USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Brookville > A pioneer history of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania and my first recollections of Brookville, Pennsylvania, 1840-1843, when my feet were bare and my cheeks were brown > Part 64
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Males .- George Ellithorpe, Henry Thayer, W. P. Luce, Edward Derby, Melville Gardiner, J. P. Pearce, J. W. Pearce.
Females .- Malonia Ely, Statira Brown, Christina Gray, Eliza A. Hyde, Caroline Pearsall, Rosamund Jackson, Margaret Mohen, Emily Clark, Elizabeth Wescott, Maria Cobb, Emeline King.
William B. Gillis resigned the superintendency in the winter of 1855. His salary was three hundred dollars. Dr. C. R. Earley, of Kersey, was appointed to the position. His salary was four hundred dollars a year. The doctor made an efficient superintendent. He held the pioneer county institute in the court-house in June, 1856. I reproduce the full proceedings of that institute, as taken from an issue of the Reporter of June 22, 1856 :
" TEACHERS' INSTITUTE.
" First Day.
" Monday, June 2, 1856, pursuant to previous call, the Elk County Teachers' Institute met at the Academy at three o'clock P. M., and organ- ized by appointing the following persons as permanent officers during the session : Dr. C. R. Earley, president ; S. J. Willis and Miss Olive J. Brown, vice presidents ; and H. A. Pattison, secretary.
" On motion, the chair appointed the following business committee : E. F. Taylor, S. S. Buckley, Miss Mary Warner, Mrs. E. S. Thurston, and H. A. Pattison, who are to report the business of each day every morning.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
" On motion, the following gentlemen were appointed a committee on resolutions : Albert Willis, H. Souther, H. A. Pattison, J. L. Brown, and E. F. Taylor, who are to report at the close of the session.
" On motion, it was resolved that the institute hold its sessions in the court-house.
" On motion, adjourned, to meet to-morrow morning, June 3, in the court-house.
" The second day was occupied with exercises in the several branches taught in the common schools, conducted by Dr. William C. Niver, of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. D. F. Brown, Esq., of Brooklyn, New York, delivered a very interesting and instructive lecture on penmanship.
" Third day's proceedings same as above, with a lecture on alpha- betical characters, by H. A. Pattison.
" The sessions of the institute were occupied in reviewing the branches taught in the common schools, each teacher giving his or her method of teaching. The evening sessions were devoted exclusively to penman- ship, under D. F. Brown, Esq.
" Second Week.
" Monday, June 9. The usual exercises omitted, for discussion on the best method of school government.
" On Tuesday morning, F. A. Allen, county superintendent of Mc- Kean County, made his appearance in the institute. Mr. Allen, by re- quest, took charge of the exercises, and gave instructions of the most interesting character in the several branches under review.
" The exercises in penmanship closed on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday the usual exercises were conducted by Mr. Allen and Dr. Niver.
" During the evening session Mr. Allen delivered a very interesting lecture on the subject of education generally.
"The exercises of Thursday were conducted by Mr. Allen and Samuel Earley, Esq.
" The evening session was devoted to instruction on mathematical geography, by Mr. Allen.
" Friday was devoted to the usual exercises, accompanied by remarks on the general character of institutes, by Mr. Allen. After some remarks by Dr. Earley, A. Willis, and H. A. Pattison, A. Willis, chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, made, on behalf of the committee, the fol- lowing report :
" ' WHEREAS, We regard a system of common school education as one of paramount importance, lying at the foundation of all truly free and enlightened governments, and especially the chief, if not the only, safe- guard of our own, whose very existence depends upon the virtue and intelligence of its citizens ; therefore,
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
"' Resolved, That we regard the present law creating the county superintendent as giving a new impetus to the cause of education, and look upon its continuance as essential to the efficiency and well-being of the common school system.
.
" ' Resolved, That we recognize in our worthy county superintendent, Dr. C. R. Earley, an efficient and zealous laborer in the educational field, and that we look with feelings of pride upon the changes that are now taking place in our county with regard to our common schools through his labors, and that we most cordially invite the co-operation of all friends of the people's college-the common schools-to aid him in the good work begun.
"' Resolved, That we, as members of the institute, hereby express our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Allen, the able county superintendent of McKean County, Dr. William C. Niver, and Samuel Earley, who, by their disinterested and most valuable services, have made the exercises of the institute interesting and instructive.
