and preferred to give his whole time and attention to other duties. Fraternally, he was connected with the Meadville Lodge, A. F. &A. M. The first marriage of Mr. Johnson was to Miss Mandana Highland, of New York. She died, leaving four children, two of whom are deceased, while the others, George and Hile, are both enterprising farmers of this county. The second wife of Mr. Johnson was twenty years his junior, her birth having occurred September 7, 1838. She bore the name of Mary J. Word before her marriage and was a daughter of Jacob Word, a farmer of this township. He was a native of New York state, but came to this county when young and here passed the rest of his days, his death occurring when he was in his forty-eighth year. He was a prosperous and progressive farmer and enjoyed the high regard of all who knew him. To some extent he followed the trade of shoemaking, which he had learned in his youth. His wife was a Miss Delila Bowman in her girlhood, and the Empire state also was the state of her nativity. She lived to the advanced age of ninety-four years. Though a lovely Christian woman she never identified herself with any church. Mrs. Mary Johnson was -tern and reared to maturity in this township, and with her five brothers and sisters attended the district schools. By her marriage she became the mother of thirteen children, two of whom died in early life. Ollie C. became the wife of Robert P. Marshall, whose sketch will be found elsewhere in this volume;. Emma is the wife of Horace French; William P. and James H. are farmers, the first-named in this township, the other in Ohio ; Minnie is Mrs. Frank White; Alta married Charles Neal; Word, Frank ,E. and Arthur are farmers of this township; Maude and Howe are still at home. The family occupies a high position in the community and are always relied upon to cast in their influence on the side of whatever makes for good government, order and progress. Judson P. Ames, of Athens township, is a son of Amos and Achsah (Thomas) Ames, and was born in Cambridge township. May 27, 1841. About 1856 he CEune to live in Athens township. In 1861 he enlisted in Com- pany I, Eighty- third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served three years ; was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness and lost one thumb. He is a farmer. He married Violetta Ely, daughter of Warren Bly, of Beloit, Wisconsin. He has two children, — Fred and Avis. ' Bender, son of Peter and Margareta (Bushman) Bender, was born in 1842 in Germany and was educated in the public schools of that coun- try. In 1866 he came to America and located at Meadville, where he was employed in a stove factory and later was employed in a grocery store. In f868 he married Lena Oster, daughter of John Oster, and has four children : OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 917 Margaret, wife of Power Burkhart, editor of Ottawa Democrat, Ohio ; Louise, wife of Dr. Elword ; C. Linderman ; Dr. Charles D. Bender and Emma are members of the Evangelist Protestant church. In 1869 he opened a restau- rant and followed that business twenty-four years. Reuben L. Kendall, Springboro, was born in this place on July 31, 1856, educated in the public schools and learned the blacksmith's trade of his father, being now of the third generation carrying on the business in the same shop. On July 23, 1879, he married Lillie A. Ross, of Spring township. They have one son, Ross C, born May 13, 1886. Mrs. Kendall's father. Nelson W. Ross, was born in Penfield, Monroe county, New York, on August 17, 1824, and came with his parents to Crawford countj% when three years of age. He was educated in the schools of that early day and followed the honorable occupation of farming. On March 25, 1852, he married Elizabeth H. Rice, who was born June 10, 1829, and they had six children, — Laura J., Lebbeus, Frank W., Lillie A., Stephen V. and William H. Mr. Ross died on July 30, 1896, and his wife on May 25, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Kendall are members of the Christian church. Mr. Kendall is a thorqugh Republican. The ancestry of family is French and Scotch. (See another page of this work for an ac- count of Mr. Kendall's father, Stephen Kendall.) James IV. Russ. — One of the. respected citizens and enterprising young business men of Rome township, Crawford county, is James W. Russ, who is a son of James and Laona (Tarbox) Russ. The father volunteered his ser- vices to his country in the war of the Rebellion, served in a Wisconsin regi- ment, and died soon after his return home. James W. Russ of this sketch was born in Wisconsin on the 3d of June, •1864. In his youth he commenced working in the oil regions of Pennsyl- vania and for several years has been employed at oil wells, having charge of the pumps. He thoroughly understands his business, and is a faithful and reliable employee. James W. Russ married Miss Violet M. Stearns, a daughter of Charles and Violet (Henderson) Stearns, •> and granddaughter of Charles Stearns, Sr., who was one of the early settlers of this township. Three children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Alminta M., Charles W. and James R. Mrs. M. Jennie Parker, of Spring township, is a daughter of Andrew S. Stevens, who was born in Greene county, New York, in 1802. Receiving a common-school education, he came to this county when a young man and married Hannah S. Dearborn, of this place. Thirteen of their children at- tained maturity,— Eleanor, K^ziah, Ira L., M. Jennie, Anna M., William H., 9i8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Melissa, Emory W., Lodina, Lucy A., Annette, George B. and Ava L. Mrs. Stevens died in January, 1886, and Mr. Stevens in December of the same year. Mrs. M. Jennie Parker has been twice married, first to Ansel V Baldwin, who was born in Spring township in October, 1837, 3-"^ died in October, 1885. Educated in the district schools, he developed business qualities and engaged in various occupations, and was also a merchant and a commercial traveler. He was prominent in the Masonic order and was a Knight Templar. Mrs. Baldwin married Calvin A. Parker, formerly of Cortland county. New York, on November 21, 1893. He also was a Freemason. Their married life was of short duration, as Mr. Parker's death occurred on May 23, 1894. Mrs. Parker's ancestiy is Dutch and English. Samuel Hart, of Athens township, is a son of David Hart, and was born in North Kingston, Rhode Island. He moved to Chautauqua county. New York, in 1836, and in 1839 he married Sally Adams, daughter of William Adams. In 1852 he moved to Athens township, where he now resides as a farmer and has three children. John T. Farner, of Oil Creek township, was born October 28, 1838, at Penn's Valley, Center county, Pennsylvania, a son of John and Mary (Stiver) Farner. Mr. Farner began life on a farm with his father, where he remained until 1861, when he enlisted in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. At Winchester, Virginia, he was taken prisoner and spent a year at Libby Prison and also at Salisbury, North Carolina. In 1863 he was exchanged and returned home, remaining there until the close of the war in 1865, when he removed to Oil City and began work in the oil field. Mr. Farner's ventures in oil proved quite successful and in 1885 he came to Crawford county, locat- ing at Hydetown. Mr. Farner is a member of the National Oil Company at Titusville. On July 2, 1879, 1''^ 'was united in marriage with Jennie, a daughter of Samuel and Maria Fulmer, of Hydetown. They have no children. Mr. Farner is a member of the Oil Creek Lodge, No. 303, F. & A. M. ; Rose Croix Commandery, K. T. ; and Chase Post, G. A. R. H. D. Walker, a farmer of East Fairfield township, was born February 28, 1833, in that township, on the farm he now owns, where he has resided since boyhood. He was a son of John and Mary (Dodge) Walker, natives of Ireland, and was the fifth child of a family of eight children reared on this farm, viz. : William, deceased ; Jane, wife Washington McClenn, of De Kalb, Illinois ; Elizabeth, wife Anson Schrader ; Margaret, wife of Henry Heath, of Lafayette county; Henry D., our subject; Mary, wife of Thomas Wilson; Precilla, widow of Wells Sheldon; and D. J. Walker, of Oil City. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 919 June 27, 1 86 1, Mr. H. D. Walker was united in marriage with Jane, daughter of Phillip and Sarah (Hill) Record, of Wayne township. The former died April 6, 1865, at the age of sixty-seven years, and the latter August 10, 1886, aged eighty-four years. Mrs. Walker is the fifth child of a family of seven children, as follows: Benjamin, of Cambridge, Illinois; Mary, wife of John Bell, residing in Wayne township; Agnes and Esther, deceased; Jane, wife of our subject; Archibald; and Sarah Ann, widow of Jacob Resinger., H. D. Walker's children are: William A., who married Carrie Kiser, daughter of Jacob Kiser, of Mead township;, Jennie S., widow of William Marsteller; Wil- son M., who married Harriet Kiser ; John R. ; James Norman ; Mary Elizabeth, and Stewart F. Walker. The grandchildren are : Hugh Chester, born March 21, 1885; Eva Jane, in July, 1886; Mabel, in February, i'888; Florence E., in 1890; Sarah E., in 1892; Percy, in 1894; and Otis teroy, in 1896, chil- dren of William and Carrie Walker ; Jessie Day and Esty May, twins, born March 15, 1892, children of Jennie and William Marsteller, and Ada L., born March 2, 1895, a daughter of Wilson and Harriet Walker. John Walker, father of our subject, settled in East Fairfield as early as 1805, and found only one tree cut to mark the spot around which he began his home, and which he later developed into one of the fertile farms of his township. The homestead farm has been conducted by the present owner ever since the fall of 1867. John M. Hart, a. farmer of Athens township, is a son of Samuel H. and Sarah (Adams) Hart, and was born in the town of Chautauqua, New York, in 1840. His father moved to Athens township, about 1854. He married Rosa A. Hall, a daughter of Erastus W. Hall, and they have two children, — Oren C. and Fred E. Orson A. Chapman, of Spring township, was born in Beaver township, this state, on June 19, 1840, and came to Spring township with his parents in 1850. He was educated in the public schools, learned the carpenter's trade and has been an operator of portable engines in the oil regions for many years. On December 31, 1863, he married Julia J. Hall, of Springboro, and they have three children, — Harriet L., Bessie E. and Lewis W. Mr. Chapman's father, Lewis K. Chapman, was born at Saratoga Springs, New York, on October 31, 1814, was educated there and in the vicinity of Rochester, same state, whither his parents had removed. From there they came to this state, in May, 1836. Just one year afterward, in May, 1837, Mr. Chapman married Robey Thompson, whose father, Alexander Thompson, came from Warsaw, New York, to this county in 1835. They had eleven children,— Orson A., Fannie E., Millie J., Helen M., James H., Lewis K. (killed in railway service at Rome, Ohio, in 1873), Sarah A., Peter 920 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. M., Frank E., Robey L. and John E. Mr. Chapman conducted saw and grist mills for many years, was the first man to establish common schools in Beaver township, and was school director for twenty-eight years. The family moved to Spring township in 1850. Mr. Chapman held the office of justice of the peace for twenty-five years from his first election in 1856, and was notary public many years. He died in 1889 and his widow in 189 1. Mrs. Chapman's father, Lyman Hall, was born in Connecticut May 6, 181 1, and came to this section at an early day. On April 12, 1838, he mar- ried Lovisa Wetmore, of Spring township. His father, Captain Benjamin Hall, was a soldier of the war of 18 12. He settled here in 1820, coming with ox teams and cutting road-ways through the wilderness. Fisher's drug store is on the corner of the farm upon which they settled. Two of their five chil- dren survive, — Julia J. and Catherine D. (Mrs. John P. Barr). Their brother Scott was a sailor on the United States gunboat Cohasset in the civil war, and was wounded in an action on James river, was taken prisoner, exchanged, and discharged for disability. He died in 1866. Mr. Hall died August 17, 18 — ; his widow now (1897) survives him. Mr. Chapman is a member of Western Crawford Lodge of Freemasons at Conneautville. All of his im- mediate ancestors held residence in this county from pioneer days. The family attends the Christian church, of which Mrs. Chapman is a member. Ancestry of family, English, Scotch and Welsh. James McCombs, of Oil Creek township, is a son of William and Jane (Kerr) McCombs, and was born in Oil Creek township, just north of Titus- ville, August 30, 1825. The farm then comprised three hundred and sixty acres, part of which is now occupied by the fair grounds. James remained at home and followed farming. He was united in marriage with Laura, daughter of Hezekiah and Laura (Dunham) Sperry. Mrs. McCombs was born March 7, 1833. They had four children: Harriet J., who died January I, 1893 ; Robert K. ; William P. ;-and the other child dying in infancy. Mr. McCombs died January 24, 1893. He is survived by his widow and two children, who reside on the old homestead, a part of which was erected over eighty years ago. George W. Hecker, of Meadville, was born at Allentown, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of February, 1824. When he was but four years of age his family removed to Reading, this state, and in the fall of 1828 came to Crawford county, finally locating at Saegerstown, in 1830. During boyhood he worked with his father in the tailoring business, gaining a good fundamental educa- tion, and at times reading law in the office of John W. Farrelly, at Meadville. When twenty-one years of age he was admitted to the bar, and returned to Allentown with the intention of locating there permanently, but soon returned OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 921 to Meadville and formed a partnership with W. H. Davis. In 1846 he re- moved to Ridgeway, where he was appointed deputy attorney-general for Elk county^ by Hon. John Reed, and was reappointed by Benjamin Campneys. At the expiration of his term of office, in 1848, he removed to Clearfield, where he was appointed deputy attorney-genera) for Clearfield county. In May, 1849, ^^ returned to Meadville, where he practiced law successively in the offices of D. C. McCoy, William R. Scott, H. C. Johnson and J. W. Mc- Closkey. In 1852 Mr. Hecker was elected district attorney for Crawford county, serving three years. Since the expiration of his term of office he has been engaged in the practice of law in Meadville. In 1875 Mr. Hecker published, as a result of life-long research and study, a valuable legal work on "Warrantee in the Sale of Personal Property." Mr. Hecker is at present the oldest practicing attorney at the Crawford county bar. David Blatchley, formerly Blackly, was a resident of Connecticut in 1752. According to records in possession of Stephen Blatchley, of Concord, Erie county, Pennsylvania, a son of Daniel married Elizabeth Hubbard, who was a native of Connecticut. He moved to Broome county, New York, with his team and wagon at an early date and settled at Windsor, where he afterward died. His son David married Phebe Edson, daughter of Seth and Desire (Comstock) Edson, who were natives of Massachusetts, and settled in Broome county. In 1835 he moved to Cattaraugus county, same state, and in 1836 to Chautauqua county, that state, where he engaged in his trades as carpenter, builder and farmer, and from there he removed to Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he settled on the farm his son now owns in Concord township, and where he died in 1892; his wife died in 1886. Their children were Stephen, Elizabeth (Mrs. Lorrin Bates), and Electa (Mrs. Charles Rosaback), of Spartansburg. Delmer Houts, a farmer, of East Fairfield township, was born in Wayne township, Crawford county, November 9, 1859, son of Henry and Phoebe J. (Stockton) Houtz, natives of Dauphin county, this state, who came to south- ern Crawford at an early day and settled in the adjoining township. Henry Houtz was the son of William and Polly Houtz ; the latter still survives, at the age of thirty-three years. He is the oldest of the following named children : Delmer, subject; Anna, wife of W. B. Teed; Effie, wife of John McDaniel; Jeanette, wife of Samuel Gourley; Albert, deceased; Theodore; Nannie, and Henry Ellis Houtz. December 14, 1884, he married Mina, the second child of John and Esther (Clough) Heffernan, of Venango county, Pennsylvania. The children of this family are John, Mina (wife of subject), Ida Belle, Myrtle, Cass and Hamilton. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Houtz, viz. : Ada, Winnie Pearl and Francis Leroy Houtz. Mr. Houtz 922 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. owns and resides on the farm, for years the property of R. Cochran, which has been. greatly improved mider its present ownership. Charles Day, Sr., of Sparta township, came from Whitehall to Sugar Creek, Venango county, Pennsylvania, in 1826, where he was a farmer. Later he came to Titusville, where he carried on the blacksmithing business.; and from there he moved to Rome township, where he engaged in farming and blacksmithing. He married Mary Ann Crosett. Their son John was born at Whitehall, New York, in 18 19, and came with his father to Pennsylvania, where he married Sarah, daughter of William and Clarissa Davenport. They settled in Rome, where he followed his father's trade and afterward removed to Spartansburg (in 1865), and still worked at the blacksmith's trade. He had four children, — George F., Luther W., William, who died an infant, and ^lary E. (Mrs. Edwin Hoffman). Edwin Hoffman, son of Thomas C. and Sarah (Horton) Hoffman, was born in Lockport, New York, October 14, 1844. In August, 1862, he en- listed in the Nineteenth New York Independent Battery of Light Artillery. He was color-bearer from 1863 till 1865, when he came home and learned the free-hand crayon portrait business, being naturally an artist. He came to Spartansburg in 1876, where he is well known by his crayon work. In local office he is justice of the peace, and for his wife he married Mary E. Day. Andrcii' Blair, engineer, Meadville, was born in western Crawford November 16, 1844, a son of Andrew and Jane (McKa)") Blair, natives of this county. The former died in 1844 and the latter in 1895. Their family con- sisted of two children : Andrew, above mentioned ; and Mary, wife of John Steadman, Atlantic, Pennsylvania. November 25, 1872, Mr. Blair married Anna L., daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Trace) Brown, of Meadville. To this union have been born three children, — Nina E., Lula J. and Annie M. Blair. Mr. Blair has always been a resident of his native county. In 1893 he began as a fireman for the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railway, and was for several years in the employ of the company as an engineer. In 1892 he accepted a position as engineer for the People's Incandescent Light Company, which place he now holds. William D. Heath, a farmer of East Fairfield township, was born in 1827 and reared on the farm where he now resides, and for forty years has been the owner of the same. He is a son of Samuel Heath, a prominent citizen and farmer of Crawford county, who died at the age of seventy years. July 2, 1867, he married Lydia Burger of Westmoreland cotmty, and to this union have been born six children, as follows : Charles, Mary E., Katherine Jane, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 923 Margaret, Emma and Lucetta Heath. Mr. Heath has been actively engaged hi farming pursuits for over half a century, and has never been outside his native county except upon two or three occasions during that period. He has held the office of school director for six consecutive years. Burt G. Gable, proprietor of the New Gable House, Meadville, was born April 2, 1870, a son of Charles and Nancy (Stainbrook) Gable. Mr. Gable the father, was for thirty-five years owner and manager of the Gable House. He i-emoved from Mead township to Meadville in 1863 ^"d opened this well- known hostelry, which he conducted until three months prior to his death, January 29, 1898. He was a Pennsylvanian by birth and spent the greater part of his active life in Crawford county. He was born in 1830. His only son, Burt G., continues the management of the hotel, and re- organized the same under the name of the New Gable House, refitting and refurnishing it throughout, making a modern hostelry with many features unexcelled only in the krger cities. Mr. Gable has had experience as clerk in the new Colt