USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume I > Part 6
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 (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
Benjamin Elliott was commissioned lieutenant of the county on November 30, 1787, and soon afterward organized a battalion of militia. In May, 1788, this battalion was ordered to assemble for muster in the Hartslog valley. Some of the riotous element refused to muster under Colonel Cannon and Major Spencer, claiming that they had been unfairly elected. Elliott was also the object of their enmity because he had been a delegate to the convention that had ratified the constitution. He was assaulted by several persons and a friend who tried to shield him from the unwarranted attack and to restore order was severely handled. In his report of the affair. Elliott said: "They met, some for the purpose of doing their duty and others for
5I
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
the purpose of making a riot, which they effected, about the Federal Government, in which riot I was very ill-used by a senseless banditti, who were inflamed by a number of false publications privately circu- lated by people who were enemies of the Federal Government."
Warrants were issued a few days later by Thomas Duncan Smith, one of the justices, for the arrest of three of the leaders in the riot which broke up the muster. They were taken without resistance by the constable before Thomas McCune, another justice, who released them upon their own recognizances with the injunction to appear before Justice Smith five days later. When the appointed day for the trial arrived the office of Justice Smith was crowded by an unruly crowd and the defendants, finding themselves supported by their friends, refused to give bail and demanded that they be committed to jail. The justice saw that this was merely a pretext for the commission of further unlawful deeds, should he issue such an order, and as the June sessions of the court were only a few days off, he told them he would release them without security, as two of them were owners of real estate. This was not what the mob wanted and in the afternoon nearly one hundred men, about two-thirds of them armed with rifles or muskets and the remainder with such weapons as they could lay hands on, marched into Huntingdon. At the corner of Penn and Diamond streets they formed a circle, in the center of which they placed Justice Smith and demanded that he destroy the warrants. This he refused to do, but he did surrender them to one of the mob, who destroyed them. The crowd then went to the office of the clerk of the court of quarter sessions, where they demanded and received the indictment that had been found at the March sessions against the leaders of the mob that disturbed the session of the court. After some parley the clerk yielded up the indictment, which was also destroyed. From the clerk's office the mob proceeded to the house in which the court sessions were held and demanded the quarter sessions docket. Upon gaining possession of it, the rioters erased or tore out the entries relating to their conduct in March, as well as all other portions that they did not like, after which they threatened certain officials with summary vengeance and left town.
During these high-handed proceedings the law-abiding part of the town was completely powerless to offer resistance. Two of the justices sought safety-one by hiding himself and the other in flight. Several
52
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
citizens who had spoken against such doings were likewise compelled to secrete themselves; two constables were forced to leave their homes in order to save their lives; the sheriff could not discharge his duty in the matter of serving writs; business of all kinds was depressed, and Huntingdon county was in a state of anarchy. On June 5, 1788, a statement of the outrages and unhappy conditions then prevailing in the county was sent to the council, in the minutes of which body for June 25, 1788. may be found the following entry :
"A letter from two of the magistrates of Huntingdon county, stating that the daring and violent outrages were committed by a lawless set of men, that the officers of the Government have been in- sulted and their lives endangered, and that part of the records of the Court have been destroyed and erased, was read, praying the support of the Government, &c. Thereupon,
"Resolved, That the most proper and effectual measures be imme- diately taken to quell the disturbances in Huntingdon county, and to restore order and good government, and that the Honorable Judges of the Supreme Court be informed that the Supreme Executive will give them aid and assistance, which the laws of the State will warrant, and shall be found necessary to accomplish this end."
Although this resolution promised well and encouraged the law- abiding citizens of the county, the state was not so ready to fulfill the promise with the vigorous action necessary to "quell the disturbances." In fact, between the time the magistrates notified the council of the situation and the passage of the resolution, Samuel Clinton, Abraham Smith and William McCune came into Huntingdon at the head of about twenty men, assaulted Alexander Irwin, a peaceable citizen, and at night stoned the residences of the county officers. Benjamin Elliott, Robert Galbraith, Andrew Henderson and Thomas Duncan Smith seemed to be the greatest objects of their enmity, perhaps because they were the most active in trying to preserve or restore order. They were threatened with tar and feathers, whipping and other indignities, and even death, if they did not cease their efforts to enforce the laws.