"' Resolved, That we as an institute will most heartily co-operate with organizations of a similar character throughout the State in advancing the interests of education by the common school system.
"' Resolved, That teaching should be considered a profession equal in importance with that of any other, and that the compensation ought to correspond with that importance.
"' Resolved, That the teacher while teaching ought not to study any other profession than that of teaching.
"' Resolved, That females ought to receive equal compensation with the males for equal services rendered.
"' Resolved, That we recommend to our State Legislature to grant a State appropriation, for the purpose of sustaining a County Teachers' Institute in each and every county in the Commonwealth.
"' Resolved, That we recommend to our County Superintendent the propriety of calling another institute as soon as he may think prac- ticable.
"' Resolved, That a synopsis of the proceedings of this institute be published in the Elk Reporter, Mckean Citizen, and the Pennsylvania School Journal.
"' On motion, the institute adjourned sine die.
"""' C. R. EARLEY,
President.
H. A. PATTISON, Secretary.
"' RIDGWAY, June 13, IS56."
Colonel Corbett, who clerked for Gillis in 1845, informs me that the court-house was built in the summer of that year. The contractors were
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
General Levi G. Clover and Edward H. Derby. The supplies for the men were furnished through the store of James L. Gillis. S. M. Burson was the first lawyer to locate in Ridgway. In 1854 the court crier was M. L. Ross. On public occasions he wore a blue broadcloth swallow- tailed coat, with brass buttons in front. " This coat had pocket-holes behind for 30 years or more." The commissioners were E. C. Schultze, C. F. Luce, L. Luther.
John C. McAllister, Esq., of Brandy Camp, was clerk to the com- missioners in 1855. He would walk over and back home, and take his meals while in Ridgway with Mr. Luther. The 'squire was a red-hot Democrat then. In looking over the records of Jefferson County I find that Enos Gillis, of Ridgway township, was assessed first in 1830 with one grist-mill and one tannery, and James Gallagher was assessed with an occupation tax of tanner. This tannery was on Elk Creek, nearly opposite Powell's store.
Gallagher tanned with both hemlock and oak bark, and made a dif- ference in the price of his leather of six cents per pound between cash and trade. He ground bark in a mill made on a large scale, something like an old-fashioned coffee-mill.
I venture the assertion that W. H. Osterhout, with all his experience and ability, could not to-day run this pioneer tannery successfully. Sole leather sold per pound for about thirty cents. Gallagher kept the pioneer hotel. He never had license. His wife would not permit him to have liquor about the house. Whiskey or its odor always made Mr. Gallagher very sleepy.
Powell sold the Advocate to J. L. Brown, of Jones township, I think about September, 1855. Mr. Brown was a promising poor young man, but knew nothing about the "art preservative." He changed the name of the paper to Reporter, and continued the terms about as they had been. He and I ran the paper ; he was the editor, of course. During the ten or eleven months that Mr. Brown published the Reporter he lived in a little frame house on the rear of a lot along an alley near the resi- dence of W. C. Healey. The house was set on blocks. It was well ven- tilated, for it was neither painted, weather-boarded, lined, nor plastered. Mr. Brown had been newly married, and commenced house-keeping here. I boarded with him. Notwithstanding the little deficiencies mentioned, we enjoyed ourselves. It was home, and " be it ever so humble, there is no place like home."
Mr. Brown had two brothers, W. W. and I. B. Brown. W. W. lived in Ridgway that year awhile and clerked in a store. I. B. used to come down on a visit, and then the three Browns and myself would all be seated at a "sumptuous repast" within those "palace walls." Who owned the shanty I do not know. Strange to say, these three Browns and myself were all in public life at the same time. We met in Harris-
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
burg in 1881, W. W. as a Congressman, J. L. as Elk's representative, I. B. as an Erie County representative, and myself as a State senator. The three Brown boys deserve great credit. They had a superior mother.
Mr. Brown, having tired of newspaper life, advertised the plant for sale, and a Methodist minister from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rev. J. A. Boyle, came out into the wilderness and bought the Reporter. He had a wife, five boys,-Richard, Melville, Olin, Samuel, and Harlow, the latter born in December, 1856, in the Brown " palace" which I have just described,-and two daughters,-Harriet and Jennie. I boarded with him. He lived later near the Gillis house. Two of his boys worked on the paper with me. I remained in his employ until about the last of September, 1856.