House, and four years as chief clerk in the Liebel House at Erie, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the public schools of Meadville and Allegheny College, and is a member of Meadville Lodge, No. 219, B. P. O. E. S. S. Sikes, of Randolph township, came into the county when a boy of twelve yeai^s, with his parents, from Allegany county, New York, where he was born in 1823. In 1843 he married Mary, daughter of WiUiam and Ann Thompson, of Randolph. Their surviving children are Mary Ann, wife of William R. Shannon; William P. and James Leroy. In 1864 Mr. Sikes en- listed in the Two Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was at the retaking of Fort Steadman and at Petersburg, serving as corporal of Company A. He states that he was the eleventh man tO' enter the works and the first to put up the flag at Petersburg. His brothers Horace and Selden served in the same company with him, and a son in the Eighty-third Regiment. Mr. Sikes is a member of the Congregational church. He has several pieces of land, amounting in all to one hundred and thirty acres. John H. Peterman, deceased, of West Fairfield township, was born in West Fairfield township, February 25, 1836, where he died August 12, 1892; son of Conrad and Eliza (Gourley) Peterman, and resided a greater part of his life on the farm originally owned by his grandfather on the line between Crawford and Mercer counties. His father was a native of this county and was married February 27, 1834, reared a family of nine children, John H. being the eldest. His mother was a native of Ireland. December 16, 1858, Mr. Peterman married Miss Jane Chatley, and to this union were born nine children, seven of whom survive, viz.: Margaret, Martha, Emma, W. J., 924 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Samuel, David and James. In 1874 he was elected justice of the peace, and again in 1880, for terms of five years each. While he was engaged in farm- ing he was a carpenter by trade and built a large number of frame houses in the neighborhood. He served nine months in the Civil war, drafted October 16, 1862, in Company I, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth 'Regiment. He was a member of Silas W. Smith Post, G. A. R., and a consistent member of the United Presbyterian church. In politics he was a life-long Democrat. James Leroy Sikes, of Randolph township, son of S. S. Sikes, was born in Randolph township in 1849. His first wife was Emagene, daughter of Moses Gilbert, Jr., by whom he had one child, Katie. His second wife was Eva, daughter of Clinton Sattei^lee, by whom he had one child, Mabel. His present wife is Millie, daughter of Job Madison. Besides farming Mr. Sikes has been engaged, until the last few years, in the lumber business. He is a member of the Congregational church, and of the I. O. O. F. G. P. Dudenhoeffer, proprietor of the Arcade House, in Meadville, is a native of Erie county, this state, born April 30, 1855, a son of Peter and Rosana (Selingher) Dudenhoeffer, natives of Germany now living in Erie county. Mr. Dudenhoeffer came to Meadville April 18, 1883, and first fol- lowed his trade, that of a carpenter, being for a time employed in the car shops and later in brewery and saloon business. In 1896 he became proprietor of the Arcade, and has remodeled and modernized the same for a first-class patronage. September 21, 1885, Mr. Dudenhoeffer was united in marriage with Miss Kate Rice, of Mead township, and to this union have been born four children, — Charles, Cunie, Henry and Frank. Mr. Dudenhoeffer is a member of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association and the St. John's Benevolent Society. Joseph G. Consider, a farmer of East Fairfield, was born March 17, 1847, on the farm which he now owns, one mile northeast of Cochranton borough. The log house in which he was born is still standing and occupied by his mother, who has reached the advanced age of seventy-eight years. His parents, John and Mary Ann (Girard) Consider, were natives of France. The former died at the age of seventy years, and the latter is living as above stated. Their family consisted of four children: John, deceased; Paul H. ; Joseph G., our subject; and Mary Ann, wife of N. R. Smith. He first married June 20, 1878, Mary K. Klinger, of East Fairfield township, who died September 12, 1886, aged twenty-four years; to this union were born four children: Annie B., Addie, Louis and Joseph. November 3, 1887, Mr. Consider married Pauline, daughter of Adelbert and Frances (Keaudot) Dupont; they have three children : Frances, Bertie and Clarence. Mrs. Consider is the sixth OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 925 child in a large family of children, viz. : Joseph, who married Lizzie Merrill ; Charles, who married Maggie Bell; Pauline, wife of Frank Hade; Alexander, who married Joana Bell; James,' deceased; the wife of our subject; Augustus; Mary, married to Frank Basunson; Augustus, married to Etta Holton; Hugh, married to Ella Rockafellow ; and Peter, who married Mary Williams. Adelbert Dupont served fourteen years in the French army. With the exception of ten years spent in the oil country, Mr. Consider has spent the greater part of his life on the home farm. He has been treasurer of the East Fairfield town- ship, and has greatly improved his environments. Elmer E. McCanley. a stock-dealer and farmer of East Fairfield township, was born April 3, 1864, in Venango county, where he spent the most of his early life, removing to East Fairfield township, Crawford county, in 1886. He is a son of Robert and Jane (Rogers) McCauley. The former died at the age of fifty- four years, and the latter in 1867, at the age of twenty-seven years. They were of Irish descent, the grandfather of subject, David Mc- Cauley came from his native country and settled in western Pennsylvania at an early day. Robert McCauley, father of Elmer, was the oldest of a family of six children. His children are, Elmer E., the subject of this sketch; Vin- nie, wife of Oran Heath; and Alletta, wife of Frank Flemming. Mr. Mc- Cauley married, November 28, 1892, Mary, daughter of John and Ellen (Price) Councilmen, of this county. To this union has been born one child, Georgie Belle McCauley. Mr. McCauley is a progressive business man, a Re- publican in ix3litics and a member of the Protected Home Circle. James M. Mapes, mechanic, Cochranton postoffice, East Fairfield town- ship, is a native of St. Lawrence county. New York, and a son of William B. and Esther (Smith) Mapes, who died at the age of seventy- four and sixty- five years respectively. Of their children, five in. number, four survive: James B., deceased; James M., our subject; Adelaide V., wife of George Klinger; Charles T. ; and May F., wife of William Wood. Mr. Mapes first married, in i860, Emily, daughter of John DeHaven, of Corsica, Jefferson county; she died in 1867. To this union were born three children; Susan Adelia, wife of William Butts, Chagrin Falls, Ohio; George W., Clarion; and Emily J., de- ceased. Mr. Mapes was later married to Elizabeth, daughter of Michael and Katherine (Merriman) Mangus. The children of this union are: Charles H., married to Anna Hill. Jubianelia, wife of George Slingluff, Silver Lake ; Addie J., wife of John Richardson; and William Marion Mapes. Michael Mangus served in the civil war. George W. Turner, a cousin of our subject, was an interpreter in the Mexican war. Mr. Mapes commenced his trade, plasterer and bricklayer, in 1863, in Jefferson county, where he served five years. Prior to this he spent some 926 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. time in Illinois, locating in East Fairfield township, about 1869. He has been classed among the skillful mechanics. Among his most recent under- takings was the inside work of the new Smith block at Cochranton. /. 5'. Bohn, of the firm of Bohn & Double, wagon manufacturers, was born in 1853, in Germany, and came to America and to Titusville in 1880. He began business the same year with Hannibal Double, with whom he has since continued. In 1891 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Emma Cole- man. To this union have been born three children, viz. : Kretchen, Charlotte and Helen. Mr. Bohn is a member of I. O. O. F. and the Maccabees. Hannibal Double was born February 5, 1850, in Warren county, Penn- sylvania, and first began business as a blacksmith in his present location in 1872. In 1880 he formed a copartnership with J. S. Bohn, which still con- tinues, under the firm name of Bohn & Double, who are engaged in black- smithing and wagon business. October 2, 1893, Mr. Double married Miss Mary Smith, and they have two children : Edward and Henry. Mr. Double is a member of the Shepherd Lodge, No. 303, F. & A. M. ; of the I. O. O. F. and of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. George Frank Brozm, attorney at law at Titusville, was born at Butler, Pennsylvania, studied law in the office o'f Roger Sherman, Esq., admitted to the bar of Crawford county, February 25, 1895, and was elected solicitor of the-city of Titusville in June, 1898. Robert McFate, deceased, of East Fairfield, was born in Cornplanter town- ship, Venango county, in 181 6, and died in East Fairfield township, September II, 1894. His parents were Robert and Jane (Culbertson) McFate. In 1844 he married Letitia McFate, who was born in Ireland, her parents being Robert and Elizabeth (Black) McFate. She came to America with her sister Margaret, now Mrs. David McFate, and her brother Robert, at eighteen years of age. Mr. McFate came to Crawford county in 1867, locating on a farm of ninety-seven acres, where he died as above stated. This farm under his man- agement was brought up to a high state of cultivation. He disposed of his farm in Venango county and removed to this place in 1865. He was a valued member of the United Presbyterian church at Cochranton and an excellent citizen. At the time of his death he bore the distinction of being the wealth- iest man in the township, a man of kind disposition and was loved and re- spected by all who knew him. In his early days he was trained in the militia. He was a Democrat in politics. His widow survives and occupies the home farm, the results of faithful and persistent industry. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 927 /. K. Roberts, M. D., was born in 1856, a son of Enoch and Mary (Cal- vin) Roberts, natives of Crawford and Mercer counties, respectively. They had four children, — John K., James D., George C, Meadville; and Elizabeth, deceased. August 30, 1882, Dr. Roberts married Jennie S., daughter of George and Elizabeth (Hay) Berry, natives of Scotland. Their children were Isabella, wife of David Shafer; Jennie S., above mentioned; Elizabeth, wife of Paxton Hart ; Samuel J. and John H. Berry. Dr. and Mrs. Roberts have three children, — Elizabeth May, George E. and Nellie J. Robert's. Enoch Roberts died May 13, 1893, and his wife, Mary, died June 18, 1896. Dr. Roberts was educated at the Edinboro State Normal School, Univer- sity of Wooster, and Cleveland (Ohio) Medical College, graduating at the latter in 1880, and in 1881 began the practice of medicine at Custards, Craw- ford county, and ren^oved to Cochran ton in 189 1. In 1894-5 he pursued a post-graduate course at the New York Medical College-and continues a large practice. He is a member of the Crawford County Medical Society and an elder in the First Presbyterian church. Joseph J. Berly, a farmer of East Fairfield township, was born Septem- ber I, 1862, a son of John C. and Louise (DeMaison) Berly, of East Fairfield township. The former was a native of France and died January 16, 1892, aged seventy years ; and the latter of Crawford county, and died January 29, 1892, aged fifty-three years. Mr. Berly was among the early settlers of the locality, having served seven years in the French army prior to his coming to America. He was quite an extensive land-owner in the vicinity of Stizer- ville during his active life, and sold the valuable farm to the late Robert Mc- Fate, which joins the one now owned by his son, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Berly is the oldest chil'd of a family of four children, viz. : Joseph J., our subject; Leon, a resident of Randolph township; Levina and Edward, both deceased. March 4, 1889, he married Anna, daughter of Justin Brunot, of Frenchtown, Mead township. She died July 13, 1894. To this union were born three children: Karl, Oliver and Clarence. May 21, 1897, Mr. Berly married Flora Cox, of Mead township. He is the possessor of a fine farm of one hundred acres. John Byham, Jr., a farmer of East Fairfield township, was born in 1829, in Randolph township, Crawford county, son of John and Abigail (Oakes) Byham, who came to this county in 1816 from Massachusetts. Our subject was the sixth child of a family of nine children, as follows : Stillman, de- ceased; Clarissa, deceased; Luther, East Fairfield township; Calvin, de- ceased; Charles, who died June 22, 1897; John, subject; Adeline, wife of John Armstrong; Lafayette, deceased; and Sarah Ellen, wife of William Flaugh. Mr. Byham married Nancy, a daughter of John and Margaret 928 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. (Daley) Crouch, March 5, 1859. Mrs. Byham is the first child of a family of ten children, viz. : Nancy, wife of subject ; Silas, Louisa and Betsy, all de- ceased; Lavilla; John; Marie; Fred, deceased; Amanda, wife of Samuel Hart, of East Fairfield township; and Aaron Crouch. John Crouch was a native of Penn Yan, New York, and Mrs. Crouch of French Creek township,. Venango county, this state. John and Abigail Byham were among the pioneers of Crawford county, and made their way by wagon from Massachusetts to the new county of Craw- ford amid peril and hardship. The children of our subject are : Ida, wife of John Weaver, Cochranton; Annie, wife of Charles Reese, Wayne township, and they have three children, — Nora, Clarence and Ora; Margaret, wife of William Horocks, of Cleveland, Ohio: their children are John B. and Ida; Clayton, who married Ella Bovinger, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, no\v re- sides in Grant county, Indiana; they have one child, Ruth; John, Jr., married to Esther Nelson, of West Fairfield: they have one child, Howard; Abbie, wife of Robert Guy Murdock, of East Fail-field township ; Samuel J. Tilden and Maud M. Byham. Mr. Byham is one of the progressive farmers of the township and has brought his farm of one hundred and ten acres up to a high state of cultivation amid circumstances not the most promising, out of which, he has developed a model home and surroundings. Simeon Merrcll, of Meadville, was born in Flemington, Hunterdon coun- ty, New Jersey, March 27, 1847, and spent the early part of his life in his native place, engaging in the business of buying and pressing hay. In 1881 he removed to Meadville, where he established a hay press at the south end of Park avenue, and has built up a large and prosperous business, selling large cjuantities in the leading cities of the east. He was one of the largest stock- holders in the Paragon Oil Can Company at its incorporation, and served for six years as its general manager and treasurer. Their productions found a large market in the south and west of the United States, as well as through the eastern states and Canada. Mr. Merrell has been a life-long member of the Baptist church, and dur- ing the past twelve years has been president of the board of trustees of the. Baptist church of Meadville. When the Young Men's Christian Association: was organized in Meadville Mr. Merrell was elected its president. He has- always taken a deep interest in all movements having for their end the ad- vancement of moral and intellectual standards in Meadville. In politics he is a Republican. Howard JV. Burger, photographer, Cochranton, was born April 27, 1875,. in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, a son of Robert and Margaret (Zel- lers) Burger, natives of this state: the latter died in 1895. Mr. Burger came £^^^ OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 929 to Cochranton in 1894 and purchased the photograph business of L. Whittling, and as an artist has more than maintained the reputation of the establishment in keeping abreast of the times. Hon. Ed-ward H. Chase, a son of Rev. Amos Chase, the first minister of Titusville, belonged to the Connecticut branch of the distinguished Chase family of New England, and in that state one member of the family held the dignified office of chief justice and also creditably served the commonwealth for years in the United States senate, while other members stood conspicuously in public service. Edward H. was born in the grand old town of Litchfield, Connecticut, July 18, 1807. He was only eight years of age when his father moved his family to the wild woods of western Pennsylvania, locating first at Waterford, Erie county, but very soon making his home in Titusville. After an active period of youth he became the senior partner of the mercantile house of Chase, Sill & Company in Erie, but in 1839 engaged in extensive lumbering operations with his brother, Joseph I. Chase, with his residence in Titusville. From that time until his death, on June 18, 1878, he was one of the most conspicuous of the public-spirited citizens of Titusville. He was for fifteen, years an efficient and acceptable justice of the peace and for numerous years a popular postmaster. When the development of the Drake and Barnsdall wells assured the rapid growth of the village, Mr. Chase became a prominent factor in all the measures adopted in bringing the primitive village orgamza-: tion in touch with its changing progress and transition into a wholly rounded and cosmopolitan center, and until its career was consummated in a complete city government. In these measures he found ample scope for his rare energy, quickness of thought and wonderful versatility and powers of organizatiom His personal affairs were not neglected in his public duties, for with wise pru- dence and characteristic forethought he so judiciously managed the large, landed interests under his control as to rapidly promote the prosperity of the city and to develop an advancing value to the Jonathan Titus estate, which formed so large a part of the territory of Titusville. His habits of thought and action were strongly judicial and they were publicly recognized in 1868 in his election to the office of associate judge of the county, which trust he held by re-election for nine years, until the day of his death. On February 24, 1835, Judge Chase was united in marriage with Sarah A. Titus, the second daughter of Jonathan Titus, the honored founder of Titus- ville. She survived him, dying on March 3, 1897. Their children are: Mary A. Chase, married to Reuel Danforth Fletcher; Elizabeth Sheffield Chase, married to Gurdon Sill Berry, and Lanman Chase, married to Joanna Lanman Watson. Judge Chase in many important respects was an extraordinary man. His 59 930 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. unassuming deportment, his kindly disposition, his generous heart and the universally recognized purity of his motives won him friends in all classes of the community, who were bound to him as if by links of steel. He was the peacemaker of this region and during his long career as magistrate and judge his labors in that relation bore rich fruit. He was the guardian of many orphans and the trustee of many estates, and it is said that such was his sys- tem and accuracy that the condition of the large number of these trusts in his hands at the time of his death were so clearly set forth on his books that his successor needed not to delay their settlement a day ! Never could malice or envy whisper aught against the purity of his motives or his kindliness of heart. Integrity, strength and force of character, keen and alert comprehen- sion of affairs, quick decision and indomitable perseverance were among his marked characteristics. His detestation of wi'ong and oppression placed him in the front ranks of the workers in all causes tending to advance humanity or to ameliorate its condition. He possessed in a remarkable degree a legal mind and was an effective speaker. His presence was magnetic though dig- nified, his propositions were the result of clear, intelligent thought and dis- passionate reasoning, and they were announced with convincing force, strict fidelity to truth and with a logic that could not be controverted. The social side of his nature was charmingly developed, and in the various relations of son, husband, parent, friend and citizen, he rose to the highest ideals. When he was called from earth, sorrow visited the entire community and gloom rested on every heart. Theodore L. Flood, D. D., editor and proprietor of the Chautauquan, a magazine, Meadville, was born at Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1842. He received his early education in the academy of his native town, afterward studying theology at the Biblical Institute at Concord, New Hamp- shire, now the school of theology in the Boston University. When eighteen 3'ears old he was licensed as an exhorter in the Methodist church, and two years later was licensed as a local preacher. He served nine months during the Civil war. He acted as superintendent of the public schools of Salem, New Hampshire, for one year. He joined the New Hampshire conference of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1864, and served as pastor of various Meth- odist churches in New Hampshire from 1864 to 1874, and was made presiding elder of the Concord district in the New Hampshire conference at the early age of thirty-two. In 1874 he was elected president of the state Sunday- school convention. In April, 1874, he was transferred to the Erie conference and stationed at Jamestown, New York, and from there he came to Mead- ville, where he became pastor of the First Methodist church, which is attended by the faculty and many students of Allegheny College. Here he delivered a series of three lectures, the subjects of which were, "Novels and Novel Read- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 931 ing," "Modern Social Life," and "Theater-Going, Dancing and Card Play- ing." Dr. Flood is the author of a book published by Estes & Lauriat, of Bos- ton, entitled "A Hundred Ministers, and How They Switched Off." In 1876 the Ohio Wesleyan University conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In association with M. Bailey, of Jamestowni New York, Dr. Flood, in 1875, founded the Chautauqua Assembly Daily Herald, the official organ of the Chautauqua meetings, and in 1880 became sole editor and proprietor. Mr. Flood, with the Rev. J. W. Hamilton, of Boston, Massachusetts, pub- lished a book, "Lives of the Methodist Bishops," from the standpoint of an active episcopacy. It contains a sketch of the life of every deceased bishop in every branch of Methodism, with a steel engraving of each one. Mr. Flood was elected a member of the general conference of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, which met in May, 1880, in Cincinnati. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Mount Union College, at Alliance, Ohio, in 1881. In 1880 he established at Meadville the Chautauquan, a monthly magazine, the organ of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, which, during its first year, attained a circulation of fifteen thousand. Dr. Flood served as pastor of the Meadville church for three years, after which he was stationed at Oil City, where he officiated as pastor of Trinity church for two years. He then spent a year in Titusville, and in October, 1882, he retired from the pulpit, in order to devote his full, attention to his business interests. In December, 1883, he purchased the Meadville Daily and Weekly Republican, a leading newspaper of Crawford county, of which he made his son, Harry C. Flood, editor. Dr. Flood was elected, in 1883, the second time, delegate to the general conference of his church, at the head of the delegation. In 1883 Dr. Flood purchased a handsome residence on the Diamond, where he now resides. In 1892 he was the Republican candidate for congressman from the twenty-sixth congressional district, but was de- feated by Hon. Joseph C. Sibley, of Franklin. Dr. Flood was married, June 20, 1862, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to Miss Annie M., daughter of David Black, Esq., of that town, and by this union were born two sons and one daughter : Harry C, Ned A. and Rebie M. (Flood) Irvin. Neh A. Johnson, merchant tailor, Titusville, was born in Holland, Swe- den, June 3, 1852, son of Johnson and ( Pettronelila) Johnson. The former is still living, in Sweden, at the age of seventy-six years, and the latter died in 1886, at the age of sixty-five years. Mr. Johnson began as an apprentice at the age. of thirteen years, at Svanbenson, his native place, and came to America in 1871, first locating in Penfield, Clearfield county, this state. A short time afterward he removed to Corry, also in this state; there he still 932 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. continues at his trade. He came to Tittisville in 1878 and formed a copart- nership with C. Holtz, which existed for one year. In 1883 he formed a co- partnership with L. J. Cederquist, which continued until February, 1897, when it was dissolved, and he continued business on his own account. August 15, 1875, he married Louise B. Jacobson, of Holland, Sweden, and they have ten children : John A., Carrol, Oscar, Edith P., Alger, Han- nah, Emma, deceased, Ogalmer, Clarence, deceased, and Helder. William Tenney Button, civil engineer at Meadville, was born at Hart- ford, Connecticut, on June 7, 1852, received his early education in his native town, and at the age of eighteen received an appointment as a cadet in the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He resigned, however, two years l?ter, and entered the Chandler Science School, of Dartmouth College, where he was graduated in the engineering course in 1876. For two years after graduation he was engaged in professional work, but in 1878 accepted a position as teacher of mathematics in the Brooklyn Polytechnic and Colle- giate Institute, where he remained two years. He was next called as a teacher in state normal schools, — from 1881-86 at Shippensburg, and from 1886-90 at Edinboro. In 1890 he was elected professor of civil engineering at Alle- gheny College, which position he still fills. He is an efficient instructor, and has recently had added to his duties the charge of several classes in mathemat- ics. Personally, Mr. Button is a most genial gentleman, and has made many friends during his life in Meadville. It is safe to say that there is no man in the college faculty a greater favorite among the students than Professor Button. Politically, he is a Democrat. David C. Dunn, son of Renselear K. and Rebecca (Compton) Bunn, was born April 17, 1845, i" Hayfield, educated at the common schools at Mead- ville, studied dentistry with Br. B. R. Greenleaf, and opened a dental office in Meadville in 1869. In 1868 he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Hays, and to this union were born five children: William C. was born in 1869, studied dentistry with his father, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (dental department). In 1890 he became a partner with his father, under the firm name of B. C. & W. C. Bunn. He married Emma Brown, daughter of R. B. Brown, and has one child, Helen. Ellis M. Farrelly, physician, Townville, Pennsylvania, was born in Mead- ville, Pennsylvania, June 13, 1843, a son of John W. and Louisa (Ellis) Far- relly, natives of Crawford county, who had a large family, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only survivor. He was educated in Meadville, read medicine with Edward Ellis, M. B., of the same place, as his preceptor, and attended lectures in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He entered the army as a OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 933 medical cadet August 18, 1862, served two years, then as acting assisting sur- geon until March, 1865, when he resigned. While stationed at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1864, he graduated at the Kentucky School of Medicine, and he began practice in Franklin, Pennsylvania, in 1865 ; and in the following year went to the western states, where he followed his profession about four- teen years. In 1878 he settled in Townville, Pennsylvania, where he continues the practice of medicine. In 1880 the Doctor was married to Mrs. Ettie C. Sayre, widow of Frank W. Sayre and daughter of George' and Caroline Bowman, who were early settlers of Crawford county. Dr. Farrelly is a member of Gleason Post, No. 96, G. A. R., and in politics is a Democrat. Thomas Shafer, proprietor of the Shafer House, at Cochranton, was born in Mead township, September 5, 1835, ^"^ is a son of Philip and Elizabeth (Knierman) Shafer. His parents were natives of Germany, and in 1830 located in Mead township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. There the father engaged in farming for three years, after which he removed with his family to Greenwood township, where he purchased land which had been only par- tially cleared. This he improved, making his home thereon until his death. His six children were Henry, Thomas, Phillip, George, John and David. Thomas Shafer was reared on his father's farm and was educated in the public schools. In 1856 he went to California, where he engaged in mining for three years. In 1859 he returned to this county, locating in Union town- ship, where he engaged in farming until 1871. In that year he removed to Cochranton and opened a hotel. He has since engaged in that line of busi- ness, and in addition to his duties as proprietor of the Shafer House he ex- tended his field of labors, in March, 1894, by embarking in the wholesale liquor business, dividing his attention betweeri the two interests until Febru- ary, 1897, since which time he has conducted the hotel alone. In November,- 1863, Mr. Shafer was united in marriage to Fanny, daugh- ter of James and Rebecca (Robinson) Martin, of Cochranton. To this union were born five children, but only one is now living. Mr. Shafer has filled a number of minor offices, including that of burgess, and takes a public-spirited interest in all that pertains to the general welfare. James Burrows, a respected citizen of Sparta township, Crawford county, comes from good old New England stock, and in him are embodied many of the industrious, upright, just and honorable qualities that were noticeable in his ancestors. He is a great-grandson of Asa Burrows and grandson of Benjamin Burrows, while his parents were Amasa and Phiana (Nowlin) Burrows. The father was a farmer by occupation, his home being in Otsego county. New 934 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. York, and during the war of 1812 he went forth to serve his country against the British foe. James Burrows was born upon the parental homestead at Butternuts, in Otsego county, New York, October 6, 1824, and also grew up there. He attended the common schools of Guilford, New York, and later went to Ox- ford Academy, at Oxford, New York, and there completed his studies in the English branches, — ^mathematics, chemistry, philosophy, etc. When he was about five years old he fell from a log and broke his left arm, and five years later a brother accidentally dealt out to 'the unfortunate youth a dreadful stroke of ill-luck, for he almost severed the left hand of James from the arm,, only some cords and tendons and some flesh holding the two members together. After a fashion the two grew together again, but when the young man was twenty he fell from a load of hay and broke his left arm, and after this he abandoned active work on the farm for a long time. He had always been studious and had no difficulty in obtaining a certificate to teach. He taught for two terms in Yale Settlement, Chenango county, New York, and at inter- vals, here and there, conducted classes for a term or more, meeting with gratifying success. As his time was not fully occupied, however, he concluded to enter some other vocation, and commenced selling watches, silverware and jewelry for the firm of R. I. Johnson & Company, of Norwich. At the end of five years, the health of Mr. Burrows becoming somewhat impaired, he went out west, partly to see something of that portion of the United States, then so much talked about (1853). Returning, he clerked in a general store in Warren county, Pennsylvania, for some time, and then engaged in rafting and in selling lumber on the Ohio river, going as far as Cincinnati, and also in teaching. In 1862 he purchased a farm in Sparta township, Crawford county, and has since been a resident of this immediate locality. As an agri- culturist he has been very successful, and in almost every enterprise he has undertaken he has been prosperous. Among his neighbors and acquaintances he stands very high, and they have called upon him, time and again, to fill offices of trust and responsibility. From 1863 to 1873 he was a justice of the peace, at various times he has been assessor, collector two years, auditor, etc., and he has never failed to discharge his duties -with a promptness and thorough- ness which has won the approval of all concerned. Politically, he is a Demo- crat of the old school, and is not a believer in holding the Philippine islands, excepting to have only a naval station. March 2, 1862, Mr. Burrows married, in Centerville, Pennsylvania, Miss Melissa R. Phillips. Two sons and two daughters have blessed their union, namely: Maud, born February 6, 1863; James, September 18, 1864; C. Cooper, November 15, 1866; and Georgia A., August 10, 1871. The family has a pleasant home, provided with many of the luxuries of refined life and progress, and it is the constant aim of each member of the household to pro- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 935 mote the happiness of all with whom their lot is cast and to lend a helping- hand to those less fortunately situated than himself. Orson Hopkins, a farmer and lumberman of Steuben township, is a son of Daniel and Margaret (Kingsley) Hopkins, and was born in Steuben town- ship, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, August 21, 1850. Daniel Hopkins and his wife, Margaret, came from the town of Ellington, Chautauqua county. New York, in 1838, and settled on a tract of land in Steuben township, about t\yo miles from Townyille. At that time this section of country was an almost unbroken wilderness. A few settlers had here and there cleared away patches of timber and made the beginning's of farms. Here, where they first located, they made themselves a home and reared a large family of children, the young- est of whom is the subject of this sketch. He remained on the old homestead after his older brothers and sisters married and moved away, gradually, as his parents advanced in years, assuming the responsibilities of home manage- ment until the death of his father, Daniel, in 1872, since which time he has carried on the work of the farm and engaged c[uite extensively in the sale of farm implements and in lumbering. In 1872 he married Alice Winston, youngest daughter of Horatio and Minerva Winston, early settlers in Rich- mond township, this county. To this union four children have been born : Grace, Ethel, Earl and Elsie. David R. Baugher, an honored veteran of the Civil war, is a worthy citi- zen of Athens township, Crawford county. A native of Steuben township, same county, he was born May 24, 1844, his parents being Michael D. and Charlotte F. (Waggoner) Baugher. The boyhood and youth of the subject of this sketch were passed in this his native state, and when twenty years of age he enlisted in Company B, Twelfth Regiment of Pennsylvania Cavalry, and served throughout the re- mainder of the war of the Rebellion, then being given an honorable discharge. D. R. Baugher married Miss Laura Tefft, who died in 1879, leaving three children to mourn her loss. They are still living and are named respect- ively Florence, Martin J. and Blanche E. Subsequently to the death of his first wife Mr. Baugher re-married, the lady of his choice being Sarah Winans. Samuel L. Gardner, deceased, of Meadville, was born in Wilmington, N. C, in 1823, and died in Meadville, December 5, 1890. He spent his early life in Alabama; was a carpenter by trade; was employed as a bridge builder; served in the Union army as a scout .under General Mitchell, and mustered out September 15, 1865. After the close of the war he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1867 came to Meadville, where he gained a livelihood from a 936 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. fruit stand located where the Methodist Episcopal church now stands. He afterward established the general store on North Main street which is still conducted by Mrs. Gardner. In 1869 he married Anna, daughter of Samuel and Rachel Green, natives of Clarion county, Pennsylvania, and to this union were born five children, viz. : Edward ; George ; Henry, a resident of Buf- falo, New York; Eva and Blanche Gardner. Patrick William Egan, burgess of Valonia, was born March 17, 1843, at Mohill, county Leitrim, Ireland. When thirteen years of age he came to America with his sister Ellen, who was sixteen years of age. They went to live with an uncle at Jackson, Scioto county, Ohio. Mr. Egan remained there but a year, when he went to work in the iron mines of Kentucky. In 1863 he came to Meadville and commenced working under A. D. Guisley, superintendent of construction of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway, em- ployed on various jobs, spending one year in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Egan returned to Meadville in 1870 and started as brakeman for the railroad. In 1872 he v\as given a conductorship and to-day holds that position in the service of the Erie Railroad Company. Mr. Egan was first elected burgess of the village of Valonia in 1888, and is now serving his third term in that office. He has also served as school director of the village. On Eebruary 3, 1867, he was married to Miss Jane Rogers, of Meadville, Pennsylvania. They have two daughters, — Mollie L., and Abigail C, wife of Harry Stenger, at Allegheny City, this state. C. C. West, engineer and machinist, Meadville, was born December 26, 1839, ^nd is a native of New York. He is a son of Joseph B. and Eliza (Crumb) West, of English and Welsh extraction, who were natives of Onon- daga county. New York. Joseph West died in April, 1896, aged eighty-six years. He reared a family of eight children, — three boys and five girls. Our subject learned the machinist's trade in Corry, Pennsylvania, and came to Meadville in 1872, where he was employed at his trade at the Phoenix Iron Works and the Erie Railway shops until 1890, when he accepted the position of engineer and general mechanic in the establishment of Flood & Vincent, which position he now holds. He did valiant service for his country in the Civil war, enlisting in June, 1861, in the Thirty-ninth New York Regiment. After the close of the war he was for five years in the employ of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad. In October, 1863, he was united in marriage to Miriam, daughter of Absalom and Anna (Wormwood) Goodell, of JMew York. To this union have been born two children : Cora D. and Ferd D. West. Our subject is a member of Peiffer Post, No. 331, G. A. R. ; Veterans' Union ; Lodge, No. 234, A. O. U. W. ; Knights of Honor, Alpha Lodge, No. 42 ; Knights and Ladies of Honor, and the Methodist Episcopal church. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 937 Luther Chase, a venerable citizen of Rome township, Crawford county, is a son of Luther and Polly (Aldrich) Chase, the former a soldier of the war of 1812. The subject of this sketch was born in Spring Creek, Warren county, Pennsylvania, in 181 3, and when arrived at maturity he married Matilda Graves, daughter of Henry Graves, the ceremony which united their destinies being performed on the 3d of February, 1836. Luther Chase and his devoted wife settled in Sparta township, and for many years the home of the former has been in Rome township. He has made a business of agriculture and carpentering, and has been successful. Mrs. Chase died in 1875 and left four children. Joseph T. First, of Vernon township, was born July 31, 1837, ip Wayne township, Crawford county, where his parents, Christopher and Lydia (Probst) First, settled at an early day. Joseph was of a family of twelve children. For many years he remained with his father on the farm, at the same time assisting,Andrew Mills in his sawmill near the First homestead. In i860 Mr. First was married to Silvia Gilbert, by whom he had two children, — Elmer E. and Mertie. Mrs. First died in 1870 and several years later Mr. First married Rebecca, daughter of Reuben Brown. They have three children : Sarah M., William D. and Albert J. Mr. First is a member of the A. O. U. W. ; Lodge No. 980, I. O. O. F., at Conneaut Lake, and the E. A. U. Mr. First is one of the county commissioners of Crawford, having now served sev- eral terms in that office. Walter Brooke Roberts, whose portrait is given on the opposite page, was for many years one of the most prominent figures in the oil regions. He was born in Moreau, Saratoga county. New York, May 15, 1823, and like most of our men of mark spent the early years of his life on a farm. Here he attended the district school, which together with his father's library laid the foundation of his education. At the age of seventeen he accepted a clerk- ship in a banking office at Albany, New ,York, but dissatisfied with its con- fining duties he determined to qualify himself for teaching and entered the academy at Evans' Mills in Jefferson county, New York. A few months later we find him in charge of a district school in his native county, at a monthly salary of eleven dollars. For the next four years he continued to teach, devoting the summer vacations to the study of mathematics at the Glens Falls Academy, and the study of medicine under the instructions of Dr. Sheldon of that place. Finally turning his attention to dentistry, he acquired a thorough knowl- edge of this science in all its branches, and in the summer of 1845, with an ample outfit for the practice of his new art, he traveled through New Hamp- shire. Such was his success that he determined to return to Poughkeepsie, 938 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. New York, and establish himself permanently. At this juncture an attack of typhoid fever came to upset all his plans and incapacitate him for a long time. When feeling strong again he opened an office, in connection with his brother, Dr. Charles H. Roberts, at Poughkeepsie, but he found at the end of a year's confinement to practice, which had grown rapidly on his hands, that his declining health necessitated some change. With this idea he sailed, in February, 1850, for the West Indies and spent some months on the island of Cuba. Partly restored to health, he returned by way of New Orleans and soon disposed of his interests in Poughkeepsie, preferring to practice his profes- sion in many of the principal towns of Dutchess county, taking healthful out- door exercise and developing the rugged manhood which he afterward . retained. With a view of entering mercantile pursuits. Dr. Roberts in 1853 visited Nicaragua, and on his return home organized a company, under the firm name of Churchill, Roberts, Mills & Company, of which he was one of the principal partners and business managers. The business of the company was the importation of hides from Central America, and the undertaking soon proved to be highly successful. Dr. Roberts next returned to his profession, and in connection with his brother, E. A. L. Roberts, opened dental parlors in the city of New York. A year later he purchased his brother's interest, and locating in Bond street continued to practice until 1868. He took high rank in his profession, receiving from the American Institute of New York the first medal for the best artificial teeth. He labored assiduously to ad- vance the science of dentistry. During the period of his professional practice in New York he was the editor and proprietor of the New York Dental Jour- nal, published in that city. He helped to establish the New York Dental Col- lege and was for a long time one of its trustees. The internal feuds of Central America had at length grown into a fearful civil war, destroying values and wrecking business, so that the trading com- pany to which Dr. Roberts belonged found it necessary to close their relations with that country, and delegated him to revisit Nicaragua for this purpose. After months of hardship, endured in traversing swamps, mule paths and un- broken jungle fields, with hairbreadth escapes from bullets, banditti and yellow fever, he succeeded in accomplishing the .objects of his mission and returned home much impaired in health from the eft'ect of the climate and exposure. In the spring of 1863 Dr. Roberts was delegated by Rev. Dr. Bellows, president of the National Sanitary Commission, to visit General Hunter's division, then having its headquarters at Beaufort, South Carolina, to examine the condition, sanitary and otherwise, of that part of the Union anny. The report of his investigations was published in full in the New York Dental Journal and widely copied and commended by other journals. It abounded OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 939 in practical suggestions for the amelioration of the condition of the soldiers in the camp, on the march and on the field. In the fall of 1866 Dr. Roberts was elected to the common council of the city of New York and served two terms. Although in the political minority m that body, he was the leader of his party and a candidate for their president, the vote standing thirteen Democrats to eleven Republicans. In 1864 he was induced to subscribe to the stock of an oil company. It was, like many others of that day, a fraud, as Dr. Roberts soon found on visit- ing the oil regions soon after. His visit, however, he turned to good account by making an examination of the producing regions. Believing from this sur- vey that there was money to be made in producing oil, he returned to New York and sought to enlist his brother, Colonel E. A. L. Roberts, in his plans. For answer the Colonel disclosed to Dr. Roberts the nature of an invention he had recently perfected for increasing the production of an oil well by ex- ploding a torpedo in the oil-bearing rock, and offered him a half interest for exploiting and developing the invention. Dr. Roberts was at once convinced of the value of the invention and put in the necessary capital, and formed a company in New York for the introduction of the invention under the name of the Roberts Petroleum Torpedo Company. In the meanwhile application for a patent had been filed and Colonel Rob- erts sent to Titusville with six torpedoes to test their merit and efficiency. It was no easy matter to persuade the owners of oil wells tO' allow the experi- ment, but in January, 1865, two torpedoes were exploded, and the success of the invention established beyond question. Immediately other applications for the invention of the torpedo came pouring into the patent office and only after a protracted fight of two years with interference suits was the patent finally issued. In 1866 Dr. Roberts was elected secretary of the Torpedo Company, and the following year its president, which position he held until the company was absorbed by the firm of E. A. L. & W. B. Roberts. The , contest before the patent office in regard to the torpedo patent was but the beginning of a desperate struggle, in which the Roberts brothers were forced to fight every inch of ground gained and at times against allied asso- ciations of the producers. Never up to that time had a patent been so in- fringed upon nor such an array of ^its brought. The Bell telephone cases offer the only parallel in recent times. .In every instance the claims of the patent were sustained, but the controversy and suits were still going on when, in 1883, the patent expired and all parties dropped the matter. In 1868 these suits had assumed such proportions that Dr. Roberts gave up his professional practice in New York and removed permanently to Titusville. He was the directing power of the Torpedo Company in all its litigation and its business manager during his life. (Further account of the torpedo is given in the life of Colonel E. A. L. Roberts.) 940 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. In 1872 Dr. Roberts was elected the mayor of Titusville, and i1 was during his administration that the general public improvements of the city — waterworks, sewers, and pavements — were inaugurated. He was one of the leading spirits in the fight against the South Improvement Company, and when the Titusville & Buffalo Railroad was proposed he supported that project with a fifty-thousand-dollar subscription. In January, 1872, Dr. Roberts, in connection with Colonel E. A. L. Rob- erts, organized the banking firm of Roberts and Company, In 1876 he was elected a member of the state legislature for a term of two years, and in 1878' Avas elected to the state senate for the term of four years. Dr. Rob- erts was several times the nominee of his county for congress, and in 1886 secured the nomination of the congressional district, but owing to factional fights in the party was defeated by a few votes at the November elections. In 1888 he was chosen delegate to the national convention at Chicago that nominated Harrison and Morton. On the death of Colonel Roberts in 1881 the firm of Roberts Brothers became W. B. Roberts & Son, E. T. Roberts, the son of Dr. Roberts, having been taken into partnership in the various interests of Roberts Brothers. In the following year, in view of the large transactions in oil, two new banks were organized, the Commercial Bank, to which W. B. Roberts & Son sub- scribed one-third of the capital stock, and later in the same year the Roberts National Bank, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, with W. B. Roberts president and E. T. Roberts cashier. Dr. Roberts, as well as his brother. Colonel Roberts, was identified with every movement for the benefit of the city of their adoption. When it seemed best to the citizens of Titusville to have an oil exchange worthy of their town, it was largely through the efforts of the Roberts Brothers, who subscribed to one-quarter of the stock, that the exchange was built. The Hotel Bruns- wick was erected by them, without regard to expense. Partly destroyed by fire in 1882, it was immediately repaired by Dr. Roberts and made into one of the finest hotels'in the state and a permanent ornament to the town. Dr. Rob- erts was so intensely loyal to the city and people among whom his lot was cast that a great portion of his wealth was expended right at home in the city of Titusville. Yet it is not as the successful man of business and affairs that Dr. Roberts will be chiefly remembered by his fellow citizens,'but as a man of generous and straightforward instincts, of large and public-spirited ideas, and by many as a friend in their time of greatest need. The ancestral history of the Roberts family is interesting. The great- grandfather of Dr. Roberts on the maternal side was Andre Everade Van Braam Houckgeest, chief director of the Dutch East India Company in China and their embassador to the court at Pekin. In this capacity he was one of the first Europeans to penetrate to any considerable distance in the interior OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 941 of that country, and on his return to America pubhshed one of the first authen- tic and scientific accounts of the habits, peculiarities and customs of that won- derful people. On the paternal side the great-grandfather of Dr. Roberts was Colonel Owen Roberts, a native of Wales and an officer of the British army, who, re- signing his commission, came to America and settled at Charleston, South Carolina, as a planter. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary war he was tendered a commission in his Majesty's service, but, believing the cause of the colonies just, he declined and declared his intention to stand by the fortunes of his adopted country. Commissioned a Colonel in the Fourth South Carolina Artillery, he was killed in battle at Stono ferry while leading his troops to prevent the British landing at that point. Mortally wounded by a cannon-ball, he was carried from the field while the battle still raged. His son, Richard Brooke Roberts, an officer in the same regiment, hearing of the disaster, has- tened to his father's side, who on seeing the emotion of his son said : "Take this sword, which has never been tarnished by dishonor, and never sheath it while the liberties of your country are in danger ; accept my blessing and return to your duty." The son continued in the army throughout the war and after- ward became a major and was retained, in the United States army after the close of the Revolution. He died at the early age of thirty-nine, leaving a widow, the daughter of A. E. Van Braam, and three sons, the eldest of whom was Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus Roberts, the father of Dr. Roberts. This name was given him in honor of the Cincinnati Society, to which his father belonged. On April 13, 1858, Dr. Roberts was married to Emily W. Titus, the daughter of Erastus Titus, a prominent merchant of the city of New York. Dr. Roberts had but one son, Erastus T. Roberts, who, graduating at Col- umbia Collegie in 1881, became the business partner of his father in all the firm's various interests. On July 30, 1889,. Dr. Roberts' active and busy career was brought to a close, and he died genuinely regretted by the entire community. Edward A. L. Roberts, the inventor of the torpedo for oil wells, and one of the most striking personalities of the oil regions, was born in the town of Moreau, Saratoga county. New York, April 13, 1829. In 1846, in his sev- enteenth year, he enlisted, at Sandy Hill, New York, as a private in Colonel Pitcher's company for the Mexican war. Young as he was he showed him- self a good soldier, receiving the commendation of his officers, and after twenty-two months' service, at the close of the war, he was honorably dis- charged. He returned to his home in Saratoga county, still under nineteen ygars of age, and studied in the Academy of Amenia, Dutchess county, New York, for a year. 942 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Then, in 185 1, he entered the dental office of C. H. & W. B. Roberts, at Poughkeepsie. Afterward he became the partner of his brother, W. B. Rob- erts, in a dental office in New York. His natural genius for mechanics and invention after a year of work in the office induced him to branch out for himself, and he opened a dental depot in Bond street, where he manufactured dental material. While here he made many improvements in materials and methods used in dentistry, receiving three gold and silver medals from the American Institute of New York. He invented the mineral compound which soon came into extended use for making what is known as "continuous gum teeth." In 1857 he patented a dental and cupeling furnace. The next year he patented a vulcanizing machine, which came into universal use. Infringe- ments followed and in protecting his patent he was subjected to such expensive litigation that he was forced to sell his invention to others, for $2,000, — a paltry sum considering the large interests involved. It is probable that if he had won in these rubber suits his fortune would have been greater than that which followed the successful sustaining of his rights as the inventor of the torpedo. In 1859-60 he perfected a powerful oxyhydrogen blowpipe, an ex- tensive description of which appears in Appleton's Cyclopedia under the head of "Blow-pipe and Platina." In the war of the Rebellion he promptly lent his individual aid to the government by raising regiments and forwarding them to the scene of action. In 1862 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-ninth New Jersey volunteers and remained with it, often as its commanding officer, until after the battle of Fredericksburg, when ill health compelled him to resign and he returned to New York. In 1863 he helped to form the Eighty-fourth Regi- ment, New York National Guard, and was captain of Company C. In the New York riots of that year he was placed in charge of the Center street arsenal. In July, 1864, Governor Seymour called for volunteers from the National Guard for one hundred days, and Colonel Conkling, of the Eighty-fourth, offered his regiment. He was ordered to move to Washington without delay. Colonel Roberts accompanying the regiment as captain of Company C. The company was attached to Sheridan's division and continued with it until after the battle of Winchester. On the expiration of the hundred days which the regiment had volun- teered to serve. Colonel Roberts returned to New York and completed the drawings of his torpedo for artesian and oil wells which he had commenced on in 1862, and in November, 1864, applied for a patent. His brother. Dr. W. B. Roberts, took a half interest with him and formed a company to intro- duce and develop the invention. Colonel Roberts came to Titusville to demon- strate the value of his torpedo. It was a matter of much labor to persuade any producer to allow a torpedo to be exploded, as the majority of the oil men believed it would destroy the well. Finally, in January, 1865, he obtained OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE, 943 permission to explode two torpedoes in the Ladies' Well on the Watson Flats near Titusville. TJie result was highly successful and established beyond a doubt the value of torpedoes for increasing the capacity of oil wells. This suc- cess at once started others to lay claim to the invention and the patent office became full of applications for processes of torpedoing wells, so that two years were consumed fighting interference suits before the patent was finally issued to Colonel Roberts and priority of invention awarded to him. The trouble, however, did not end here, for infringements at once became frequent and vexatious, and to protect- their rights the Roberts brothers entered into a litigation probably without a parallel in patent cases up to that time. The producers allied themselves into a strong association to test the legality of the patent, and the Roberts brothers fought for their rights to the full extent of their resources. Decision after decision from the court sustained the patent, but the infringers resorted to every expedient for keeping alive the contest. To such an extent was this true that while there were lulls in the legal battle the conflict still raged when the patent expired, in 1883, and there being nothing more at stake for either party the suits were dropped. The reason for the unexampled infringement of this patent is not far to seek. The business of torpedoing wells was a peculiarly novel and dangerous one. At first small charges- of gunpowder were used, but the charges soon in- creased in size and the need was felt for a more sudden and powerful explosive. After many experiments Colonel Roberts boldly adopted the use of liquid nitroglycerin. This still remains the strongest practical explosive known, but so dangerous to handle and use in the liquid form, in which form alone is its full power developed, that its employment is still restricted to this one pur- pose of torpedoing oil wells. The first nitroglycerin was brought to Titusville by the Roberts brothers in a satchel, and experiments with this deterrr\ined them to adopt it in spite of its dangerous nature. The first ship- ment by freight never arrived, as owing to a collision or accident of some kind the whole invoice, including the greater part of the train, went up in transit. Railroads refused to handle it thereafter. Colonel Roberts attacked this dilemma with his characteristic vigor and at once commenced the manufac- ture of nitroglycerin in the oil regions on a commercial scale, producing it in a special machine of his own invention, which turned out the product by the ton, where before it had only been produced in quantities of a few pounds. Colonel Roberts had previously fitted himself for this research by a special course of study in Europe under some of the most noted chemists of the time. The great risk of the business, as well as the considerable cost of the actual material made torpedoes high in price, while the isolation of the wells in the midst of woods and far from the reach of prying eyes made it a strong induce- ment to infringe the patent by putting in a shot in the night time when the 944 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. chances of discovery were a minimum ; moonlight shots they soon were named. MoonHghting became very popular and the expense the Torpedo Company was put to in order to get evidence of infringement of its patent was enormous. In fact, it is now known that the greater part of the company's earnings went into the expenses of this litigation, for the suits were numbered not by hun- dreds but by thousands. It seems a pity, from the point of view of an ob- server after the fact, that this great waste of money and energy on both sides had not been prevented by some mutual understanding between producers and the Torpedo Company; and, as a matter o'f fact, 'such an arrangement was tried whereby the producer patronized the company instead of the moonlighter and got a concession on the price of torpedoes. The proverbial difficulty of holding together a large number of men of different minds proved true in this instance, and the arrangement was not long-lived. Did space permit it would be interesting to chronicle some of the ad- ventures and escapes that befell Colonel Roberts during his connection with the hazardous business of tori>edoing wells. He never asked of others any risk he was unwilling to take himself and on more than one occasion came out uninjured from an explosion that proved fatal to others. Colonel Roberts perfected many improvements in explosive compounds and several patents were issued to him. A short