USA > Pennsylvania > Montour County > Danville > Danville, Montour County, Pennsylvania : a collection of historical and biographical sketches > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24
DANVILLE PAST AND PRESENT
Gc 974.802 D23b 1127725
at
M. L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02223 8213
K
NORMAN DEL
"HOLLY WATER WORKS," DANVILLE, PA.
DANVILLE,
MONTOUR COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
A COLLECTION OF
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,
BY
D. H. B. BROWER,
Founder of the MONTOUR AMERICAN and the DANVILLE RECORD.
HARRISBURG, PA. : LANE S. HART, PRINTER AND BINDER. 1881.
1
1127725°
TO MY WIFE AND CHILDREN, WHOSE EARNEST AFFECTION THROUGH ALL THE CHANGING SCENES OF LIFE HAS MADE THE SUNSHINE OF HOME THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR.
Introduction.
N the list of secular studies history is among the most in- W teresting and the most important. Indeed, there seems to be an almost universal desire to lift the misty veil of the past, and to note the changing scenes that mark the progress of Adam's family through all the centuries past and gone. Not alone to satisfy the cravings of a curiosity that is commendable, but because the richest lessons of wisdom are drawn from the expe- rience of the past. Still more interesting and important is the gen- eral, and, especially, the biographical history of our own locality. Here, with emotions of strange delight we trace the stern, heroic lives of the pioneers, and with ever-increasing interest watch the growing fields succeed the forest, pleasant homes supplant the rude log cabin, and the development of society as it joins the onward march to a higher civilization. On the other hand, there is a desire no less universal to be remembered by those who come after us. Thus prompted, men have sought out the most enduring material by which to transmit their names and achievements down the ages. They have reared monuments of granite, carved their deeds on the solid marble, and written their names on the everlasting rocks. But all those have yielded to the corroding power of Time, and their molder- ing remnants become the subjects of uncertain speculation to the antiquarian. Written history is the great conservator of the past and the most enduring memorial for the ages to come. The won- drous tower on the plains of Shinar is leveled with the dust from which it rose, and the glory of Babylon is shrouded in darkness. The pomp and pride of Pharaoh, the armies of Amalek, the power of Moab, the Syrian, the Chaldean, with all the heroes and nations of antiquity, are known only through the written chronicles kept by
6
INTRODUCTION.
the scribes of Israel-chronicles that point the student to the dim and broken fragments of crumbling monuments that strew the track of finished centuries. Written history will be faithful to its mission. It will " not perish from the earth." Its universality, its vast capa- bilities of reproduction and translation into all languages, insure its duration to the end of time.
But apart from the history of the world, apart from the discovery and history of our own country, Danville has a history all its own- a history of deep and absorbing interest, not only to the descendants of the old pioneers, but to all who have found a home within its borders. Let it be understood, however, that I make no pretension to a consecutive history of Danville in these pages ; and as every author in his work presents some characteristic of himself, so let it be in this. Never having been trained to methodical action or the minutiæ of business tactics, a mental metamorphosis will not be ex- pected. I have no ambition to tread the beaten path by tracing and connecting every link in order more exact than the real occur- rence. As Comstock says in his unique Tongue of Time, "We have heard a thousand times that the sun arose in glory and sat in gold." Now let us hear something else. There are a thousand books, with chapter, verse, section, and paragraph, stately and uni- form as the cogs of a wheel. Now let us have something else. But neither the local historian nor the oldest inhabitant can gather many reliable facts from the dim and misty past. As they grope amid the deepening shadows, they may find here and there an isolated fact ; but the opening pages of Danville are shrouded beneath a dusty veil that can never be lifted. Its general outline may be traced or imagined by those who are personally interested in certain geneal- ogies, or who have been schooled in the wild experience of frontier life, but the life record of those who first surveyed this scene is bur- ied forever in the tomb of the past. What hopes and fears, what daring projects or great resolves, once animated the village fathers and mothers, we shall never know. They are gone to the realms where "the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." .
The main object in these pages is to note the history of Danville and mark its progress during the last quarter of a century, or during the twenty-five years it has been under my own personal observation.
7
HISTORY OF DANVILLE. .
