1897 History of Tiogacounty

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1897 History of TiogaCounty

History of TiogaCountyPennsylvania. 1897.

Embracing Its Topographical And Geological Features; Indians and White Explorers; Beginning and Organization; Pioneers and Early Settlement; Early Courts and Cases; Internal Improvements; Industrial Development; Coal Mines and Mining; Public Buildings and Officials; Legal and Medical Professions; Military History; Literature; Sketches of Boroughs, Townships and Villages; Material, Social, Educational and Religious Progress; Biographies and Portraits of Pioneers and Representative Citizens,Etc,Etc,Etc.

Illustrated, R.C. Brown & Co. 1897

Preface

More than one hundred years have passed away since the first white settlers built their cabins along the Cowanesque and Tioga rivers and commenced laying the corner stone of American civilization within the confines of what is now Tioga county. The Indian occupants had been pushed back farther into the wilderness by the advancing tide of progress, and in their place came the hardy, resolute, intelligent pioneers whose descendants now occupy the land. Several generations have come and gone since these events occurred, and the historian of to-day finds a difficult task to unravel the story and harmonize the many conflicting accounts that tradition has handed down from one generation to another.

In writing a history of Tioga county it has been our aim to preserve, as far as possible, a chronological order. Its topographical and geological features come first, followed by a sketch of the Indians whose numerous camping sites, paths and villages prove that " The Land of Tioga" was a favorite dwelling place and hunting ground. The Caucasian race came next, holding aloft the torch of civilization- the founders of communities in which the church and the school followed in the wake of the cabin home. With the gradual settlement of the country came the erection of the county, the establishment if a county seat, civil organization and courts of justice. The early construction of roads, the improvement of waterways and the building of railroads furnished transportation for the product of the farm, mill and the mine, thus keeping pace with the industrial development of the county. The official history of the county has been carefully compiled, and the names of her citizens who have filled public office in the Nation, the State and the county have thus been preserved. The legal and medical professions; the pioneer fathers who served in the Revolution and War of 1812; a roster of Tioga’s sons who went out to defend the flag during the dark days of civil strife; the " Literature of Tioga" and the creation and growth of townships, boroughs, and villages all find appropriate mention in the pages of this work.

The labor involved in this undertaking required the examination of state, county, borough and township records; the careful perusal of books, pamphlets, newspaper files, old family documents, deeds and letters and the personal interviewing of local authorities in every part of the county. To John F. Meginness, Esq., of Williamsport, the veteran historian of the West Branch valley, was intrusted the first twenty- two chapters of the book, and he spent over a year in their compilation. The remaining thirty-six chapters embraced in the general history ,were compiled by Mr. John Meagher, an experienced and pains-taking writer, with the exception of Chapter XLIV, contributed by Rev. David Craft, of Lawrenceville. The chapter on " Coal Mines and Mining" was also written by Mr. Meagher, and the whole work was compared, revised and edited under the personal supervision of the senior member of the firm, who has had a wide experience in this line of historical effort.

One of the most valuable and important portions of the book is that is devoted to personal and family biography, wherein is preserved a vast fund of information relating to the people of Tioga county. The data for these biographies were obtained from families and individuals by our solicitors , and in every case a type-written copy was submitted for correction before publication. Should errors, therefore, be found in any of them, the responsibility rests upon those who furnished the data, or who neglected to correct the errors when the sketch was submitted.

In the preparation of this volume, we received aid from so many sources that it would be impossible to give the names of all in the preface. But the following list embraces those to whose kindly advise and assistance we are most indebted: William Bache, Esq., Hon. Henry W. Williams, Hon. John I. Mitchell, Walter Sherwood, Esq., Maj. George W. Merrick, Hon. Jerome B. Niles, Gen. Robert C. Cox, Anton Hardt, Esq., and Alexander S. Brewster, Esq., of Wellsboro; Daniel Holiday, Esq., of Holidaytown; Hon. Charles Tubbs of Osceola; Dr. James Masten, of Westfield; S.P. Chase,Esq., of Brookfield; Rueben Morse, Esq., of Chatham; Chares Beebe, Esq., of Lawrenceville; Dr. Robert B. Smith, and R.P.H. McAllister, Esq., of Tioga; John A. Holden, Esq.,Hon. Andrew Sherwood, Col. N.A. Elliott, and the late William Adams, of Mansfield; Elliott S. Rose, Esq., of Sullivan; E.R. Maine, Esq., of Mainesburg; John L. Sexton, Esq., of Blossburg; W.S. Nearing, Esq., of Morris Run; Dr. Z.E. Kimble, of Liberty; Enoch Blackwell, Esq., of Blackwell, and D.A. Paddock, Esq., of Gaines. We also gladly acknowledge our indebtedness to the press for the use of newspaper files and words of encouragement; to county, borough and township officials for their uniform courtesy; to the descendents of the pioneers; to pastors and officers of churches and societies; to professional and business men in every part of the county, and to all who have in anyway contributed to the success of our enterprise.