Some six weeks after the adoption of the resolution above referred to, a body of 160 men from all parts of the county, led by Colonel McAlevy, John and Abraham Smith and John Little, paraded the streets of Huntingdon. This is the only time Colonel Mc.Alevy's name
53
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
appears in the accounts of the rioting as an active participant, though it was generally understood that he was behind the movement. No arms were visible, but the general impression was that they carried weapons concealed. The county officers and others who gave support to the constitution hurried to the house of Benjamin Elliott, where they armed themselves and resolved to defend their position. Finding the officers ready to meet an attack, the rioters contented themselves with marching through the town with fife and drum, their object being apparently to awe the citizens with the display of their strength.
In June, 1789, the subject again came before the council, but the excitement had subsided to some extent and it was resolved by that body to postpone any action, which was probably the best thing that could be done under the circumstances. The constitution had been ratified by a majority of the states and was recognized as the funda- mental law of the land. Consequently its opponents in Huntingdon county realized that further resistance to its provisions was useless, and the "tempest in a teapot" exhausted its fury without loss of life, though several persons were roughly treated while it was at its height. If any of the ringleaders were ever punished the records do not show the fact. Lytle says: "It has generally been stated and believed by those who have nothing but traditionary accounts of these occurrences, that the records of the court were burned by McAlevy and his men, but there is no official evidence that such was the case. There are in existence authentic and reliable documents which seem to prove con- clusively that some of the records were torn and others obliterated by erasures. It has been said that a copy of the constitution of the United States was burned, and this may have been correct, and may have given rise to the statement that other papers were destroyed in the same way."
The visitor to Huntingdon county at the present day, who sees on every hand abundant evidences of order, industry and peace, or he who looks into her history and observes how promptly her gallant sons have responded to their country's call in time of war, can scarcely believe that there was a considerable portion of her population that resisted the authority of the Federal government in its earliest days. These men were doubtless moved by principle to take the course they did, but when they found themselves unable to accomplish their ends even by intimidation and other lawless methods, they accepted the situation as
54
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
gracefully as circumstances would permit and acknowledged the right of the majority to rule. Descendants of some of them still reside in the county and are numbered among the loyal and order-loving citizens.
The first white man to leave any written account of a visit to that section of Pennsylvania now comprising Huntingdon county was Conrad Weiser. He was born in Germany in 1696 and came to America in 1710. Immediately upon his arrival in this country he went among the Mohawk Indians for the purpose of learning their language, in order that he might be qualified to act as interpreter between the tribes of the Six Nations and the German traders. In 1729 he settled in Pennsylvania and during the last thirty years of his life he was closely identified with many of the principal events in the history of the province. His first appearance as interpreter in Pennsylvania was on December 10, 1731, at a council in Philadelphia. On that occasion his ability so impressed the provincial authorities that he was frequently employed on missions of an important and confidential nature. His home was known as "Tulpyhocken," in what is now Berks county, but he spent very little of his time there, his duties as interpreter and pro- vincial agent constantly calling him to different parts of the country. In March, 1748, arrangements were made for him to visit the Indian tribes on the Ohio to distribute presents and make treaties with them, and incidentally to carry the government's proclamation to the tres- passers on the Indian lands west of the Blue mountains, notifying them to vacate. Weiser started from his home on August II, 1748, and on the 17th "crossed the Tuscarora Hill and came to the sleeping place called Black Log, 20 miles." The next day he and his party came within two miles of the site of the present borough of Huntingdon and on the 20th he was at Frankstown (Blair county), "but saw no House or Cabins; here we overtook the Goods, because four of George Croghan's Hands fell sick, 26 miles." In Weiser's party were George Croghan, the Indian trader; Andrew Montour, who later settled in Perry county ; William Franklin, a son of Benjamin Franklin, and a number of other persons of less note. His journal and report of his journey and mission form the first written accounts of what is now Huntingdon county.