time before his death he was woi-king on a new method of vessel propulsion and an improved form of locomotive which on its trial trip developed phenomenal speed. There is no doubt that had he lived these would have been brought to perfection as well as many other useful applica- tions of science to the arts, for in this sphere of activity he was never idle. The ancestry of Colonel Roberts has already been mentioned in the life of his brother. Dr. .W. B. Roberts. On April 8, 1867, he married Ida But- terworth, widow of Thomas Chase, of Titusville. His death, which was en- tirely unexpected, occurred after a short illness on March 25, 1881, at th^ Hotel Brunswick, which he had made his home in his later years. Two children survive him, — Elizabeth C. and Mary L. Roberts, — both residents of Titus- ville. Colonel Roberts was, a man of many eccentricities and strong feelings. Always liberal, open-handed, generous and public-spirited. A man of tena- cious purpose and a strong fighter for what he thought were his rights, he attracted a host of friends and commanded the respect of his opponents. The city of his adoption, embellished by many marks of his liberality, had good cause to regret his untimely death. Theodore B. Lashells, physician at Meadville, was born in New Berlin, Union county, Pennsylvania, March 20, 1839, a son of George E. and Eliza (Baskin) Lashells. He received his classical education at Jefferson College, in Washington county, this state, and his medical education at Columbia Col- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 945 lege, in Washington, D. C, at which, institution he graduated in February, 1862, when he entered the United States service as assistant surgeon, Twelfth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry; was promoted to the rank of surgeon," and assigned to the One Hundred and Seventy-first Pennsylvania Volunteer In- fantry, in which he served until the fall of 1863. He was taken prisoner of war and paroled, during which time and before his exchange he built and organized the St. Aloysius Hospital, at the national capital. Returning home in ill health, he began his practice in Meadville, where he still remains. In 1864 he was appointed surgeon of the board of enroll- ment for this congressional district, which position he held till the close of the war. In 1868 he was appointed surgeon for the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, now the Erie. Railway. The Doctor has for some time been a mem- ber of the board of examining surgeons for pensions for this county. October i, 1863, he was married to Miss Jane Kellog-g, stepdaughter of Major Samuel A. Torbett, and to this union have been born two children: Mar Bess, born July 20, 1865 ; and Edward Torbett, born July 3, 1869, now a practicing physician in partnership with his father. Joseph W. Fogle, of Wayne township, came into the county at the age of four years from Union county, where he was born in 1845. He lived in Meadville for several years and then moved to Wayne township. August 7, 1864, he married Nancy J., daughter of Daniel and Julia Ann Waggoner, who had been for many years residents of the township. The children by this union are Hannah Elizabeth, wife of Rev. William M. Wygant; Julia E., wife of Phillip Beers; Daniel E., George William and Lewis. They have an adopted son, named Joseph Arthur. Mr. Fogle has been engaged for many years in the lumber business, runs a sawmill at Bousson Postoffice, and lives upon a tract of two hundred and ninety acres, which he has cleared of timber. Mrs. Fogle's father and brother Jacob were soldiers in the Civil war. She and her husband are active members of the United Brethren church. George J. Kitnis, proprietor of the Erie Hotel, at Titusville, was born in 1871 in Titusville, a son of George F. and Matilda Kuntz, who came to this city in 1867. George F. Kuntz conducted this hotel for three years and pui"- chased the same in 1870. Mr. Kuntz, the subject of this sketch, is the oldest son of a family of .five children, namely: George J., Henry J., William F., Frederick J. and David. October 10, 1893, he was married tO' Ernestine Wagner, daughter of J. G. Wagner, of Titusville. Mr. Kuntz is a member of Shepherd Lodge, No. 463, F. & A. M., Rose Croix Commandery, No. 38, K. T., and of the Queeil City Lodge, No. 304, I. O. O. F. Mr. Kuntz is also a member of the select council of the second ward and a member of the Demo- cratic county committee. 60 946 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Earnest Medo, a farmer of East Fairfield township, is a son of Augustus and Nora (Vernie) Medo, now residents of Meadville, natives of France. Mr. Medo was born where he now resides February 22, 1861, and belongs to a family of four children, viz. : Selma, married to Alfred Miller, Meadville ; Jennie, married to Fred Pequinot, East Fairfield township; Earnest, and Tille M. Medo, deceased. Mr. Medo was married. May 28, 1889, to Louise, a daughter of John and Clementine (Rebrasier) Beuchat, and four children have been born to this union : Lena A. ; Lillie May, deceased ; Esther M., deceased, and Ethel Medo. Mr. and Mrs. Beuchat have been residents of Randolph township for several years. Mrs. B. followed the vocation of teach- ing for some time in Ohio. Mr. Medo owns the sixty-acre farm in East Fair- field township where he resides. James M. Wheeler. — The just reward of a well spent life and active busi- ness career is an honored retirement from labor — a -season of rest in which one may enjoy the fruits of former toil. This has been attained by Mr. Wheeler, who for many years was identified with the agricultural interests of Crawford county, but is now living retired in Espyville, where he has a pleas- ant home and is surrounded by many warm friends who esteem him highly for his sterling worth. ' Mr. Wheeler is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth having occurred in Brookfield, Trumbull county, on the 4th of May, 1836. His father was a native of Vermont, but in early manhood removed to Trumbull county, Ohio, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for many years. He was quite suc- cessful in his business ventures, owing to his capable management, sound judg- ment and unflagging industry, and acquired a valuable property, including three hundred and sixty acres of rich farming land. He died at the age of sixty-eight years, at his home in Trumbull county, where twO' of his sons and a daughter still reside. James M. Wheeler was reared on the old homestead in the county of his nativity,, early becoming familiar with the labors of field and meadow, and all other departments of farm work. He continued a resident of Ohio until 1865, when he came to Crawford county, locating on a farm a half mile south of EspyviUe, where he made his home until his removal to the village. He carried on general farming and stock-raising, and in both branches of his busi- ness met with good success. His energy and careful supervision were mani- fest in the neat and thrifty appearance of the place, in the substantial build- ings and improved machinery, while the excellent grades of stock which he raised indicated his- progressiveness in that department of his business. His methods were systematic, his judgment rarely at fault and his diligence and perseverance enabled him to overcome many difficulties and obstacles, so that success eventually crowned his efforts and he found himself the possessoi of OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. ()Ar7 a handsome competence, which now enables him, to hve a retired hfe. He made judicious investments in land, and in addition to the home place became the ^owner of two other farms, from which he derives a good income. Mr. Wheeler was united in marriage to Miss Sarah New^comb, who was born and reared in Trumbull county, Ohio, and with her family removed to Espyville only a short time prior to her marriage. Her mother is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-six years, and retains all her faculties in. a remarkable degree. She bore the maiden name of Sarah Quick and was born in New Jersey, whence she removed to Trumbull county, Ohio. There she was reared and married, and when her husband went to the tpines of California she was given full power of attorney to carry on the farm and transact all business in connection therewith. She has but one daughter, Mrs. Wheeler, and with her she is now living. She possesses excellent business and executive ability, and on leaving Ohio she sold her Brookfield farm and purchased a farm near Espyville, which she conducted successfully until her daughter's marriage, since which time she has found a pleasant home with Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler. She has long been a prominent member and active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a liberal contributor to its support. Five years ago Mr. Wheeler put aside all business cares save the man- agement of his property, purchased a pleasant residence in Espyville and re- moved to the village, where he and his wife are now living, surrounded by many friends and enjoying the hospitality of the best homes of the com- munity. In politics Mr. Wheeler has always been a stanch advocate of the Republican party and is deeply interested in its growth and success, but has steadily refused all official preferments, desiring to give his undivided atten- tion to his business. Both he and his estimable wife are active members in the Espyville Methodist church, in which he is serving a-s steward, and their labors have contributed not a little to its advancement. They are rich in the possession of those qualities which endear them to the best people, and among the valued citizens of Crawford county they are numbered. Professor H. V. Hotchkiss, Ph. D. — For the past fifteen years Professor Hotchkiss has been associated with educational affairs in Meadville, for two years as principal of the high school and since that time as superintendent of the city schools. The paternal grandparents of our subject were Luke and Mary (Hath- away) Hotchkiss, early settlers of Crawford county. He is the eldest of the seven children of John and Sarah (Waid) Hotchkiss, the others being as follows : H. J., of Townville; Lillian, deceased; Mary, wife of E. M. Cooper; Margaret, wife of A. Morrison; Charles and Bessie. In his boyhood H. V. Hotchkiss received a public school education, and was only sixteen when he commenced teaching in the country schools. Later 948 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. he pursued a course of study at the Edinboro Normal, graduating in the class of 1880, after which he was chosen as principal of the Hydetown high school. In 1884 he was graduated in Allegheny College, and the following day he was elected principal of the Meadville high school. A post-graduate course of study entitled him to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, which was conferred upon him by his Alma Mater. Fraternally, he is identified with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1885 Professor Hotchkiss was united in marriage with Jessie, daugh- ter of George and Marian (Fordyce) Tier, of Meadville, and to this union were born four children, namely : Donald, Ruth, Robert and Harriet. Allen E. Daily, Wayne township. — The great-grandfather and great- grandmother of Mr. Daily came from Ireland in 1800 and settled in Venango county. His father, Joshua, in 1862, married Katharine, daughter of Joseph and Leah Shaffer, their oldest child being Allen Emeral, the subject of this sketch. Other children are Laura A., wife of William F. McDaftiel; Harry L., John F. and Frederick B. Allen came into the county about eighteen years ago, and October 22, 1826, married Laura, daughter of John and Mary Wheeling, of Venango county. They have two children, — Mary Ann and Bert Q. John G. Gutman, proprietor of the Spring Hill Hotel, at Titusville, was born in Switzerland, in 1851, came to America in 1870 and first located in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where he was employed at his trade, that of car- penter, during the time that he resided here. In 1871 he removed to Titus- ville, where he followed his trade for two years, when he purchased the Spring Hill Hotel and improved the same, which is still conducted by him. In 1877 he was united in marriage with Catharine Belleii, of Erie, Pennsylvania, and they have three children, — Libby Gertie, John Fred and Charles Frank. Mr. G. is a member of the Knights of Honor and of the D. O. H. Susan F. Rose, M. D., of Meadville, is a native of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, a daughter of Peter ahd Eliza A. (Boyer) Rose, and was born Sep- tember 21, 1845. Her parents also were natives of Philadelphia, her father of Welsh and English, and her mother of French descent. Peter Rose came with his family to this county about 1857, and was a farmer and lumber dealer. He reared a family of eight children, Susan F. being the fourth, and his death occurred in 1882. Our' subject received her early education in the graded schools of her native city, and studied medicine under Dr. Smith, in this county, from 1872 to 1875. In 1873-4 she attended the Woman's Medical College in Philadel- phia, and graduated at the Homeopathic Hospital and College in Cleveland, OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 949 Ohio, in the year 1875. She then began the practice at Townville, in this county, and in 1877 came to Meadville, where she has since continued in the work of her profession, having a large practice. Daniel Shaffer, of Wayne township. — ^Joseph Shaffer and his wife, Leah, daughter of George Noll, moved into Crawford from Dauphin county about the year 1850, locating upon the farm opposite that now owned by Daniel Shaffer. Their children are Daniel; Katharine, wife of Joshua M. Daily; Moses, John, Joseph, William, Charles, Henry, and Eva, wife: of John Mc- Cracken. Daniel was born on the old homestead in 1851, and March 29, 1877, married Ada, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Daniels, from Dauphin county. Their children are Walter, Maud and Frederick. Mr. Shaffer has lived upon Ms farm, consisting of one hundred and forty-two acres, since his marriage. A member of the United Brethren church, his particular field of usefulness is Sunday-school work, he having filled the office of superintendent for eigh- teen years to the satisfaction of all. William Shaffer, of Wayne township, and brother of Daniel, was born on the Shaffer homestead in Wayne township, November 14, 1857. In 1882 he married Ada, daughter of James Thompson. Their children are named Alta and Roy. Mr. Shaffer owns and cultivates a fine farm of sixty-seven acres. He has held several township offices. F. N etcher, proprietor of Hotel Monroe, at Titusville, was born in Decem- ber, 1847, i" Buffalo, New York. November 29, i860, he came to Titusville, where he began the work of drilling for oil, with fair success. April i, 1870, he engaged in the wholesale liquor business, which he conducted most of the „ period until 1880, when he purchased the Hotel Monroe. He was more or less interested in the wholesale business until 1888, and since then he has con- ducted the hotel uninterruptedly. In- October, 1873, he was united in mar- riage with Mary, daughter of Ignatius Eckart, of Buffalo. They have three children, — .Clara B., widow of J. Robinson; William C. and Ida May. Mr. Netcher is the son of Christian and. Sophia (Remenger) Netcher, the former of whom died January 27, 1898, aged seventy-four years, and the latter September 4, 1896. Christian Netcher came from Germany at the age of thirteen years, was a cooper by trade, and was one of the early founders of Pleasantville, Venango county, and an active citizen in that locality during the oil boom. Charles W. Thompson, M. D.^ of Meadville, was born May 8, 1858, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of John and Letitia (Taylor) Thompson. The former, who was a native of Pittsburg, died in 1890, at the age of fifty- 950 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. eight years. He rendered efficient service in the war of the Rebellion. The mother, who was born in Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, died in 1869, aged thirty-one years. Dr. Thompson received his education in the public schools of Meadville, the Meadville Commercial College, Edinboro State Normal School, -Allegheny College and the Wooster and Western Reserve Universities, Cleveland, Ohio, graduating fi-om the latter in 1882. In April of the same year he began, in Meadville, the practice of medicine, which he has since continued with un- varying success. He was county physician from 1882 to 1^85. In 1890 Dr. Thompson married Miss Eva Apple, daughter of Hon. A. G. .Apple. She died in 1893. October 3, 1896, he married Mary, daughter of John Derfus, of Mead township. Nathan Shaffner, proprietor of the Shaffner Hotel, at Pleasantville, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, born in 1849, ^ son of Solomon and Loretta (Swab) Shaffner, the former of whom died at the age of sixty-five years and the latter at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. Shaffner is the second son in a family of seven children, namely: Joseph; Nathan; Cassie, wife of Leon Stein- berger, St. Paul, Minnesota; Henry, deceased; Abraham, Clarence and Rachel. July 20, 1874, Mr. Shaffner was married at Weedsport, New York, and he now has four children, — Clarence, Carrie, Alice and Florence. Mr. Shaffner first began the restaurant business, in Oil City, in 1869, and came to Titusville in 1872, where he continued the same business until 1875, wheii he became proprietor of the European Hotel, of which he had charge for twelve years. He removed to' Pleasantville January i, 1898, and took charge of the Eagle Hotel, which was handsomely refitted, refurnished and renamed after its present proprietor. At the age of thirteen years Mr. Shaffner enlisted, January 17, 1863, from ■ Cleveland, Ohio, in the Thirty-second Ohio Infantry, and was mustered out with his regiment in July, 1865. George T. Smith, merchant, Meadville, was born March 28, 1842, in Massachusetts, and came to Crawford county and located in Meadville in the autumn of 1863, and followed his trade, that of tinner, until the following year, when he removed to Franklin; and here he. remained until 1868, when he returned to Meadville and followed the same line of business until April, 1896, since which time he has been engaged in the grocery trade on North street. Mr. Smith's ancestry was of the New England type. A descendant of John Rogers, his father. Dexter Smith, was born in 18 12 and died in 1892 ; his mother, Philindia (Morgan) Smith, died in 1858, at the age of forty- four years. Their family consisted of four sons: Chandler, of Illinois; George T., and John A., and Clarence E. Smith, now residing in Massachu- OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 951 setts. Mr. Smith married, May 30, 1865, Sarah, daughter of Frederick and Margaret Metzer, who died November 21, 1890, at the age of forty-two years. To this union were born : Frederick D., Nettie M., Arthur H., Ed- ward B., WiUiard H., Clarence W. and Kenneth Smith. In April, 1861, Mr. Smith engaged in the late Civil war and remained in service until January 18, 1863, when he received an honorable discharge 011 account of disability. His engagements included the battles of Williamsburg, Garnett's farm, Savage's station and Malvern Hill. David Foster, a native of Ireland, born May i, 1844, emigrated to this country and first located in Buffalo, New York, in 1863, and in April of the same year ranoved to Titusville. He was a member of a family of fifteen chil- dren, four of whom reside in Pennsylvania, as follows : Robert, at Erie; Mar- garet, wife of Samuel Cunningham, at Rixford; Samuel, at Dubois; and Anna, the wife of George Beatty, at Titusville. November 28, 1865, he was united in marriage with Emma J., daughter of John and Mary Ann (Suter) Megahey, formerly from the north of Ireland. Mr. Megahey died in 1889 at the age of seventy-five years, and his wife died in May, 1897, ^.t the age of eighty-five years. Mrs. Foster is the second child in a family of seven children, as follows: William; Anna J., above mentioned; Arthur, Titusville; Letitia, wife of Samuel Koon; James, Titusville; Esther, wife of Charles Hall, Syracuse, New York; and Mary Elizabeth, de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Foster have three children,— Samuel J., Letitia and John B. Mr. Foster is the son of Samuel and Margaret (Wright) Foster, the former of whom died in 1873, at the age of sixty-nine years, and the latter died at the age of forty years. Mr. Foster came to Titusville during the days of the oil excitement and .followed his