Although without special order, these random sketches may be presented, yet they are all true to life. Not like the stately pile that science builds, but like the landscape view from a railroad car. I care not a straw for professional critics. The constitutional grum- bler is in the same category. No doubt some sap-heads will say they could have gotten up a better work, and who will perchance con- demn the entire volume, because there is no mention of them or theirs, or of some occurrence in which they or a relative was the lion of the occasion. All this must be expected, for a certain trib- ute must always be paid to the wiseacres of the day. No doubt some village Solomon will shake his head and say that he knew all that himself. "Everybody knows the business houses on Mill street, and where the court-house stands Why tell us what we know?" Not so fast, sir; I am not writing for the present only, but for the future. I am telling other generations away in the days to come, how and by whom Danville 'affairs were conducted before they were born. It is the duty of the historian to present the situation just as it is around him in his own day. So don't be selfish and scold be- cause some things are described that you know as well as the writer. Those very items may be of the deepest interest to your grand-chil- dren. I have availed myself of all the sources of information within my reach. Iam, however, chiefly indebted to J. Frazer, Esq., of Cin - cinnati. His careful research has contributed much to this volume. Many thanks to him for his valuable aid in rescuing important facts from the shadows of forgetfulness. With this introduction, this book is placed before the public, with the earnest hope that it may meet a kindly reception, and, in some degree, serve the purpose of its creation.
THE AUTHOR.
Location.
B ANVILLE is situated on the right bank of the North Branch of the Susquehanna river, and about eleven miles above its confluence with the West Branch at the town of Northumberland. It is surrounded by the most charming and picturesque scenery, and is nestled in a narrow valley, between Blue Hill and Montour Ridge. Tall hills, in their wild grandeur, and clad in their native robes of emerald, rise on every side, and down the pleasant vale, beyond the river, the beau- tiful white cottages of South Danville and Riverside dot the land- scape. In the north-west, and close at hand, Bald-Top rears its barren crown above the stately furnaces at its base, whilst dense volumes of smoke and clouds of steam roll slowly up its rugged steep. A view from the summit is one of the grandest imaginable, if you delight in wild and varied scenery-pine-clad hills and broad majestic rivers. The whole town from that point, from Sidler's Hill to Sageburg, and from Swampoodle to Frogtown, like a vast pano- rama, is spread out before you. Drowsy Mnemoloton looms up be- yond the river, whilst almost beneath your feet railroad trains, like huge serpents with fiery breath, traverse the scene. The asylum, the opera house, the great iron works, almost a score of churches, and two thousand dwellings, are all before you. From below, Bald- Top seems like a frowning fortress on the line of Montour ridge, and, although its slopes are covered with spruce and pine, its crest is bald and bare, where scarce a shrub has grown within the memory of man. Half a mile below is the "dark ravine" and the precipice known as "lover's leap." It is true that almost every locality boasts a " lover's leap," but the title to this is derived from a veritable In- dian legend well known among the Delawares, and often rehearsed among the early settlers of Danville. It is said that the daughter
IO
HISTORY OF DANVILLE.
of an Indian chief, related to the renowned Tamenund, whose wig- wam stood in the village, on the banks of the " Crooked river," at the confluence of Mahoning, was given to a young brave of the war- like but waning Leni Lenape; but the dusky maiden had chosen a lover of her own whom she loved with all the deep and deathless devotion of her passionate race. A short time previous to the pro- posed marriage with " Big Turtle," she met her Huron lover near the precipice, and as her tribe was on the war-path against the Hu- rons, she was discovered by a scout and confronted by her father. The old sachem, with a thunder-cloud on his brow, demanded of his daughter the final renunciation of her chosen lover. True to the impulse of her woman's nature she refused, and with one pierc- ing cry sprang from the rock and sacrificed her life on the altar of a deathless passion. There, in that dusky glen, she sleeps a dream- less sleep in her virgin purity, where now the careless feet of another race and another generation tread upon her lowly mound, and where the merry voices of a strange people have long since broken the solitude of her lonely grave. The gladsome voices of the young and the gay now mingle with the music of the brooklet as it rushes to the river ; and as they spread their dainty fare on the mossy rocks, or dance upon the green, do the votaries of pleasure ever think of the dark-eyed maiden that quietly sleeps beneath their feet ?