We undertook the publication of this history after consulting many of the leading citizens of Tioga county, and we have spared neither time nor labor nor money to make it an authentic and reliable source of information-- a standard authority on the settlement, growth and development of this section of Pennsylvania. Firm in the belief that we have more than fulfilled every promise made in our prospectus await the approbation of every honest patron. The Publishers.

14.1 Chapter I Topographical and Geological Feature.

Surface Transformation-Mountain Ranges--Anticlinals and Synclinals-- The Blossburg Mountain Basin-- Dip of the Rocks-- Wellsboro Anticlinal--Crooked Creek Basin--Valley of the Cowanesque--Streams of the County--The Tioga River--Crooked Creek--Lycoming Creek--Pine Creek--Marsh Creek-- The Cowanesque River--Minor Streams--Concluding Observations...... 17-29

14.2 Chapter II The Land of Tioga.

First Occupants--Rugged and Romantic Scenery--Game, Fish and Wild Animals--An Ideal Hunting Ground-- Indian Villages-- French Explorers--and Missionaries-- Boundary Line of the Purchase of 1768--The Old Treaties--The Walker Tragedy--Indian Characteristics and Peculiarities-.29-38

14.3 Chapter III Beginning of Tioga County

Purchase of 1784--Fair Play System--Lycoming Township Formed--Its Boundaries and Area--Old Tioga Township Erected--A Valuable Document Discovered--Boundaries Defined--Other Record Evidence--Tioga Township Taxables of 1800--Additional Extracts from Early Records--Panther and Wolf Scalp Bounties - 38-44

14.4 Chapter IV Tioga County Organized

The Landed Interests--Their Influence on Legislation--Tioga County Created--Form and Area--Derivation of Name--The Term Tioga--Boundary Line Dispute--Origin of the Trouble--Various Efforts to Establish Lines--A Tangle of Perplexing questions--The Latest Commission.-44-55

14.5 Chapter V The Pioneers

First White Men--Samuel Baker Locates to Lawrenceville--Other Early Settlers There--First Settlers along the Cowanesque River--Pioneers of the Tioga Valley--Early Settlers in Other Parts of the County--Hardships and Privations Endured--The Pine Creek Land Company--Morris’ Great Trust--Trouble in the Land Company--Norris and Babb--Horrors of the Wilderness--Taxables of 1812-.56-71

14.6 Chapter VI County Organization Completed

Location of the County Seat--Trustees Appointed-- Proposals for a Site Advertised for the Offer of Benjamin Wistar Morris Accepted--Location Made--Why named Wellsborough--A Town Laid Out--Activity of Morris--Delmar Township Formed--First Commissioners--Early Financial Statements--Other Statistical Information--Growth of Population by Decades...... 71-79

14.7 Chapter VII Early Courts and Cases

Arrests and Trials Under the Intrusion Law-- The Case of Ezra Spaulding--History of the Defendant--Other Tioga Settlers Indicted--First Courts of Tioga County--Docket Entries--A Horse Thief Convicted--Six Magisterial Districts Established--The Great Slave Hunt--Important County Records Stolen--An Obdurate Judge...... 80-93

14.8 Chapter VIII Internal Improvements

First Traveled Ways--The State Line Survey--A Rude Road Brushed Out--The Williamson Road--Why and How it Was Built--A Princely Entertainment in the Wilderness--The Patterson Brothers--Morris State Road--More Roads Laid Out--East and West State Road--Era of Plank Roads--Early Navigation Schemes--The Corning and Blossburg Railroad-- Morris Run and Arnot Branches--The Fall Brook Railroad--The Cowanesque Branch--The Pine Creek Branch--Elmira and State Line Railroad--The Addison and Pennsylvania Railroad--Other Railroads...93-108

14.9 Chapter IX Industrial Development

Primitive Saw-Mills and Grist-Mills--The Morris Mills--First Mills at Wellsboro--Babb’s Mill--In the Tioga Valley--Early Lumbering Operations--A Rafting Reminiscence--Along the Cowanesque River--Pioneer Mills on Pine Creek--An Era of Rapid Development--Risks and Charms of the Business--The Tanning Industry--Iron Foundries and Smelting Works--The Manufacture of Glass--Progress of Agriculture--Agricultural Societies.....109-119