trade, that of builder and mover, together with lumbering and leal-estate business. He is the pioneer and largest operator in his line. So- cially, he is a member of Shepherd Lodge, No. 443, F. & A. M., and a charter member of Queen City Lodge, I. O. O. F. Peter A. Forshloom, contractor, Titusville, was born in Sweden, January 17, 1835, son of A. P. and Anna Rebekah (Arling) Forsbloom, natives of Sweden. Mr. Forsbloom is the second child in a family of seven children, as follows: Charles A., deceased; Peter A. ; John, Stockholm, Sweden; Johan- nah, wife of Mr. Ligeqvist; Albertina, wife of Charles Holmaqvist, Stock- holm, Sweden; Charlotta, widow of J. Lundquist, Brooklyn; and Caroline, deceased. In 1861 Mr. Forsbloom was united in marriage with Louise John- son, of Stockholm, Sweden, and the)^ came tO' Titusville, where she died Octo- ber 25, 1887, at the age of forty-two years. Seven children survive, namely : Augusta, Emily, Albin, Edward, Earnest, Arvid and Anna. 952 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. It was not until the year 1869 that Mr. Forsbloom finally located in Titus- ville. He had made a brief sojourn in Jamestown, New York, and December 13, 1869, he located permanently in Titusville, where he has since followed his trade, that of carpenter and builder. He was first employed by Smith & Hubbard, contractors, for the period of two years. Many of the important buildings of Titusville, among which the Hotel Brunswick and not a few of the many beautiful homes in architectural beauty will remain as monuments of his enterprise. John B. Houser, contractor at Meadville, was born October 25, 1855, son of George and Mary (Walp) Houser, natives of Pennsylvania. The latter died in 1862, at the age of thirty-three years. Mr. Houser began his trade, that of carpenter, with his father in 1870, and since his apprenticeship has constructed many fine buildings. April 4, 1877, he married May, daughter of Albert and Marietta (Pierce) Belton, of Crawford county. Two chil- dren—Alberta B. and Fred P. Houser — have been born to this union. Mr. Houser is the third of a family of six children, five of whom are living : Ma- tilda, widow of David Owens ; Christina, wife of Joseph Hannah ; John B. ; Josephine, widow of the late Charles Stuart; William B., of Columbus, Ohio; and Henry, deceased. John and Henry Walp were in service during the late rebellion and Albert Belton was engaged as provost guard at Harrisburg. General John Dick. — A man of wide reputation who stood forth as a central figure in the annals of Pennsylvania through more than half a century was General John Dick, whose identification with the public life of Mead- ville was so inseparable as to render his career a part of its history. No com- pendium such as the province of this work defines in its essential limitations will serve to offer fit memorial to the life and accomplishments of the honored subject of this sketch, — a man remarkable in the breadth of his wisdom, in his indomitable perseverance, his strong individuality, and yet one whose entire life had not one esoteric phase, being an open scroll, inviting the closest scru- tiny. There was in him a weight of character, a native sagacity, a far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that commanded the respect of all, and his name is deeply engraven on the history of Meadville and the Keystone state. Of Scotch-Irish descent, he was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, June .17, 1794, and was a son of William and Anna (McGunnegle) Dick, whose family numbered four children, namely: John, David, James R. and Wilson W., all now deceased. In the year of his birth he was brought by his parents to Meadville, then a mere collection of log houses. The town then gave little promise of development, but with the passing years it expanded, and in the activities of life General Dick kept pace with its growth and progress. He ^^c^ OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 953 was for many years one of its successful merchants and was one of the founders of the private banking house of J. R. Dick & Company, which in 1850 was conducted under the firm name of J. & J. R. Dick. He was an able financier, and made this institution one of the most reliable and prosperous financial concerns in this part of the state. His reputation in business was unassailable, and his energy and enterprise made him very prosperous, so that at his death he left to his family a large estate. He was identified with many other business interests, which resulted not only to his own benefit, but also to the great benefit of the community. These included the construction of the eastern plank road, which was built mainly through his instrumentality, and the At- lantic & Great Western Railroad., He was president of the Crawford Mutual Insurance Company for several years, the first president of Greendale ceme- tery, and at one time captain of the Cussewago Fire Company. The cause of education found in him a warm friend, and he was one of the trustees of Allegheny College. At the time of his death he was the oldest vestryman of Christ Protestant Episcopal church, in Meadville, having been elected to that position February 7. 1829, and for more than forty years he devoted his energies untiringly to the welfare of the parish. No enterprise which was calculated to prove of public benefit solicited his aid in vain, and his co- operation advanced many public movements and measures upon which time has set the stamp of highest approval. In his political affiliations General Dick was a Whig and was a member of the electoral college of 1840, at which he cast the vote of Pennsylvania for General William Henry Harrison. In 1850 he was appointed by Governor Johnson associate judge of Crawford county, and the following year was elected and commissioned to the same position. On the bench he was ever just and upright, his course being unalterable by either fear or favor. While serving in'that capacity he was elected to congress, in 1852, from the district composed of the counties of Erie and Crawford, and served in the council chambers of the nation for three consecutive terms, leaving the impress of his strong individuality upon the legislation of the country. High military honors were also his. At the age of twenty-seven he was elected major of the First Battalion and was so commissioned by Governor Heister, in 1821. Four years later he was made colonel of the Thirty-first Regiment; in 1831 he was commissioned by Governor Wolf brigadier-general of the Second Brigade, Sixteenth Division, composed of the troops from the counties of Beaver, But- ler, Mercer, Crawford, Erie, Venango and Warren, extending from the banks of the Ohio to the shore of Lake Erie. He was well versed in military tactics and drill, and the honors thus won were well merited. On the 1 6th of November, 1830, General Dick married Miss Jane A. Torbett, daughter of Samuel Torbett, one of the honored pioneers of Craw- ford county and for many years an extensive and prominent real-estate 954 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. dealei- here. They became the parents of six children : George M., J. Henry, Samuel Bernard, Anna C, Mary E. and John. For years General Dick was acknowledged the leading citizen of his county, by reason o'f the prominent part which he took in military, political, business and social life. He achieved financial success by careful management and untiring energy ; he won political and military honors through fidelity to duty and loyalty in citizenship, and won the regard of many friends by those sterling ciualities which everywhere command respect. He lived through the period of the republic's earlj' development, witnessed its wonderful progress along all material lines, in invention, science, art and commerce; saw the beginning and consummation of one of the greatest civil wars known to his- tory and the re-establishment of the nation on a firmer foundation than ever before. He died May 29, 1872, in his seventy-eighth year, and thus was closed a life devoted to goodly ends. Joseph A. Roser, engineer of the Erie Railway at Meadville, was born January 17, 1859, a son of Joseph and Catherine (Swop) Roser. The former died in Germany, at the age of thirty-six years, and the latter is now living in Meadville, at the age of sixty-nine years. Mrs. Roser, soon after the death of her husband, with her three children, — Elizabeth, Marion and Joseph, — left Germany and came to America, locating soon after in Meadville, where the subject of this sketch, at the age of thirteen, began as a messenger for the dispatcher's office of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railway. At the age of eighteen he accepted a position as fireman and was afterward pro- moted as engineer, and has acceptably filled this place of trust since 1884. July 25, 1883, Mr. Roser married Fannie E., daughter of David and Annie (Mitcheltree) McCreary, of West Middlesex, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, both deceased. Mrs. Roser is the youngest of a family of four children, viz. : John W. ; Laura J., wife of Mathew Farrell, Ottumwa, Iowa; David A., and Fannie Elizabeth McCreary. John AlcCreary, father of David, was a native of Ireland, and emigrated to this country prior to the Revolutionary war, and served through the entire struggle with General Morgan. Mr. Roser is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Division No. 43. William S. Flower, physician, Cochranton, was born in Harbor Creek, Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1821, a son of James and Sarah Flower, natives of Massachusetts, who resided in Erie county for over half a century. Dr. Flower first began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Davenport, at Ellington Center, Chautauqua county. New York, and soon after entered the medical department of a university at Philadelphia, at which he graduated in i860, and began the practice of medicine in Cooperstown, Venango county, Pennsylvania, the same year. He came to Cochranton in 1856, where he has OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 955 continued to practice, and chose for a life companion Miss Mary J. Barthol- omew, of Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania, born 1827, and only last year celebrated the event of their marriage with a golden wedding. To' this union were born four sons : William, a resident of California ; Chauncey, of Frank- lin; Frank E., of Cochranton; and Charles W., of Buffalo, New York. Dr. Flower was the second child of a family of seven children: David E., William S., Dr. Phineas D., of Albion, Pennsylvania; Elbridge J., Jamestown, New- York ; Mrs. C. A. Fuller, Fredonia, New York ; Mrs. L. D. Davenport, Al- bion, Pennsylvania; and Lydia W. Flower, Fredonia, New York. James Flower, father of William S., was captain o-f militia at Erie during the war of 1812. F. A. Sutton, a well known citizen of Meadville, is a native of Venango county, Pennsylvania. His parents were Solomon and Elmira (Knowlton) Sutton. When the war of the Rebellion was being waged our subject, then a young man, offered his services to his country, and fought for the Union. He was a member of the Fifty-second Pennsylvania Regiment. As early as i860 he became interested in the oil industry in the vicinity of Oil City, and during the intervening years he has given his chief time and attention to this line of business, at present having additional investments in the oil region of West Virginia. Politically he is affiliated with the Republican party, and socially he is a Knight of Pythias. Mr. Sutton married Caroline, a daughter of William and Eleanor (Beck) Gray, then residents of Indiana, but now deceased. The five children born to our subject and wife are named as follows : John, William, Curtis, Ella and Jessie May. George J. Philley, Cochranton, was born in Chenango county. New York, in 1829, a son of Isaac and Eliza (Perkins) Philley, for many years residents of New York state, where the former was an extensive lumber and dairyman. Mr. Philley is of a large family of children, viz. : Lewis, a resident of Minne- sota; Orphia, wife of Charles Purdy; Jeremiah, of Binghamton, New York; William, deceased; George J.; Eunice, deceased, formerly wife of Elijah Fernalla, of Chenango county. New York ; DeForest, in Minnesota ; Melinda, wife of Charles Fernalla; Clarinda, wife of John Kilman, Minnesota ; Frank- lin, deceased; and Remembrance, deceased. In January, 1853, Mr. Philley married Martha, -daughter of Levi Morse, of Chenango county, New York, and three daughters have been born to this union, viz. : Flora, who married D. H. Myers, and resides in Greene township, Erie county; Emma, wife of William Watson, of Wayne township, Crawford county ; and Cora Philley, of Cochranton. 956 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Mr. Philley has been extensively engaged in the meat business for several years, and has held several local offices, among which are those of constable, assessor and appraiser. Joseph Gerlach, proprietor of the Burkhardt Hotel, is a native of Craw- ford county, and has been a resident of Meadville since 1866. He was born in Vernon township in 1843, being a son of John and Elizabeth (Shepper) Gerlach, natives of Germany, who emigrated to America and settled in Vernon township in 1839. The former was a soldier in the German army, and died in West Fallowfield township in 1856, at the age of sixty-one years, and his Avidow died in 1888, at the ripe age of eighty-six years. They reared a family of three children, all of whom are living: John, a resident of Conneaut, Ohio; Josq)h, subject of this sketch; and Andrew Gerlach, of Erie, Erie county, Pennsylvania. February 23, 1865, our subject married Catherine, daughter of Leonard and Catherine Zimmerman, of Meadville. They have no children. Mr. Ger- lach became proprietor of the Burkhardt Hotel April i, 1895. He is a mem- ber of the C. M. B. A., and the St. Lawrence Life Association. Timothy B. Hicks^ of Rome township, is a son of William Hicks, and was born in the town of Manchester, Vermont, in 1823. His father came to Erie county, Pennsylvania, when he was a small boy, and in 1852 settled in Rome township. In 1861 he enlisted in Company K, Second Regiment, United States Artillery, at Buffalo, and served five years. He is a pensioner. He married Amy Young, daughter of Alonzo and Salome (Loomis) Young. He cleared his farm where he now .lives and has six children living, — Clarissa v., Alonzo, George W., Flora V., Loren and Ira B. Francis Nelson, a farmer of West Fairfield township, was born Augu.'^t 7, 1843, in West Fairfield township, the son of Allen and Hannah (Dunn) Nelson. The former was born in 1814 and died November 25, 1895, the lat- ter was born in 1810 and died in September, 1883. Allen Nelson was a son of Colonel David and Jane (Milligan) Nelson, who died at the age of ninety- four years and seventy, respectively. Allen was the third son of a family of eight children, viz. : John, James, Allen, father of our subject, and William, — all deceased ; Daniel, of Meadville ; Mary, who became the wife of Hamilton Armour and is now deceased; Betsy B., deceased, was the wife of Thomas McDonald ; and Jane, wife of Hugh McQintock, Cochranton. In 1835 Allen Nelson married Hannah, daughter of Allen and Mary (Hamilton) Dunn, of Sandy Lake, Mercer county. Their family numbered nine children : Elizabeth, v/ho married W. H. Line, of Pottawatomie county, Kansas; David C, who died in 1873 ; Allen D., who died in 1893 ; Francis, the subject of this sketch ; OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 957 Samuel H., of Cochranton ; James A., who died in 1863 ; Margaret J., who died in 1889, the wife of W. H. Applegate, of Kansas; Stewart L., of Topeka, Kansas; and H. E. Nelson, on the homestead. October 13, 1870, Francis Nel- son, the subject of this sketch, married Sarah A., daughter of Mason and Mary (McDonald) Williams. No issue. Mr. Nelson was in the Civil war, enlisting in August, 1862, and being mustered out in July, 1865. The principal engagement in which he partici- pated was the battle of Gettysburg, where he was severely wounded, a bullet piercing his right lung. The Nelsons are prominently identified among the first families of the township. Colonel David Nelson settled upon the homestead farm in 1776, coming on horseback from Westmoreland county. He returned the same year to Westmoreland county, was married, and then came to his new home here and began life in earnest. Surrounded by a dense forest and limited facilities, he made his way toward the front rank of civilization. He served his country in the war of 1812, being stationed at Fort Meigs in the winter of 1813-14. A. C. LeConte, a successful clothing merchant of Meadville, is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was born December 3, 1857. His parents, J. A. and Mary (Faber) LeConte, came to America from France at an early day, the former being an extensive importer of cigars to several southern cities. The subject of this review spent several years of his early life in Pitts- burg, Bradford and elsewhere, and settled permaneritly in Meadville in 1891, when a co-partnership was formed with F, G. Pranatt in the clothing trade, since which time this firm have successfully conducted a large business as clothiers and dealers in all lines of gentlemen's furnishings. Imbued with the spirit of progress, Mr. LeConte has become prominently identified with business circles as a man of excellent business principles. December 29, 1886, he was united in marriage to Julia, daughter of Au- gustus and Victorine Ducray, of Meadville. This union has been blessed with one child, Ralph, who was born February 19, 1888. Mr. LeConte is identified with numerous organizations, among which are the Columbus Club of Pittsburg, the Iroquois Boating and Fishing Club, Young Men's Republican Club, Antrous Club, and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Meadville Lodge, No. 219. Seth Church, a well known quarryman of Titusville, was born in Erie, Erie county, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1844, son of Amos and Sarah (Roberts) Church, who removed from Connecticut to Greene township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1839. There the father died, in April, 1896, at the age of 9S8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. eighty-two years. The mother was born in 1814 and still survives. Mr. Church had one brother, Charles, who died in Andersonville prison during the Rebellion and who had been promoted captain the day he was taken pris- oner. He was the instigator of the tunnel of historic fame, by which many prisoners escaped from this notorious southern prison. The others of the family are Amos, of Conneautville ; Samuel, of Erie; Timothy ]., deceased; Martha, deceased ; and Lillian, deceased. In September, 1867, Mr. Church was united in marriage to Mary J. Tate, of Summit township, Erie county, Pennsylvania. Her parents were James and Martha (Kannedy) Tate, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Church have three children, as follows : Charles J., Leona Harriet and Harry S. Mr. Church came to Titusville in 1870 and has been engaged in the quar- rying business since 1882. He served three years as street commissioner, and is a member of the Knights of Honor, I. O. O. F., and of Battery B, being second lieutenant of Company K. Arthur Mandell, of Titusville, who is prominently identified with the oil industry, is a native of -Skaneateles, New York, where he was born May 6, i860, san of Albert and Marie (Joy) Mandell. He received his early educa- tion in the public schools of Albion, New York, and the Cayuga Lake Mili- tary Academy. After completing his course he went to South Bend, Indiana, and learned the sash and blind trade, which he followed until he came to Titusville. Mr. Mandell is a grandson of Samuel Mandell, who came from Boston, Massachusetts, at an early day and located at Aurora, New York, where he died in 1878, at the age of ninety-three years. In September, 1885, Mr. Mandell was united in marriage to Fonta, daughter of John and Jerusha Ford, of Pittsfield. They have three children, — Arthur, Elizabeth and Janet. Mr. Mandell came to Titusville in 1869 and established his home here permanently in 188 1. It was during this time that he had charge of the Joy- Shaw Heating Works, as superintendent of the clerical work, and while em- ployed by this firm he became interested in the oil business, and has since devel- oped numerous fields in West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana. Mr. Mandell is a member of the Royal Arcanum. A. C. Hettler, sexton of Greendale cemetery, at Meadville, v/as born at Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany, February 25, 