Six years later John Harris, in his description of the road from his ferry (Harrisburg) to Logstown, on the Allegheny river, gives
55
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
the distances between various points in what is now Huntingdon county. Beginning at the "Tuscaroraw" hill, these distances are as follows : "To the Cove Spring, 10 miles ; to the Shadow of Death (Shade Gap), 8 miles ; to the Black Log, 3 miles." At that point the road forked, one branch leading to Raystown and the other to Frankstown. Following the latter, Harris continues his table of distances, to wit: "Now be- ginning at the Black Log, Franks Town Road, to Aughwhick, 6 miles; to Jack Armstrong's Narrows, so called from his being there murdered, 8 miles; to the Standing Stone (about 14 ft. high, 6 inches square), Io miles. At each of these places we cross the Juniata. To the next and last crossing of the Juniata, 8 miles; to Water Street (branch of Juniata), 10 miles; to the Big Lick, 10 miles; to Franks (Stephen's) Town, 5 miles."
Harris' journey was made in the year the Juniata valley was purchased from the Six Nations and the actual settlement of the country dates from that time. As stated in Chapter III, a few land warrants were issued for tracts in Huntingdon county in 1755, but the French and Indian war coming on just at that time checked the tide of immigration. Says Lytle: "For a period of seven years after 1755. the region west of the Tuscarora mountain remained in almost primitive serenity. During all that time there seems to have been 110 demand whatever for the lands. The Indians had succeeded, for the time being, in making them valueless to the proprietaries, by increasing the dangers of frontier life to such an extent that no man was willing to encounter them."
The year 1762 witnessed a revival of settlement and lands specu- lation, especially the latter, and a large number of land warrants were issued from the land office and surveys made. Many of these warrants covered the most fertile sections of the Juniata valley and were taken out by residents of the eastern cities, not for the purpose of establishing homes there, but purely as a matter of speculation. They were not permitted to realize speedily upon their investments, however, for in the summer of 1763 Indian depredations again drove a number of settlers from their homes and discouraged others from coming to the a more permanent character. A few settlers came in during the Revolution and after the close of that war the population increased more rapidly. In 1790, when the first United States census was taken,
56
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
the population of Huntingdon county was 7,565. At that time the county was much larger than it is at present. A portion of Huntingdon was taken to form Center county by the act of February 19, 1800; Cambria county was organized from Huntingdon and Somerset by the act of March 26, 1804; and Blair county was taken from the counties of Huntingdon and Bedford by the act of February 26, 1846. Since then the size and boundaries of the county have remained unchanged, the area being 899 square miles, or 575,360 acres. The surface is much broken by mountain ranges, but along the Juniata, the Raystown branch and Aughwick creek, and in the various valleys there are many fine farms.
It may be a surprise to many people of the present generation to read that slavery was once tolerated in Huntingdon county, but such was the case. Of the 7,565 inhabitants of the county in 1790, forty- three were slaves. Thirty-two slaves were reported in the census of 1800; none in 1810; five in 1820, and eight in 1830. Since then every citizen of the county has been a freeman.