Altogether the scenery around the town of Danville is not sur- passed in this portion of the State, and in its wild romantic beauty can only find its rival among the Alleghenies. It is true, the rest- less enterprise of a growing population is here and there slowly working a change, but the silver sheen of the river will continue to sparkle in the morning sun, and there will stand forever Blue hill, around whose hazy brow, in misty veils, still hang the legends of Indian lore.
Land Titles.
The land embraced in the corporate limits of Danville was orig- inally within the boundary of Northumberland county, and its in- habitants were involved in all the horrors of border warfare with the French and their Indian allies, and afterwards with the English and the same bloody savages. The Shawanese, the Senecas, and the Delawares were in the neighborhood. The latter were the most
3 1833 02223 8212
L
11
LAND TITLES.
numerous, and, for the most part, the least troublesome. The Iri- quois, who made frequent and murderous raids on the white settle- ments, often acted the part of incarnate devils. The Delawares had a village of considerable importance at the mouth of the Mahoning creek, just below the present town of Danville, and the boys of to- day still find arrow-heads and other warlike implements fashioned by the rude skill of " old Nakomis," or some other dusky arrow maker of the forest. The same spot is now frequently occupied by the semi-barbarous Zingari-the wandering gypsies-the decendants of Egypt.
In 1772, Northumberland county was taken from Berks, Lancas- ter, Northampton, and Bedford. It then included Columbia county, of which Montour was a portion. Columbia county was taken from Norhumberland and organized as a new county on the 15th of March, 1813, and Danville was made the county seat of Columbia county. But the county seat, by a popular vote, authorized by the Legislature, was moved to Bloomsburg in 1845. The people of Danville, and those of the lower end of the county, were not satis- fied, and demanded a division of the county. Accordingly, on the 3d day of May, 1850, an act was passed by the Legislature erecting the county of Montour, and making Danville the county seat of the new county. The writer of this volume was then a member of the State Legislature, from Butler county, and cast his vote in that body in favor of the new county.
The ground occupied by the town of Danville belonged to several tracts, and it is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to trace the various transfers previous to the purchase and settlement of Gen. William Montgomery. By the old parchment deeds and surveys, in the office of George W. West, Esq., present surveyor of Montour county, it appears that one of these tracts, containing one hundred and twenty acres, extending from Chestnut to Church street, and from the river to the base of Montour ridge on the north, was sur- veyed to George Jewel, on the 3d of April, 1769, and transferred to Turbet Francis on the 16th of December, in the same year, and on the 2d of May, 1782, sold to John Simpson, and by John Simpson and his wife, Ann Grimes, sold and conveyed to William Mont- gomery, for f600, on the 15th of April, 1783. The tract below Chestnut street, including the mouth of Mahoning creek, containing
I2
HISTORY OF DANVILLE.
one hundred and eighty acres, was known as a Proprietary Manor, and was patented to Rev. Richard Peters. Another account says that the Proprietor, John Penn, patented the same tract to John Lukens, the State Surveyor at the time. A. F. Russell, Esq., in his biography of General William Montgomery, says that William Montgomery purchased land here of J. Cummings, and also that he bought a tract of one hundred and eighty acres of J. Simpson, on which the town of Danville was laid out, by a deed bearing date November 26, 1774. If the reader can get the precise facts, by studying the old records, he is wiser than the writer of this book. It is certain that the land occupied by the greater portion of Dan- ville was purchased by General William Montgomery, prior to 1776, the period of his location in this place. There may have been con- flicting claims to the land, that were subsequently purchased by General Montgomery, and so to us confused the records. On the north of these tracts, the land belonged to John Montgomery ; on the north-east to Amos Wickersham, which afterwards became the property of the Frazers and the Yorks; on the south-east, were the lands of the Sechlers, who were among the earliest settlers of this place.
This was known for some time as " Montgomery's Landing," and also, as " Mahoning Settlement," until the town was laid out by General Daniel Montgomery, son of William Montgomery, in the year 1792, or that part of the town lying between Mill and Church streets, and from the river to the canal, which ground he had pur- chased from his father. As Daniel Montgomery was then the most enterprising business man in the place, whose store and mill were the centers of attraction to all the country around it, and as he was very popular and highly respected, the people, by general consent, began to call it " Danville," out of compliment to Daniel Mont- gomery. In 1776, General William Montgomery built the log house that still adjoins the stone mansion he afterwards erected, and there his youngest son Alexander was born, in 1777, and died in the same room in 1848. The widow of Alexander resided there until her death, which occurred only a few years ago.