Mr. Boyle was a man of intellectual power and an eloquent orator, but in rather feeble health. He changed his residence and occupation for the mountain air and rest. When the Rebellion broke out Mr. Boyle enlisted, was commissioned a captain, and was killed at Wauhatchie, Tennessee, October 29, 1863, having been promoted to major of the One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers. Elk County lost in him a good citizen, an able man, and the country a brave soldier. His wife was one of the dearest motherly women I ever met. After the major's death the family returned to Philadelphia.
In the issue of September 27, 1856, a week after I left Ridgway, Mr. Boyle paid me this compliment in the Reporter :
" MR. W. J. M'KNIGHT.
" This young gentleman, who has been at work in the Reporter office for some time past, has just left us. It is seldom we meet a young man who seems to us to have in view the great object of life, but when we do our heart rejoices and our hopes for humanity and the world are enlarged. Self-culture is our highest duty. To produce a harmony between the intellectual and moral of our nature, and have both striving for the highest development, is the true road to usefulness and respectability. Mr. McKnight has resolved to devote himself to a useful profession, and to do this he has determined to lay a foundation of thorough training. Self-reliant, with a good constitution and a well-developed intellect, he is about to commence a regular course of medical lectures. He has suf- ficient enthusiasm to impel him forward in the arduous toil required to master the science, and we trust he has too high an ambition to stop at any of the resting-places of Quackery, but will push forward until he reaches the highest pinnacle in the temple of ÆEsculapius.
" One of the grandest sights presented in this working world of ours is to see a young man, unaided by wealth, pushing his way through un-
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
toward circumstances to a useful position in society and an honorable post. Go forward, Mac, and may the blessing of a thousand hearts cheer you in your labors !"
THE TOWNSHIP OF RIDGWAY.
Ridgway township was originally formed as a part of Jefferson County in 1826, and remained there until 1843, when it was taken from that county by the following act of Assembly to create the county of Elk :
"AN ACT ERECTING PARTS OF JEFFERSON, CLEARFIELD, AND MCKEAN COUNTIES INTO A SEPARATE COUNTY, TO BE CALLED ELK.
"SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That all those parts of the counties of Jefferson, Clearfield, and McKean lying between the follow- ing boundaries,-viz .: Beginning at the northeast corner of Jefferson County ; thence due east about nine miles to the northeast corner of lot number two thousand three hundred and twenty-eight ; thence due south to Clearfield County ; thence east along said line to the east line of Gib- son township ; and thence south so far that a westwardly line to the mouth of Mead's Run shall pass within not less than fifteen miles of the town of Clearfield ; and thence westwardly to Little Toby's Creek, along said line to the mouth of Mead's Run ; thence in a northwesterly direc- tion to where the west line of Ridgway township crosses the Clarion River ; thence so far in the same direction to a point from whence a due north line will strike the southwest corner of Mckean County ; thence along said line to the southwest corner of Mckean County ; and thence east along the south line of Mckean County to the place of beginning, be and the same is hereby erected into a separate county, to be hence- forth called Elk.
"SECTION 2. That Timothy Ives, Jr., of Potter County, James W. Guthrie, of Clarion County, and Zachariah H. Eddy, of Warren County, are hereby appointed commissioners, who, or any two of whom, shall ascertain and plainly mark the boundary lines of said county of Elk ; and it shall be the duty of the said commissioners to receive proposals, make purchase, or accept donation land in the eligible situations for a seat of justice in the said county of Elk, by grant, bargain, or otherwise, all such assurances for payment of money and grants of land that may be offered to them, or their survivors, in trust for the use and benefit of the said county of Elk; and to lay out, sell, and convey such part thereof, either in town lots or otherwise, as to them, or a majority of them, shall appear
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
advantageous and proper, and to apply the proceeds thereof in aid of the county : Provided, That before the commissioners aforesaid shall proceed to perform the duties enjoined on them by this act, they shall take an oath or affirmation before some judge or justice of the peace, well and truly and with fidelity to perform said duties according to the true intent and meaning of this act : Provided also, That as soon as the county com- missioners are elected and qualified, the duties enjoined on the said com- missioners shall cease and determine, and shall be performed by the county commissioners so chosen and elected.