1853, the son of Frederick William and Eliza (Emmon) Hettler, the former of whom died at the age of forty- two years, when the subject of this sketch was but three years of age. The mother still survives, at the age of seventy-four years. They had a family of six children, three ol whom are living, — Elbrecht, in Germany; A. C, our subject; and Manfred, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frederick OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 959 William Hettler was for some time secretary to King William, of Wurtem- berg. A. C. Hettler was educated in the institute at Kornthal and won consid- erable reputation as a landscape gardener and florist. He served in the Ger- man army from 1873 to 1876. He came to America in 1879, and first went to Nebraska, where he spent some ten months, after which he came to Meadville and was appointed sexton of the Greendale cemetery, a position he still holds. Since his appointment numerous improvements have been made in and about the cemetery, as the outcome of persistent labor and skill. During the past six years a debt of one thousand eight hundred dollars has been paid and the cemetery made self- supporting. January 11, 1881, Mr. Hettler married Maria, daughter of Wil- liam Schnauber, of Woodcock township, this county. Two children have been born to this union: Frederick William and Charles Albrecht Hettler. Mr. Hettler is a member of French Creek Council, No. 325, Royal Arcanum, and of the Woodmen of the World. E. Plummcr McDozvell, of Dicksonburg, is a representative of one of the old and prominent farming families of Crawford county. Three generations have resided upon the farm which is now his home, and through all these years they have been actively connected with the agricultural interests of southwestern Pennsylvania, the exponents of progress and enterprise along' their line of business. At an early period in the present century Alexander McDowell purchased sixty acres of land now included within the old home- stead, and upon this place his son, J. B. McDowell, father of our subject, was born and reared. In 1844 he built the frame of the barn and the following year erected the house, which is still standing. He married Miss Betsy Smifh, and during their early married life resided on the old home place, devoting his energies to the tilling of the soil, which yielded tO' him good harvests in return for the care and cultivation he bestowed upon the fields. Subsequently he purchased a gristmill in Dicksonburg, where he has sir.ce made his home. For many years he operated the mill with success, but is now living retired, making his home among his children. He has reached the age of seventy-seven years, but his wife died in 1896, at the age of seventy-five. Ensign Plummer McDowell is their only son. He was born on the farm where he still resides, March 2, 1847, and under the parental roof was reared to manhood. In his early life he assisted his father in the mill, carrying on that business for some tirne, but eventually returned to the farm, where he has since devoted his energies to the raising of grain and stock. He here owns one hundred and forty acres of rich land, including his grandfather's original purchase of sixty acres. This is a valuable and desirable property, and the well tilled fields indicate the supervision of a careful and painstaking owner. 96o OUR COUNTY AND- ITS PEOPLE. Mr. McDowell was united in marriage to Miss Eveline Beard, and they now have two children. Iris Banks, the son, is a graduate of the Conneauc- ville high school, and is now a student in Clarion, Pennsylvania; Belle, his twin sister, is at home. In his political views Mr. McDowell is a stalwart Republican, unwaver- ing in support of the principles of his party and now serving as a member of the Republican county committee. He has never been an aspirant for office, however. On the contrary, he has steadily refused to become a candidate. He holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church of Dicksonburg, and is a member of its board of trustees. As a public-spirited citizen he takes a deep interest in all measures pertaining to the general good, but his time is necessarily largely taken up with his business interests. He is spoken of as "a first-class farmer"; he is industrious, economical, possesses sound judg- ment, is thoroughly reliable, and has therefore met with success in his under- takings. He makes a specialty of the raising of fine stock and has taken many- premiums at county fairs. For a number of years he has served as marshal at the Crawford County Fairs, has been superintendent of the horse depart- ment, and vice-president of the Fair Association. He is particularly active in supporting all measures for the advancement of the agricultural interests of the community and is a highly respected citizen. Henry R. Bates, of West Shenango township, was born in West Shen- ango, February 12, 1835. His great-grandfather, Andrew Bates, came from Westmoreland in 1 799, and located on the farm near the Ohio line now occu- pied by Henry R. Bates. Andrew Bates' son Christian took up land in Mercer county, and his younger brother, Reason, fell heir to the old estate, upon which he lived and died at an advanced age. Before his death, however, he had sold the property to his nephew Andrew Bates, the father of the subject of this sketch, who in turn gave his uncle Reason a small site for his own use. A clear, rushing brook ran through the old farm, and the first Andrew, in the dawn of the century, made a dam, and erected a "noisy" mill and a "still" house, and kept a tavern, in which he was married to a Miss Shibondi. The second Andrew after his marriage had scarcely a dollar to his name. He lived in Crawford county, and after a severe struggle bought a tract of land which he cleared of brush and stumps and which is now worked by his son Reason. He bought the old place in 1855 and lived on it until his death. May 3, 1862, aged sixty-eight years. Andrew Bates was a prominent stockman and did an extensive business in breeding, driving, feeding and selling cattle. He owned four hundred and ninety-five acres of land and was a man of vast en- terprise and financial ability. He married Miss Jane Sisley, and their family consisted of Nancy Ann, the wife of John Probst, who died in middle life; OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 961 Reason, who died on his father's original farm-; Hannah, who married Will- iam W. Jackson, of Gehrton; Lizzie, who married Mr. Sharp and lives at Linesville. Henry R. Bates when a young man built on his father's farm and entered into partnership with him, later taking charge of the whole property, and for forty years he has continued in the vocation of farming. Mr. Bates married during October, 1854, Miss Charlotte Royal, of West Shenango, and after her death, nine years later, married Miss Nancy Fitch, of Kinsman, Ohio. The children of the first marriage were Charles A., who owns the old home ; Almon Herbert, a farmer in Mercer county, and Sadie, the wife of Jesse Edwards, of Espyville. The only child of the second marriage was Frank N., who lives in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, and is a railroad "detective. With the exception of eleven years, the old Bates farm has been in the possession of the family for a century. Henry R. Bates, the present owner, is, like his father, a prominent stockman, and has fed as many as eleven- hundred sheep in a single winter. He has shipped and handled hundreds of head of stock, and has a fine dairy of eighteen cows. His barns and house are con- venient and modern, and four years ago he moved to an&ther farm in Mercer county, upon which he made the most advanced improvements. He had one hundred and sixty-nine acres here, to which he has added tliirty acres. Six years ago he removed to another farm he had bought in Mercer county one mile southeast of Jamestown, where he also has made extensive improvements. He also bought another farm near by, making a total of over two hundred acres- there. He recently purchased another farm of one hundred and ten acres, also in that county. Mr. Bates has no, political aspirations and does not belong to either party. He invariably votes for the best man. Himself and wife are members of the Methodist church at State Line. Samuel Burgeson. — When a young man leaves his native land to begin life anew in a foreign country, where the language and customs are totally different, he requires considerable pluck and perseverance, and in many cases he becomes discouraged with the almost insurmountable obstacles in his path- way, and returns to his mother country. Such was not the spirit of Samuel Burgeson of whom this article is penned — a well known and successful busi- ness man of Titusville, Pennsylvania. He persevered in his undertakings, would not allow himself to become disheartened by difficulties, and only worked the harder to obtain the mastery of the situation. To such men suc- cess surely comes, sooner or later, and riO' one begrudges fair fortune to them, but, on the contrary, admiration and commendation are accorded the victor by the public. The birth of Samuel Burgeson took place in the town of Warburg, 61 962 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Sweden, May 25, 1864, he being a son of Burge Anderson, and, in accord- ance with the custom of that larid, he received for his surnarne the father's first name. The mother of our subject was a Miss Arma Pierceson before her marriage. Samuel Burgeson received a good general education in the public schools of his native land, and when he was seventeen years of age he deter- mined to seek a new home and field of enterprise. Landing on the shores of this hospitable country he went to DuBois, Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, and soon found employment as a machinist. For seven years he worked indus- triously in that line, winning the approval of his superiors, and, in the mean- time, gaining knowledge of the English language. In 1888 he went to Wash- ington territory and secured a position as a mechanical engineer on a tug-boat, which towed steamers from the Pacific ocean into Puget Sound. In the west he continued to live but one year, and, returning to this state, resumed his residence in DuBois. September 25, 1892, he came to Titusville, and for four years worked in A. G. Maxwell's tannery. He purchased the property at the corner of Spruce and First streets in September, 1895, and at once opened a meat market, which has proved a very profitable undertaking. The business has steadily grown under the management of Mr. Burgeson and his custorners cannot fail to be pleased with the fine and well selected stock which he always keeps on hand, and with his uniform courtesy and evident desire to tneet their wishes in every particular. December 28, 1886, Samuel Burgeson and Matilda Caulburn were united in marriage. Mrs. Burgeson is a daughter of C. R. and Mary (Anderson) Caulburn, and by her marriage has becotne the mother of four children, namely: Nels Bennett, Alice Matilda, Harry William and Esther Victoria. Mr. and Mrs. Burgeson are members of the Swedish Lutheran church, and the former is connected with the A. B. of A. of Titusville. Thomas J. Patten, Jr. — In the days when Crawford county was naught but a dense wilderness, its only inhabitants the Indians and an occasional trader or trapper of the white race, when wild animals abounded in the forests, there cam6, in the first wave of immigration and civilization, a family by the name of Patten. Brave and hardy were they^ indeed, to try these unaccus- toihed dangers, to enter upon a 'life which they knew must be filled with priva- tions, the hardest kind of manual labor, loneliness and inconvenience of every sort. The head of tlie family was the grandfather of the subject of this re- view. He was a native of England, and in his own country had been very rich and influential. Interested extensively in the merchant marine service, he had lost the bulk of his property by the depredations of privateers, and he ul- timately concluded to strike out into an untried field of endeavor, and seek, in the New World, a home and repaired fortune. Upon his arrival here he set- tled at first in the bleak state of Maine,, but finally, as related above, he de- cided to join the rrnks of the brave-hearted frontiersmen and push on to OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 963 what was then the great and untried west. The journey hither was made in the winter, in sleighs, and this long tedious trip across the ice and snow of the several intervening states, between Maine and Pennsylvania, left an in- delible impression upon the minds of the younger members of the family, and in later years they delighted to relate their experiences to their children and grandchildren. The story of the years that followed is an oft-told one, — no schools or churches for many years, few neighbors, and those miles distant ; hard work at clearing away the forest, but at last some reward in the ripened harvest of golden grain, which grain had to be transported on horseback, along trails and bridle-paths (for roads had not yet been laid out) to the nearest mill and trading-post, thirty miles away, — now the city of Erie. Grandfather Patten selected for a home a tract of land on which now stands the borough of Centerville. He became well-to-do and influential, was the first justice of the peace in Rome township, serving in that office for over a score of years ; in 1829 was elected commissioner of Crawford county, and acted as such for a number of years, besides Jiolding other local offices. His death took place in Centerville, March 26, 1843, when he was seventy-three years old. Thomas J. Patten, Sr., father of the subject oi this article, was born in this county, and here grew to manhood. In early life he learned the car- penter's trade, which he followed, in connection with farming, until 1853, when he went to California, and became interested in mining operations. Dur- ing the forty-five years that have intervened he has resided chiefly in that far-away western state, contracting for the construction of quartz mills and variously connected with mines and mining affairs. The care of his five chil- dren thus devolved upon the wife and mother, whose maiden name had been Lucinda Warner Phillips, and faithfully and conscientiously did she perform her task, under many adverse circumstances. She was a native of Northamp- ton, Massachusetts, born in 181 7, and her death occurred at the home of her son, Thomas J., Jr., September 27, 1887. Two of her sons were hei-oes of the Civil war, and the' elder one was killed at the battle of Atlanta, Georgia, in 1864. Thomas J. Patten, Jr., was born in Sparta township, Crawford county, July 21, 1850. From his boyhood he appeared to be of an unusually studious disposition and made rapid progress in his school work. In 1868 he com- menced his career as a teacher, and for a number of years he was in charge of schools in his own county, meeting with flattei'ing success. Having thor- oughly mastered photography, he now gave his entire attention to this busi- ness, being located in Titusville, Corry and other towns for several years. From 1872 to 1875 he was employed in the Downer Oil Works in Corry, and since that time he has made his home in Centerville. For the past twenty years he has been almost continuously engaged in journalistic work, acting in the capacity of editor of the Centerville News, the Spartansburg Sentinel and 964 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. other local papers. Nearly every local office has been occupied by him, to the satisfaction of all concerned, and as school director, constable, councilman, assessor, collector, burgess and justice of the peace he has honorably striven to advance the v^relfare of the public. Should he fill out his present term as a justice of the peace he wfill have occupied the office for sixteen successive years. In politics he is a "true-blue" Republican, and uses his influence, which is not flight, on behalf of the principles of his party. In 1889 he identified himself virith the Odd Fellows, and is a charter member and past gr^nd of Centerville Lodge, No. 889, and was first representative to the grand lodge of the state in the annual convocation at Lancaster, in 1891. Besides, he has been a mem- ber of the Grange, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Sons of Temperance and the Good Templars. For twenty-two years he has been superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school, and for a score of years has been a member of the church. At present he is also recording steward and secretary of the board of trustees. In April, 1872, Mr. Patten married Miss Kate Gilborn, who died at Centerville in October, 1875, leaving an infant daughter, Carrie, whose birth oc- curred in October, 1875, and death in December, 1878. November 11, 1877, Mr. Patten married Miss Ella M. Saunders, of this place, and four children have blessed their marriage, namely : Blanche Gertrude, born September 29, 1878; Clara De Ette, born August 25, 1882^ Paul Waldo, born November 11, 1884, and died November 22, 1891 ; and Abbie Ruth, born September 12, 1892. Zadock Martin. — On account of his extensive operations in the oil regions during the pioneer days of this wonderful article of commerce, and owing to the many years which he devoted to the hotel business, few men of Crawford county are more widely known than Zadock Martin, who, since 1890, has made his home at the Commercial House, in Meadville, with his son, L. L. Martin. Our subject is a son of Leonard and Phoebe (Cooley) Martin, and was born August 31, 1823, in the town of Charlotte, Vermont. Six years later his parents removed to* Portland, New York, where the father died a short time afterward. Thus the lad was early forced to rely upon his own efforts in the matter of making a livelihood. At seventeen he was apprenticed to an extensive tanner and currier in Buffalo, and thoroughly mastered the trade, which, for twenty-one years he pursued in the city mentioned, and in Detroit, Chicago and Warren, Pennsylvania. After having resided in Warren for some three years he went to Titusville, March 19, i860, and assumed the superin- tendency of the Barnsdall, Mead & Rouse well, the first producing well in Crawford county. Within one year he put down three wells on the Parker Flats, each proving a profitable investment. Then for two years he was super- intendent and shipper for large oil corporations, one of which, the Boston Rock. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 965 Oil Company, employed many men who worked under the direction of Mr. Martm. One of the few surviving pioneers oi the oil fields, of a period of marvelous enterprise and activity, his vivid recollections of those exciting days are full of interest and are wonderfully accurate. Through his exertions a fund of four thousand dollars was raised for Drake, who drilled the first oil Avell in America, and who, otherwise, would have suffered extreme poverty. In 1863 Mr. Martin purchased the Eagle Hotel property at the comer of Spring and Franklin streets, Titusville, where the office of Mr. Emerson is now located. At the end of two years, during which time he carried on the hotel, he sold out to C. V. Culver, who erected the Petroleum Bank building on the site. Later Mr. Martin engaged in wholesale merchandising with James Bliss, under the firm name of Bliss & Martin, and they erected the build- ing now occupied by the furniture store of A. T. Hall. Within a year the new- firm had invested forty thousand dollars, and had lost the whole amount. On the 1st of April, 1868, Mr. Martin bought the Mansion House, which, durina- the fourteen years of his management and occupancy, he greatly enlarged and remodeled. Selling the hotel in 1882, to W. P. Love, he took charge of the Brunswick, but had scarcely opened it to the public efe it was burned, in April, same year. Nothing daunted, the proprietor rebuilt the hotel, and had it ready for business in the following October. He continued to manage this enterprise until 1890, in addition to which he conducted several of the princi- pal hotels of Chautauqua Lake during the summer season. After 1890 he made his home with his son, L. L. Martin, at the Commercial in Meadville. A Democrat in politics, he was at one time a rhember of the select council of Titusville, and otherwise active in local affairs. In September, 1850, Mr. Martin married Ellen A. Hazzard, of James- town, New York. She died August 17, 1886, and of their three children, Anna Belle, Mrs. William Jackson, is deceased. A son and daughter survive, namely : Louis L., and Lena M., wife of S. D. Robison, of Allegheny City. L. L. Martin, the proprietor of the Commercial House at Meadville, was brought up from childhood under hotel management and is thoroughly con- versant with everything a hotel manager should understand. He was born in Jamestown, New York, January 17, 1855. His education was acquired in the schools of Titusville and three years' attendance at Mount Pleasant Acad- emy at Sing Sing, New York. From his graduation there he was with his father in the hotels of Titusville and at Chautauqua Lake until October, 1886, when he became proprietor of the Commercial, as above stated. Mr. Martin is a Republican in politics. In 1886 he was united in marriage to Miss Cath- arine Cunningham, of Pittsburg, and they have twO' children, — Virginia E. and Marie Louise. 