At an early day Jacob Gearhart established a ferry across the river. The ferry-house stood above Ferry, at Pine street. John Sechler, father of Jacob Sechler recently deceased, laid out that
13
GENERAL WILLIAM MONTGOMERY.
part of the town above Church street. Between the Montgomerys and Sechlers, they made something of a muddle near where the planing-mill now stands in not properly joining the streets.
General William Montgomery, after Daniel had laid out his land in town lots, laid out that part lying below Mill street, down to Chestnut, donating at that time thirty-one lots for the endowment of an academy, stipulating that it should be under the control of the Presbyterian church, and that one of his descendants should always be on the board of trustees.
Amos Wickersham donated to the Presbyterians the ground on which the Grove church is built, and also the adjoining burying ground.
The court-house ground was donated by General William, and that on which the jail stands by General Daniel Montgomery.
General William Montgomery.
General William Montgomery was the most notable settler of this region. He came from Chester county, where he was born on the 3d of August, 1736, and was a prominent actor in the Revolutionary war, and also in civil life before he came to this place. He first lo- cated in Northumberland, and moved to Danville in 1776. He im- mediately began to make improvements, but on account of the murderous raids of the Indians, be took his family to a place of safety until the campaign of General Sullivan gave security to the settlers. General Montgomery himself was inured to the hardships of war, having been schooled in the camp, the field, and the forest. During his lifetime, he was called by the people to a variety of responsible positions, both civil and military. He was a representative in Con- gress and president judge of the courts in Northumberland county. But chiefly does he claim the gratitude of posterity for his constant efforts for the material and moral welfare of Danville, for his devo- tion to the physical comfort and religious training of the growing community of which he was the founder. He occupied many posi- tions of public trust during his long and useful life, and always with honor to himself and to the advantage of the public. He died in 1816. . This note is brief, but his life-work will, in a measure, appear in these pages, as we trace the various movements and enterprises that gave birth, life, and character to the town of Danville.
14
HISTORY OF DANVILLE.
The Indians.
We have no special record of the terrible ordeal through which the early settlers of Danville had to pass. Enough to know that it was like the hard experience of others on the frontier. The danger from the merciless savage was constant, day and night. The farmer was suddenly struck down by the bullet of the stealthy foe; the assemblies for worship or social enjoyment often terminated in a bloody tragedy ; " the darkness of midnight glittered with the blaze of their dwellings, and the war-whoop of the savage awoke the sleep of the cradle." The settlers of Danville were surrounded by the Six Nations, including the Tuscaroras that had been driven out of North Carolina. The Five Nations adopted the Tuscaroras into their confederacy, by which they became the Six Nations. The re- nowned Shikellimy was, at that time, the grand chief of all the tribes. His lodge was at Shamokin. The Delawares were spread from the Hudson to the Potomac, but were conquered by the Six Nations. The Shawanese came from Florida, and were allies of the Delawares. The inost northern village of the Shawanese was at Chillesquaque. The Delawares were divided into three tribes-the Turkeys, the Turtles, and the Wolfs or Munci. The latter tribe was the most fierce and warlike ; and the most gentle, if that term may be applied to savages, were those whose emblem was the Tur- tle. The Delawares called themselves the Leni Lenape, or original people. The settlers called the Six Nations " Mingoes," "Maquais." The French called them "Iroquois."