14.10 Chapter X Coal Mines and Mining

The Blossburg and Gaines Coal Basins--Theories Concerning Their Formation--Their Extent and Character--The Discovery of Coal at Blossburg--Pioneer Mines and Mining--Early Attempts at Development--The Tioga Navigation Company-- First Geological Survey--The Arbon Coal Company--Sir Charles Lyell’s Visit--Coal Seams Described--Character and Uses of Blossburg Coal--The Manufacture of Coke--Labor Strikes and Troubles--Recent Statistics--Past and Present.- 119-132

14.11 Chapter XI Public Building and Officials

First Meeting Place of the Commissioners--Temporary Quarters Secured--First Public Buildings Erected--An Odd Contract--High Price of Nails--Description of Buildings--The New Court House and Jail--The Present Jail-- The Only Criminal Execution--New Record Building--County House and Farm--Roster of Public Officials.-.132-144

14.12 Chapter XII The Bench and Bar

Personal Sketches of President Judges--Many Able and Distinguished Jurist Among Them--The Bar of Tioga County--A Brilliant Array of Legal Talent--The Tioga County Bar Association--John F. Donaldson, Prothonotary and Politician--A Sketch of His Career...... 145-188

14.13 Chapter XIII The Medical Profession

Introductory--Pioneer Physicians--Their Courageous Devotion to Duty--Brief Sketches of Prominent Physicians--The First Drug Store--Sketch of Dr. Robert Roy, Its Proprietor--"Brick" Pomeroy’s Reminiscences--The Tioga County Medical Association...... 189-206

14.14Chapter XIV Early Military History

Introduction--Early Settlers Who Were Revolutionary Soldiers--They Led the Way Into the Wilderness--Peter Shumway’s Discharge--A Priceless Relic--The War of 1812--Settlers of Tioga Who Served in That Struggle--Old-Time Militia System- The Mexican War...... 206-216

14.15 Chapter XV War of the Rebellion

The Firing on Fort Sumter--Reception of the News in Wellsboro--Meeting of the Borough Council--Resolutions Adopted--Mrs. Mary H. Clymer’s Patriotic Act and Letter--The First Volunteers--Gen. Robert C. Cox’s Interesting Narrative--Rosters of Companies Raised in Tioga County--Miscellaneous Commands--In New York Regiments--In Other States--The Fourteenth United States Infantry--Soldiers’ Monument-Losses in the War..... 216-249

14.16 Chapter XVI Literature of Tioga

Josiah Emery’s English Grammar--Lydia Jane Pierson, the Forest Minstrel--Mary Emily Jackson, a Native Poetess--M.H. Cobb, Printer and Poet--"Nessmuk," The Lover and Poet of Nature-- His Rambles, Travels, and Writings...... 249-258

14.17 Chapter XVII Wellsboro

Descriptive--The Original Town Plot--Additional Lots Surveyed--Prominent Pioneers-- Josiah Emery’s Reminiscences--Postoffice and Postmasters--John Sheffer, The Young Mail Carrier--His Route Through the Wilderness-- Postoffice Statistics--Old Time Taverns and Landlords-- Modern Hotels...258-274

14.18 Chapter XVIII Wellsboro ( continued)

Village Schools--The OldAcademy--Its Incorporation--Its Early and Later History--The Building Now Used as a Church--Common School System Adopted--FirstPublicSchoolBuilding--Later Buildings and Teachers--WillowHallSchool...... 275-295

14.19 Chapter XIX Wellsboro (continued)

The Old Quaker Meeting-House--St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church--Rev. Charles Breck, the Pioneer Pastor--The Work He Accomplished--The Presbyterian Church--Rev. J.F. Calkins’ Long Pastorate--His Semi-Centennial Address--First Methodist Episcopal Church00Rev. Caleb Boyer--The First Class-- Church Organized--First Baptist Church-- Its Organization and Later History--St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church--The Free Will Baptist Church--Cemeteries-- Societies--Wellsborough’s Military Band.....295-316

14.20 Chapter XX Wellsboro(continued)

The Tioga Pioneer--Its Editors and Publishers--Removal to Tioga--Early Advertisements--The Phoenix Appears--The Tioga Herald--George Hildreth, the Old -Time Printer--The Wellsboro Advertiser--The Wellsboro Agitator--The Daily Record--The Tioga Eagle and Its Successors--The Wellsboro Gazette--The Tioga Banner--The Hermaic Journal--The Tioga County Leader--The Republican Advocate--A Noted Correspondent..317-327

14.21 Chapter XXI Wellsboro (continued)

Incorporated as a Borough--First Election--Early Ordinances--Burgesses, Clerks, Treasures and Justices--Borough Boundaries--FireDepartment-- Water Works System--The Wellsborough Electric Company.....327-334