966 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. Albanas Rossiter, retired, was born September 4, 1818, in Chester county, Pennsylvania, a son of Lindley and Catharine (Vandeshire) Rossiter, life- long residents of Chester and Montgomery counties. Mr. Rossiter, imbued with the courage of an ambitious youth, at the age of seventeen years left his native heath and came to what was then the undeveloped portion of north Pennsylvania. He first began life by learning a trade, that of coach building, which he followed as a vocation for several years ; later he became a pattern maker. This trade he learned in Phoenixville, Chester coiinty. About the year 1845 he removed to South Shenango, where he ran a farm until about 1850. It was about this time that the Atlantic & Great Western road was opened and he was employed in the pattern shop until about 1854, when he removed to Ohio, where he purchased a farm on which he remained until 1870, when he returned to Meadville and entered the employ of Church, Dick & Company, at his former trade. He was in the employ of this company until 1878, when he continued at his trade in the employ of George B. Sennett until 1895, when he retired. March 12, 1840, he married Harriet, daughter of Thomas and Ann (Griffith) Lewellyn, natives of Chester county. Their children are Ed- ward, Thomas, William, Albanas, Jr., Stephen, deceased; Susan, wife of Robert Cook, and Richard. Mr. Rossiter is a member of the Presbyterian church of Meadville and of the Masonic order. Ira Fetterman was born in the township of Summerhill, this county, on October 7,' 1844, attended the district schools and in early life was a farmer. He enlisted in the Union army tO' suppress the rebellion, in Company I, Sec- ond Pennsylvania Cavalry, on February 18, 1864. In July, 1864, he received a wound in his left leg in an engagement before Petersburg, Virginia, but con- tinued in service until July 27, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. He was married to Mary E. Burns, of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, on April 25, 1867. Their children were James C,- Perry L. (who died in his third year), Ralph ' K. and R. Lyle. Mr. Fetterman's father, John Fetterman, born in this state, was reared a farmer, and settled on and owned a farm in Summerhill township, one mile south of Conneautville. By his wife, Sally Crozier, he had six children, — Caroline, William (died young), Tinney, Mary, John and Ira. John Fetter- man died when Ira was not three years old, and his wife but two years later. Ira Fetterman is a thorough Republican and was appointed justice of the peace on December i, 1887, to fill a vacancy, and was elected to the same office in February, 1888, which he has held continuously since. He is a Royal Templar and a Grand Army man and has held the offices of quartermaster and commander of the local post. Ancestry of family, German and Scotch. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 967 Guy C. Schofield was born in Toronto, Canada, on April 22, 1825, edu- cated there, and after engaging in various occupations in different locations in 1849 he started for California, stopping at Conneautville to visit a 'sister. Through her persuasions and the existence of a good opening for business he was induced to relinquish his long journey and locate in that village. He established a dry-goods business and a lumber trade, both of which he con- ducted for years. He is now the senior member of the firm of Schofield & Slayton, engaged in manufacturing hammer handles for the use of railways. They have an extensive sale on numerous lines of railroads throughout the country. In November, i860, Mr. Schofield married Helen E. Dewey, ol Con- neaut township. His political creed is bimetallism. Mr. Schofield's father, James Schofield, was born in Connecticut in 1781. " He became a surveyor and when a young man removed to Canada. Here he married Anna Cornwall, of St. Lawrence, Canada. Their children were Eliza, Adeline, Maria, Sophia, Guy C, Leonora, Julia and James. James Schofield died in 1862, his wife in 1859. Dr. James Schofield, grandfather of Guy C, was a native of London, England. Mrs. Schofield's father, Rbdolphus Dewey, w^s born about 1 78 1 in Hartford, Connecticut, marrying Sally Piatt, of New Hamp- shire; he had twelve children, — Lydia, George, Caroline, Edwin, Charles, Maria, Giles, Louisa, Helen E., Sarah, Adolphus and Delia. Mr. Dewey died in 1858, his widow on February 20, 1872. Ancestry of family, New England, of English, French, Scotch and Irish origin. D. S. Richmond is the second son of Hon. H. L. Richmond, who was for many years one of Meadville's most prominent citizens. He received his edur cation at Allegheny College, and in 1874 embarked in the lumber business with T. A. Delamater, under the firm name of Richmond & Delamater. Later he became interested in the business of the Conneaut Lake Ice Company, and was in 1879 elected manager, which position he has held ever since and has ad- ministered the affairs of the company successfully and satisfactorily. He is one of Meadville's most enterprising business men, has filled the positions of city auditor and member of. the city council. In 1880 he was appointed supervisor of the United States census of the tenth district of Penn- sylvania. Mr. Richmond is a Republican in politics, is an active party worker, and has for several years filled the position of chairman of the Republican county committee. He is a devoted fisherman, and has landed some of the finest fish ever caught in Conneaut Lake. Charles H. Sweetman. — In the railroad circles of Meadville no one stands better or has a longer and more creditable record as a faithful and efficient employee of the locaL railway carporation than Charles H. Sweetman. He was born April 18, 1837, at Oneida, New York, and is a son of John and Mat- 968 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. tie (Davis) Sweetman. The father was one of two children, and his sister, Julia, widow of William Tuttle, is now a resident of Buffalo, New York. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Sweetman were James, Abram, Alonzo, Chauncey, Caroline, Malinda (Mrs. Ira Cowden, of Versailles, New York), Mrs. Pheba Plough, 'of Smith Mills, same state, and Mrs. Maria Richmond, of Delhi Mills, Michigan; the three latter are deceased. Prior to 1840 John Sweetman and wife removed > from Oneida to Cattaraugus county, New York, and subse- quently they were residents of Sheridan, Chautauqua county until the death of Mrs. Sweetman, January 3, 1890. The father did not long survive her, as he died in Meadville on the 3d of the ensuing September. They were the parents of three children, namely : C. H., William B. and Helen, who is now in San Francisco, California. In his boyhood Charles H. Sweetman attended school in Chautauqua county, New York. When -fifteen years of age he commenced learning the machinist's trade at Dunkirk, and three years later he went to Wisconsin and was given a position as engineer on a locomotive with the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad, his headquarters being in Prairie du Chien. At the end of a year and a half of service in that place he went south and for eighteen months held a similar position on the Galveston, Houston & Henderson Rail- road, his run being from Galveston. The unsettled conditions prevalent in that part of the country just prior to the outbreak of the Civil war caused Mr. Sweetman's return to his native state, where for about a year he was en- gaged in the drilling of oil-wells in the vicinity of Titusville. On the 19th of August, 1862, he became connected with the Atlantic & Great Western Rail- road, and has continued with that corporation and its successors until the present time, now being the oldest engineer in active service on this division, in years of actual work. A charter member of the local lodge of the Brother- hood of Locomotive Engineers, he still retains his connection with it, and has held the highest offices in the same. , The marriage of Mr. Sweetman and Miss Mary Mackey was solemnized September 3, 1863, in Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania. Two children, Jessie D., and Idalene May, blessed their union. Mrs. Sweetman is a daughter of Ebenezer and Rachel (Barrachman) Mackey, who were of the old Mohawk Valley Pennsylvania Dutch stock. William B. Sweetman, who is well'known and popular in railroad circles in Meadville, was bom in Versailles, Cattaraugus county. New York, December 6, 1844, a son of John and Mattie (Davis) Sweetman, a sketch of whom is given in the biography of Charles H., a brother of our subject. When a child of but four years of age W. B. Sweetman commenced at- tending school and continued his studies until 1859. O^i the ist of February, 1861, he went to Titusville, and for the following year operated a stationary OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 969 engine for drilling oil. He began his career as a railroad man in the spring of 1863, when he took a position as a brakeman on the western division of the (then) New York & Lake Erie Railroad. Later he served as a fireman on the Oil Creek line, and still later acted in the same capacity under the veteran Joseph York on the Atlantic & Great Western. Promoted tabe engineer of a freight train, August 20, 1864, he faithfully discharged his duties for ten years, • when he was again promoted an engineer on a passenger train. Since that time. May 2, 1874, he has held some of the best runs on the division. In 1864 Mr. Sweetman joined the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and in September, 1868, he became a member of the insurance branch of the order. He has been chief of the local department for two years, and was a delegate to the Grand International Division of the Brotherhood, which con- vened in San Francisco in 1884, and in New Orleans in 1885. In politics, Mr. Sweetman is a "free-silver" Democrat. In Sheridan, New York, on the 7th of February, 1867, a marriage cere- mony was performed by which Hannah, a daughter of John and Sarah (Thomas) Horner, became the wife of W. B. Sweetman. This worthy couple have two children, namely: Sarah M. and Cora May. James G. LeiHngwell, M. D., Conneautville, was born eight miles north of Meadville, at Woodcockboro, on January 21, 1846. He was educated in the common schools and at the University of the State of Michigan at Ann Arbor, in the medical department of which he was graduated in 1873. Pre- vious to this, on August 8, 1862, he enlisted as a soldier of the Union' in Com- pany B, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served until honorably discharged, in June, 1863. Dr. Leffingwell was in the active practice of medicine for thirteen years, coming to Conneautville in 1868 and locating as a physician. For the past seven years, however, he has been the proprietor of a well appointed drug store. On October 17, 1874, he married Mary I. Meyler, and they have two sons : L. George, a graduate of the commercial college at Erie, and now a druggist with his father; and Harry A., now attending the same commercial college. Andrew B. Leffingwell, the Doctor's father, was born in Norwich, Massachu- setts, on February 28, 18 14, and came to this state with his parents when a boy. He became an attorney-at-law and on February 14, 1839, married Par- nell Gibbs, of Jamestown, Pennsylvania. Their children were Adelaide P., Charles A., Andrew E., James G., Eva V., Orsamus A. and Missouri R. Mrs. Pamell Leffingwell was born in Clay, Onondaga county, New York, on December 25, 1822. She survives her husband, who died on March 27, 1853. Dr. Leffingwell belongs to the local Grand Army post, is a member and a past master of Western Crawford Lodge of Freemasons, also a member and a past high priest of Oriental Chapter, R. A. M., and belongs to Mount Olivet 970 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE^ commandery K. T., of Erie, and to Zera Zem temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. The Doctor is an ardent free-silver Democrat in political belief. Ancestry of family, Welsh in both lines. Abram P. Townsend was born in Putnam county, New York, Novem- ber 15, 1837, and came to Crawford county with his parents in 1840. His education was obtained in the common schools, and by occupation he has been • a blacksmith. Hp has been twice married : first, on May 4, 1862, to Loretta Carr, of this locality. She died on January 16, 1865, and on June 11, 1868, he married Louisa Lord, of Linesville. They have two children, Elton C. and Pearl ; the latter is a student in the high school, and Elton C. is a clerk in the employ of H. R. Hatch, a dry-goods merchant of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Townsend's father, Isaac, was born in the state of New York in 181 1. He was well educated for his day, and was a farmer. He married Charlotte Barnes, and of their ten children nine attained maturity, — ^Joseph, Charles, Margaret A., Abram P., Peter, Phebe J., Isaac, Samuel and William P. Mr. Townsend died in 1895, and his widow one month later in the same year. Mrs. Townsend's father, Willard Lord, was a resident of Linesville in this county. He was educated in the district schools, and by occupation was a shingle-maker. He married Anna Madison, by whom he had five children, — Louisa, James, Hattie, Alfred and a son who died in infancy. Mrs. Lord died about 1846. Mr. Lord married a second time, and died about 1883. Mr. Townsend in his political choice is a free-silver Democrat. Ancestry of family, English, Dutch, French and Scotch. John W. Wright, of Spring township, was born in Shoreham, Madison ' county, Vermont, on June 20, 1831. His parents moved to this county when he was a mere lad, and here he was educated at the common schools and at Wilson's acadeiny. Learning the shoemaker's trade, he wrought at it for years and finally became a farmer. He is a deacon of the Baptist church and in political belief a stalwart Republican. By his first marriage, tO' Maria Dauchy, he had one son, Cary W., now a resident of Kansas, who' married Addie Sheldon, and has children, Harry, John, Bessie and an infant. Mrs. Maria D. Wright died in i860, and Mr. Wright married, secondly, Arminda Bowman. Of their four children only one survives, Andrew P. Wright, of Galesburg, Illinois. Mrs. Arminda Wright* died in 1878, and on May 21, 1882, Mr. Wright was married to his present wife, whose maiden name was Jane Sloan. She was of Collins, Erie county. New York. Mr. Wright's father, Andrew Wright, was born at the old family homestead in Vermont, in 1775. He married Almira Pond, of his native place, and they had eleven chil- dren. The family came to Niagara county. New York, when Mr. Wright was a lad, and here the father died in 1838 and the mother in 1842. Jonathan OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 971 Sloan, father of the present Mrs. Wright, was born in Washington county. New York, in 1793. He was educated in the pubHc schools and married Cyn- thia Goodell. They made their home for a time in Dansville, Livingston county, New York, and then removed to Collins, Erie county, same state. Mr. Sloan died in 1859 and Mrs. Sloan in 1877. Their children were Lydia A., John, Asel V., Archibald, J. Jay, Jane, Hannah Cary and Maria. Remote ancestry of family, English and Scotch, coming down through New England residents. The Ponds came from Dorchester, England, about 1630. George Henry Wentworth, Randolph township. — Mr. Wentworth's grandfather, John H., when a boy, was in the service of Captain Hart, who was with General Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the Indians of northwestern Pennsylvania, and was the first white man to settle on French creek, locating four miles below Cochranton. His son William married Mary, daughter of George Henry. To them were born three sons, — Andrew Thomas, George Henry and Leon D. The subject of this sketch was born in 1840, in East Fairfield. He mar- ried, July 22, 1862, Susan M., daughter of John and Elizabeth Carey, of Mer- cer county. Their children are Mary E., wife of John Kirk, William L., John C, Fred C, Lettie P., wif6 of H. A. Moyer, and Rodney D. Mrs. Kirk is a practicing physician of Rome township. Mr. Wentworth has a farm of seventy acres. Abner C. Calvin was born October 21, 1854, at Hartstown, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. His father, Joseph A. Calvin, and his grandfather, John C. Calvin, were farmers, and natives of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania. The latter lived the allotted three-score and ten years. Joseph A. Calvin remained on the original homestead until he was sixteen years old, at which time he removed with his father to the farm near Harts- town, which has since been his home, and where at the advanced age of sev- enty-five he is still a prominent figure in the community and a progressive, successful farmer. Joseph A. Calvin is a stanch Democrat, and has held various township offices, his term of service as justice of the peace extending over many years. He is an elder, and member of long standing, of the United Pres- byterian church. The youth of Abner C. Calvin was of the quiet, uneventful sort, peculiar to the average boy who lives on a farm and acquires solid ideas of life and work from the habit of early rising and through the medium of the district schools. His horizon broadened perceptibly when, at the age of sixteen, he went to the Academy of Jamestown, Pennsylvania, at which he graduated after a three- years' course. He also attended the Allegheny College at Meadville for two years. 972 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. The inspiration of Mr. Calvin's successful life work, aside from his own enterprise, was his cousin. Dr. D. M. Calvin, of Meadville. It was in the office of this eminent practitioner that the wonderful scheme of medical and sur- gical science began its slow and fascinating unrolling before the eager student eyes, to be later more fully comprehended and intelligently absorbed at that famous seat of medical lore, the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia. Mr. Calvin graduated at this institution in March of 1878. A pleasant and fitting sequel to the earlier association of the cousins Cal- vin, was the partnership entered into, and sustained by them for ten years, until, owing to the unsatisfactory condition of his wife's health. Dr. Abner Calvin, hoping much from a change of surroundings, established a home in the country about four miles from Meadville. This home has since been the Doctor's permanent residence. Dr. Calvin married Miss Priscilla Price, of Meadville, and their only child, J. Mac, is living with his parents. Dr. Calvin's political inclinations are toward the policies of the Demo- cratic party. He has never sought official distinction, but, owing to his own ex- ceptional advantages and consequent interest in matters educational, has been induced to serve several terms as a member of the school board. He has been a township committeeman for ten years, and is a member of the I. O. O. F., Crawford Lodge, No. 734, of Meadville. In Dr. Calvin's genial, magnetic personality, the neurotic pharmacopoeia 'has an added potent unrecorded antidote for human ills. ' The strength and kindliness of his nature seem to satisfy the needs and find an echo in the hearts of friends that are legion. His practice is far-reaching and remunerative, his home renowned for beauty of location and hospitable intent, and he is known wherever his skill is appreciated and influence felt, as an all-around "jolly good fellow." Frank W. Smith is the grandson of Lemuel Smith, Avho came into the county at an early date from Massachusetts. The children of Lemuel are Nel- son, the father of the subject of this sketch; Lemuel, Jr. ; Sarah, wife of Mer- ritt Hall; Mary Estie, wife of Leonard Delamater; and Hannah, wife of Dan- iel Bannister. Frank W. has five brothers, Herman, William, Beecher, Ansel and Millard. Born in 1863, he married Jane, daughter of John and Mary Murdoch, in 1887. They have three daughters, — Patty, Joye and Henrietta.