The great Shikellimy was the grand ruler of the conquered Dela- wares and Shawanees, though he himself belonged to the Oneidas, of the Six Nations. But there was constant war among the savages ; treachery circumventing treachery ; torture and murder succeeding torture and murder. The condition of civilized society brought into contact with the bloody savages may well be imagined, and without any special record of their individual suffering, a glance at their surroundings will teach us to know how much we owe the set- tlers of Danville for the peaceful homes we now enjoy. Shikellimy was the father of Logan, whose celebrated speech you have doubt- less read in the school books of to-day. The speech in which he bids adieu to his home and turns towards the setting sun, and in
15
THE POST-OFFICE.
which he says that not a drop of his blood coursed in the veins of any relative. He was alone, and yet had always been a friend to the white man. This sad farewell to the scenes of his youth and the graves of his fathers will ever remain on our records as the grandest model of Indian eloquence. Logan was a Mingo chief. His lodge was at the mouth of Chillesquaque ; afterward, he lived further up the valley. In 1774, the expedition of Lord Dunmore was the oc- casion of Logan's departure and of his celebrated farewell address. It is said that he was at the Indian town, at the mouth of the Ma- honing creek, now within the borough limits of Danville, about the year 1772. He is said to have been six feet high, well proportioned, and straight as an arrow-a perfect model of manhood. He went to Michigan in 1774, and was cruelly assassinated there. While sitting at a camp fire, with his blanket over his head, a hostile In- dian stole up behind him and tomahawked him, thus putting out the light of life from as much nobility as the Indian is capable of pos- sessing.
The Post-Office.
The Danville post-office was established in 1806, General William Montgomery being the first postmaster at this place. He and Daniel Montgomery served until 1813, when Rudolph Sechler was appointed, April 3 of that year. IIe held the office until James Loughead was appointed, on the 24th of November, 1820. David Petrikin suc- ceeded him, on the Ist of February, 1834. Next John Best was appointed on the 2 1st day of March, 1837, who served until the ap- pointment of Sharpless Taylor, on the 25th of March, 1841. He was followed by Alexander Best. who was appointed on the 9th of November, 1842. Gideon M. Shoop was appointed on the 11th of April, 1849. During his term the new county of Montour was created. On the 26th of November, 1852, Thomas C. Ellis was appointed, and on the 2 1st of September, 1853, Thomas Chalfant received the appointment. During his term, in 1856, the Danville post-office became a Presidential appointment, and Mr. Chalfant was re-appointed by the President, on the 2 Ist of February, 1856, and served until the 28th of May, 1861, when he was succeeded by Andrew F. Russel, who was re-appointed on the 14th of July, 1865, and served until Ogden H. Ostrander was appointed, on the 16th of
16
HISTORY OF DANVILLE.
April, 1867. Charles W. Eckman was appointed on the 5th of April, 1869, and re-appointed on the 18th of March, 1873, and again re- appointed on the 7th of April, 1877. Colonel Charles W. Eckman is the present incumbent. Under his administration there have been great improvements, both in the arrangements and appointments of the office and in its management, giving the highest degree of satis- faction to the department and to the public. In September, 1874, he moved the post-office to the opera-house, a central location, fit- ting it up with seven hundred and fifty-six Yale boxes. These boxes, with the handsome casing, give a stylish appearance to the office, where every desired convenience is afforded. There is not a country town in the State that can boast a better-conducted, better-arranged, or more elegant post-office than that of Danville.
In every country town the post-office is a good place to study human nature See that individual who only gets one letter in six months, who always struggles to be first at the delivery. At last he gets a letter ! See how he turns it over and over, looks at the ad- dress, examines the stamp, and seems astonished to find himself in possession of the prize. He looks up at the crowd with an air of importance, whilst the crowd is silently reading him. Next look at that spruce young clerk, who gets a dozen or more for his employer. How wise he looks, and seems to say to the crowd, " Look at my correspondence." Then comes the indignant individual, who won- ders why he got none, and thinks there must be something wrong in the management of the mail. He calls on the postmaster to know why it didn't come. Now comes the bashful young man, who ex- pects a letter from his lady love. He looks as if the postmaster and everybody else knew the nature of. the precious epistle, and slips away to enjoy it by himself. There comes a big man, carelessly treading on other folks' corns. He gets a dun from his wash- woman, and tries to pass it off for a draft on the bank. Do you see that booby on the side-walk, or, in cold weather, backed against the inside wall, just to see who comes and goes, or to glance at what others get. There comes Miss Sweet Sixteen. She expects a letter from "somebody," but, seeing the crowd, she retreats until the coast is clear. She does not choose to let all the world see her blushes as she receives the prize. But now make room for the man from the rural district, who inquires for the whole neighborhood. He at last
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.