"SECTION 10. That it shall be lawful for the commissioners of the county of Elk, who shall be elected at the annual election in one thou- sand eight hundred and forty-three, to take assurances to them and their successors in office of such lot or lots, or piece of ground as shall have been approved of by the trustees appointed as aforesaid, or a majority of them, for the purpose of erecting thereon a court-house, jail, and offices for the safe-keeping of the records.
"SECTION II. That the judges of the Supreme Court shall have like powers, jurisdictions, and authorities within the said county of Elk as by law they are vested with, and entitled to have and exercise in other counties of this State ; and said county is hereby annexed to the western district of the Supreme Court.
"SECTION 12. The county of Elk shall be annexed to and compose part of the eighteenth judicial district of this Commonwealth ; and the courts in the said county of Elk shall be held on the third Monday of February, May, September, and December in each and every year, and continue one week at each term, if necessary.
" Approved-the eighteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and forty-three."
POST-OFFICES AND POST-ROADS.
From 1854 to 1856 there was a continual agitation over railroads, frequent public meetings, addresses made, and resolutions passed. These three were the most favored : the Allegheny Valley, the Pittsburg and Rochester, and the Sunbury and Erie.
All State elections were then held on the second Tuesday of October each year. The city papers always published the result in full, with this note, " Potter, Mckean, Elk, Forest, and Jefferson to hear from."
The bridge over the Clarion up to 1854 was a toll-bridge. The pioneer jewelry-store, etc., was started west of the bridge by Ed. Gillis, April 23, 1853. The pioneer dentist to visit Ridgway was Dr. A. Blake, of Albion, New York, in May, 1853.
The pioneer tin and hardware store was opened by George Gillis in June, 1853. The pioneer millinery-store was opened by Caroline Gillis in 1856.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
It was a custom in 1854 to send to the printer with the wedding- notice a piece of the bride's cake or a gold dollar.
Rattlesnakes were occasionally killed on the streets as late as 1854. A paper of June, 1853, said in an issue that " this is a great country for timber. A man over on the Sinnemahoning has got a tract of land con- taining two acres, on which there is timber enough to make twenty-five canoes, forty timber rafts, fifty spars, forty thousand rattlesnakes, and one hundred thousand porcupines."
H. S. Jaquish was the pioneer daguerrian artist, who visited the town in 1850.
The names of post-offices and the postmasters supplied on the route from Warren to Ridgway in the year 1855, and the name of the con- tractor for such service, were as follows :
Warren .- C. Masten and S. J. Goodrich.
Mead .- Jonathan Mott.
West Sheffield .- J. P. Blanchard.
Sheffield .- John Gilson.
New Highland .- Charles Stubbs.
Ridgway .- William N. Whitney.
The contractor was David Thayer, of Ridgway, and his compensa- tion was at the rate of one hundred and ninety-seven dollars and fifty cents per annum.
THE COUNTY SEAT FIGHT.
" At a meeting of the citizens of Elk County, held at the court-house in Ridgway on the 20th day of January, 1849, for the purpose of taking into consideration the best means to prevent the removal of the county seat of said county from Ridgway to St. Mary's, as the question was about being agitated in the State Legislature, Hon. George Dickinson was called to the chair, Joseph S. Hyde and James Gallagher, Esqs., were chosen vice-presidents, and Henry Souther and Caleb S. Dill, Esqs., secretaries.
" On motion, a committee of six were appointed to draft and report resolutions to the meeting, who reported the following, which were unanimously adopted :
" ' WHEREAS, We are apprised that secret movements are in progress to effect a removal of the county seat in Elk County, by privately circu- lating petitions in certain sections of the county, and simultaneous efforts by one or more individuals at Harrisburg (who are personally and pecu- liarly interested) to procure hasty and (of course) unfair legislation, to effect their object, that as citizens of Elk County, we regard such a course as an attempt to forestall and coerce legislation as impolitic, unfair, and mischievous. Impolitic, as the county is yet new, population sparse, and the county buildings already erected and finished, the location con- venient, and fixed by commissioners appointed by a former Legislature. Unfair, as the grounds were conveyed and the buildings constructed
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
principally by private donations, insuring but little expense compara- tively to the county. Mischievous, inasmuch as changing the county seat, when judiciously and legally located with regard to present and future conveniences, would be establishing a precedent which in a few years may again agitate the citizens of the county whenever aspiring and interested land-holders, or the more subtle and private intriguing of the temporary sojourn may see fit again to disturb its location, its prospects, or permanency. With these views we do, as citizens of Elk County,
"' Resolve, That we will use our best endeavors to defeat any and every attempt to remove the seat of justice of Elk County from its present location ; and that our representatives in the Senate and Assembly are earnestly requested to interpose their influence in exposing its nature and injustice.