14.22 Chapter XXII Wellsboro (continued)

The First National Bank--The Old and New Bank Buildings--The Wellsborough National Bank--The Great Bank Robbery--The Property Taken--Two of the Robbers Captured--Tried, Convicted and Sent to Prison--Cosgrove Reforms--His Visit to Judge Williams--Manufacturing and Other Enterprises--The Wellsboro of To-day....335-349

14.23 Chapter XXIII Delmar Township

Creation--Original Dividing Line--Origin of Name--Reductions of Area--Present Boundaries--Character of Surface-- Streams--The "Big Marsh"--Altitude--Population--Pioneer Settlers--Manufacturing Enterprises--Schools--Churches and Cemeteries--Villages and Postoffices...... 350-360

14.24 Chapter XXIV Charleston Township

Organization--Reductions of Area-- Boundaries--Drainage--Physical Characteristics--Population--The Pioneers--Mills and Other Enterprises--Schools--Justices of the Peace--Churches--Cemeteries--Societies--Villages and Postoffices...... 360-369

14.25 Chapter XXV Middlebury Township

Organization--Reduction of Area--Physical Features--Streams--Population--Early Settlers--Early and Later Enterprises--Schools and Justices--Church--Cemeteries--Societies--Villages.....369-378

14.26 Chapter XXVI Farmington Township

Organization--Area and Boundaries--Physical Characteristics--Streams and Drainage--Population--Early Settlers--Manufacturing Enterprises--Schools and Justices--Churches--Cemeteries--Postoffices and Postmasters...... 379-383

14.27 Chapter XXVII Elkland Borough

The Old Township of Elkland--Its Organization and Boundaries--Reduction of Area--Organized as a Borough--Enlargement of Borough Limits--Pioneer Settlers--Village Growth--Later Enterprises--Schools--Hotels--Borough Organization and Officials--Postmasters--Physicians and Lawyers--Newspapers--Churches--Cemeteries--Societies...... 384-394

14.28 Chapter XXVIII Osceola Borough

Borough Organization--Unusual Area--The Village of Osceola-Physical Features--Streams--The Word "Cowanesque"--Its Derivation and Definition--"Pindarville"--Origin of the Name--Population--Lands and Settlement--Early and Later Industries--Inns and Hotels--Schools--Borough Organization and Officials--Physicians--Churches--Cemeteries--Secret Societies....395-404

14.29 Chapter XXIX Nelson Borough

Organization--Area and Boundaries--Streams--Physical Features--Early Settlers--Manufacturing and Business Enterprises--Borough Organization and Officials--Physicians--Schools--Churches and Cemeteries--Societies...... 404-412

14.30 Chapter XXX Deerfield Township

Organization--Changes of Area--Streams, Soil, and Forest Growth--Population--Early Settlers--The Strawbridge Lands--Business and Manufacturing Enterprises--Schools--Early Physicians and Justice--Churches and Cemeteries--Villages..412-420

14.31 Chapter XXXI Knoxville Borough

Organization--Origin of Name--Area and Elevation--Billings Park--Population--Early Settlers--Manufacturing Enterprises--Mercantile Enterprises--Inns and Hotels--Schools--Borough Organization and Officials--Postmaster--Physicians and Lawyers--Newspapers--Churches--Cemeteries--Societies ....421-430

14.32 Chapter XXXII Westfield Township

Organization--Physical Characteristics--Population--Early Settlers--Early Enterprises--Schools and Justices--Churches and Cemeteries--Villages--430-437

14.33 Chapter XXXIII Westfield Borough

Location and Surroundings--Population and Taxable Property--Early Settlers--Borough Organization and Officials--Postmasters--Physicians and Lawyers--Business and Manufacturing Enterprises--Incorporated Companies--Hotels--Newspapers--Railroads--Churches and Cemeteries--Societies...438-449

14.34 Chapter XXXIV Brookfield Township

Organization--Location and Area--Physical Features--Streams--Forest Growth--Population--Justices of the Peace--Early Settlers--Mills and Factories--Schools--Churches and Cemeteries--Villages...... 449-456

14.35 Chapter XXXV Chatham Township

Organization--Reduction of Area--Physical Characteristics--Streams--Timber Growth--Early Settlers--Pioneer Industries--Schools and Justices--Churches and Cemeteries--Societies--Villages and Postoffices...... 457-463

14.36 Chapter XXXVI Clymer Township

Organization--Origin of Name--William B. Clymer--His Generous Treatment of Settlers--Physical Features of Township--Forest Growth--Streams--Area--Early Settlers--Early Industries--Schools and Justices--Churches and Cemeteries--Societies--Villages and Postoffices ...... 463-469