Huntingdon county was represented in each of the four conventions that framed the state's four constitutions. Pursuant to the call of the Provincial Conference, which met in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, June 18, 1776, delegates to a constitutional convention were elected on the 8th of July following. They met on the fifteenth and remained in session until September 28, 1776, when the first constitution was completed. Bedford county, of which Huntingdon was then a part, was represented by eight delegates, seven of whom signed the consti- tution, namely : Benjamin Elliott, Thomas Coulter, Joseph Powell, John Burd, John Cessna, John Wilkins and Thomas Smith. Under the constitution adopted by this convention, the executive power and authority of the state was vested in a Supreme Executive Council of twelve members elected by the people. Huntingdon county had a representative in this council from the time it was erected during the remainder of the life of the constitution, or until the inauguration of the first governor in 1790. John Cannon took his seat as a member of the council on November 21, 1787, and his name figures prominently in the proceedings during the two years he was a member of the body. Before the formation of Huntingdon county he represented Bedford in the assembly ; was a conspicuous character at the time of the rebellion
57
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
against the Federal constitution; subsequently was appointed associate judge; served three terms in the lower house of the legislature and one term in the state senate.
Benjamin Elliott was the only delegate in the convention of 1776 from the present territory of Huntingdon county. He was one of the trustees named in the act erecting the county eleven years later; was the first sheriff and first lieutenant of the county; a member of the state convention to ratify the constitution of the United States, which made him the special object of enmity of the opponents of that instru- ment; succeeded Colonel John Cannon as a member of the supreme executive council ; later served as county treasurer, county commissioner and associate judge, and was for many years a prominent factor in public affairs. He died on March 15, 1835, aged eighty-three years, and some of his descendants still live in Huntingdon county.
The second constitutional convention met in Philadelphia on November 24, 1789, and provided for the publication of the results of its labors on February 26, 1790. Andrew Henderson was the only member of this convention from Huntingdon county. At that time he held the offices of prothonotary and register and recorder. When Henderson township was erected in 1814, the court directed that it be given its name "in consideration of the distinguished uprightness of the late General Andrew Henderson as a public officer, and his services during the Revolutionary war." Thomas Mifflin was inaugurated governor under this constitution in December, 1790.
A third constitutional convention was held at Harrisburg, beginning on May 2, 1837. The delegates to this convention were elected from the several senatorial and representative districts. For the senatorial district composed of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, Perry and Union counties, the delegates were James Merrill and William P. Maclay. Huntingdon county was represented by Samuel C. Royer and Cornelius Crum. The constitution went into effect the following year.
David R. Porter, the first governor to be elected under the con- stitution of 1838, was an adopted son of Huntingdon county. He was born near Norristown, Montgomery county, October 31, 1788, a son of General Andrew Porter, an officer in the Continental army during the Revolution. After a good preliminary training in the Norristown Academy, he entered Princeton College, where he was a student when
58
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
the buildings of the institution were destroyed by fire, which ended his college career. In 1809 General Porter was appointed surveyor- general and took his son David into the office as an assistant. While thus employed the young man began the study of law. His health became impaired, however, and he gave up both the law and his position as assistant surveyor-general. He then came to Huntingdon county, where he was for a time employed as a clerk at the Barree forge, finally becoming manager of the works. With the experience thus gained, he formed a partnership with Edward Patton and began the manufacture of iron at the forges on Spruce creek. The business proved unprofitable and in February, 1819, the firm made an assignment for the benefit of their creditors. The same year Mr. Porter was elected to the legislature from Huntingdon county and was twice reelected. He then held several offices by appointment until 1836, when he was elected to the state senate from the district composed of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, Perry and Union counties. Before the expiration of his term as senator he was elected governor and was inaugurated on January 15, 1839. In 1841 he was reelected by a majority nearly four times as large as the one he received in 1838. Upon retiring from the governor's office he again turned his attention to the manufacture of iron and erected at Harrisburg the first anthracite furnace in that section of the state. He died on August 6, 1868.