"' Resolved, That copies of the proceedings of this meeting be trans- mitted to the Hon. Timothy Ives, of the Senate, and A. I. Wilcox, Esq., of the Assembly, and the proceedings published in the Union at Harrisburg, and in the Jefferson Democrat and Elk County Advertiser, of Brookville.
"'Signed by the officers. " ' February 6, 1849.'
" At a very large and general meeting of the people of Elk County, held on the 11th of February, 1849, during court week, in the court- house at Ridgway, Hon. E. C. Winslow was called to the chair, and John Johnston and Edward McQuone were appointed secretaries.
" On motion of George Weis, Esq., a committee of seven was appointed by the chair to prepare resolutions in regard to the expediency of re- moving the county seat.
" The following gentlemen were appointed as the committee, -viz., Joseph F. Comely, C. F. Law, Bob Weed, Patrick Malone, Rasselas W. Brown, James McIntosh, and Alfred Pearsall, who reported the following preamble and resolutions :
" ' WHEREAS, A few persons, mostly inhabitants of or visitors to Ridgway, met in the court-house on the 20th of January, and without notice to the citizens at large, passed resolutions in favor of retaining the county seat at Ridgway, in the name of the citizens of the county, but without their knowledge, presence, or authority, which resolutions have been published in the newspapers, and are circulated to deceive the Legislature ;
"'AND WHEREAS, The settled and permanent inhabitants of Elk County are almost unanimous in desiring the removal of the county seat, aware that it was located at Ridgway by unfair means and improper influence, and that its continuance there is burthensome, expensive. in- convenient, and unjust ;
42
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
"'AND WHEREAS, The borough of St. Mary's offers a location proper and convenient in all respects for the county seat ; therefore we, the people of Elk County, assembled during court from township, and em- bracing most of the citizens of the county, without distinction of party, do
"' Resolve, That we repudiate the proceedings of the meeting above referred to, and repel the insult offered us by persons whose only power lies in their presumption, pretending to speak in our names, but without our knowledge or authority, and in direct opposition to our views, wishes, and interests ; and especially do we disown the acts of strangers and tem- porary sojourners who have participated in these proceedings.
"' Resolved, That we have carefully examined and thoroughly approve the bill for removing the county seat from Ridgway to St. Mary's, with- out expense to the county, because Ridgway is near the western limits of the county, distant many miles from the mass of the population, a place having no agricultural country to support it, without trade or manufac- tures, containing no internal means of increase, affording only the most insufficient accommodations for visitors, and in all respects improper, in- convenient, and expensive. While St. Mary's is a large and growing town, surrounded by a large and flourishing country, central both geo- graphically, and, in reference to population, convenient, easy of access, having excellent hotels, stores, mechanics of all kinds, and is in all respects the only fit and proper place for the county seat.
"' Resolved, That we call on the representatives of the people in the Senate and House to respect the popular will and to use their best exer- tion to procure forthwith the removal of the county seat from its present improper location to the borough of St. Mary's.
"' Resolved, That these proceedings be laid before both branches of the Legislature by their respective speakers and published in the Jeffer- sonian, Mc Kean Yeoman, Democratic Union, Keystone, and Intelligencer at Harrisburg.'
" The resolutions and the question of the removal of the county seat were debated at length by William A. Stokes, Esq., and Reuben Wins- low, Esq., in favor of, and Hon. James L. Gillis, and Henry Souther, Esq., against the removal.
" The question being taken, the resolutions and preamble were adopted by a large majority.
" E. C. WINSLOW, " Chairman."
"A NIGHT IN THE NORTH.
" Mr. Brady : Having occasion to visit Ridgway, the county seat of Elk County, this week, I was so amused with some of the performances which were transacted during my stay that I cannot refrain from giving you a report for the columns of your paper. The scenes were rich, and
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