Another Huntingdon county man to achieve prominence in public life while the constitution of 1838 was in force was Hon. John Scott, who was born at Alexandria, Huntingdon county, July 14, 1824. His father served as major in the United States army in the War of 1812 and afterward was a member of the Twenty-first Congress from Penn- sylvania. John Scott received a good education and in 1842 began the study of law with Alexander Thomson, of Chambersburg, Pennsyl- vania. In January, 1846, he was admitted to the bar and soon after that commenced the practice of his profession in Huntingdon. For several years he was deputy attorney-general for that county and in 1851 was appointed a member of the board of revenue commissioners. The following year he led the opposition to the nomination of James Buchanan for the presidency on the Democratic ticket. In 1853 he visited Europe to recuperate his health and upon his return was nomin- ated by the Citizens' convention for the state legislature, but was
59
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
defeated because he refused to countenance the "Know-Nothings," which organization was about that time active in American politics. He was defeated for the state senate as a Douglas Democrat in 1860, but the succeeding year was elected to the lower house of the legislature without opposition. When the assembly convened he tried to organize the house without distinction of party and wanted the legislature to pledge the state "to the cordial support of the general government in the supres- sion of the rebellion." This policy was declined by the Democratic caucus and Mr. Scott and other war Democrats acted with the Republi- can members in organizing the house. In 1863 he advocated the reëlec- tion of Governor Curtin and he supported Mr. Lincoln for the presidency in 1864. In 1868 he was a delegate to the Republican national convention and at the ensuing session of the legislature was elected United States senator, taking the oath of office on March 4, 1869. As senator he served upon several important committees and was an active participant in shaping the legislation of that period. Aside from his professional labors and his political activity, he was interested in various enterprises calculated to advance the material interests of his native county. He was one of the projectors of the Huntingdon & Broad Top railroad and labored assiduously for the success of the undertaking. At the close of his term in the senate he was made general counsel for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and removed to Pittsburgh, where the company's offices were located.
The fourth and last constitutional convention met in the capitol at Harrisburg on November 12, 1872. In this convention there were 133 delegates-28 from the state at large and 105 from the senatorial districts. The Twenty-second district, which was composed of the counties of Huntingdon, Center, Juniata and Mifflin, was represented by John McCulloch and John M. Bailey, of Huntingdon, and Andrew Reed, of Mifflin. On November 27, 1872, the convention adjourned to meet in Philadelphia on January 7, 1873. At the adjourned session was framed a new organic law, which was submitted to the voters of the state at a special election on December 16, 1873, when it was adopted by a decisive majority.
John McCulloch was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 15, 1806; graduated at Washington College, Washington, Pennsyl- vania, in 1825, and four years later received the degree of M. D. from
60
HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY
the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. Soon after that he located at Petersburg, Huntingdon county, where he practiced a short time and then removed to Huntingdon. In 1852 he was elected to Congress from the district composed of Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon and Mifflin counties and served one term.
John M. Bailey was born at Dillsburg, York county, Pennsylvania, July II, 1839. In 1857 he removed to Huntingdon county, where for several years he taught in the public schools. He then read law with Scott & Brown, was admitted to the bar on August II, 1862, and entered into a partnership with his preceptors, which association lasted until Mr. Scott's election to the United States senate. After that he continued in practice at Huntingdon and took an active interest in pub- lic and political affairs.
Besides Major John Scott, who was elected to Congress in 1828, and Dr. John McCulloch, who was elected in 1852, Huntingdon county furnished the congressman for the Seventeenth district, composed of the counties of Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon and Mifflin, in 1870, when R. Milton Speer was elected. He was born in the village of Cassville, Huntingdon county, September 8, 1838, his parents having come from Belfast, Ireland, some years before. After attending the seminary in his native village, he taught in the public schools for several years, studying law as opportunity offered. In the fall of 1859 he was admitted to the bar and the following April began the practice of his profession in Huntingdon. From 1859 to 1861 he was the editor of the Huntingdon Union, the county Democratic organ, and in 1863 he served as assistant clerk in the house of representatives in the state legislature. In 1870 he was nominated for Congress against Hon. Daniel J. Morrell, who had already served two terms and whose defeat was thought to be almost impossible. Mr. Speer was elected by the small majority of eleven votes. Two years later he was reelected, defeating Hon. A. A. Barker, who had been elected to represent the district in Congress in 1864.
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.