USA > Pennsylvania > A pioneer outline history of northwestern Pennsylvania > Part 8
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" DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, " HARRISBURG, PA., March 7, 1895. " MR. W. J. McKNIGHT, Brookville, Pa.
" DEAR SIR,-In answer to your letter of the 5th instant, we beg to say that prior to the opening of the land-office in May, 1785, for the sale of lands within the purchase of 1784, that part of the purchase lying east of the Alle- gheny River and Conewango Creek was divided into eighteen districts, and a deputy-surveyor appointed for each. These districts were numbered consecu- tively, beginning with No. I, on the Allegheny River, and running eastward. The southern line of district No. I began on the old purchase line of 1768 at Kittanning, and following that line in successive order were districts Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the latter terminating at the marked cherry-tree on the bank of the west branch of the Susquehanna River at Canoe Place. From that point the district line between the sixth and seventh districts, as then con- stituted, is supposed to be the line that divides the present counties of Indiana and Jefferson from the county of Clearfield as far north as Sandy Lick Creek. " An old draft and report, found among the records of this department, show that Robert Galbraith, one of the early surveyors of Bedford County, ran the purchase line of 1768 from the cherry-tree to Kittanning for the pur- pose of marking it and ascertaining also the extent of the several survey districts north of the line and between the two points. This draft and accom- panying report are without date, but the survey was presumably made during the summer of 1786. A reference to the appointment of Mr. Galbraith by the surveyor-general to perform this work, and the confirmation of the appoint- ment by the Supreme Executive Council on the 8th of April, 1786, appear in the 'Colonial Records,' vol. xv. pp. 3 and 4. In the same volume, p. 85, is found the record of an order in favor of Galbraith for forty-five pounds, twelve shillings, to be in full for his services in running and marking the line and 'laying off' the districts of the deputy-surveyors. He says in his report, ' I began at the marked cherry-tree and measured along the purchase line seven miles and forty perches for James Potter's district, thence fifty-four perches to the line run by James Johnston for the east line of his district; from the post marked for James Potter's district seven miles and forty perches
79
HISTORY OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
to a post marked for James Johnston's district, thence fifty-two perches to the line run by James Hamilton for the east line of his district; from Johnston's post seven miles and forty perches to the post marked for James Hamilton's district, thence fifty-two perches to the line run by George Wood, Jr., for the east line of his district; from the post marked for Hamilton's district six miles and one hundred and fifty-two perches to the line run by Thomas B. McClean for the east line of his district, thence two hundred and eight perches to the post marked for George Wood, Jr.'s, district, thence six miles and one hundred and fifty perches to the line run by John Buchanan for the east line of his district, thence two hundred and ten perches to the post marked for Thomas Brown McClean's district, thence two miles and one hundred and twenty perches to the Allegheny River for John Buchanan's district.'
" With the exception of the first, these districts each extended seven miles and forty perches along the purchase line, with the division lines between them running north to the line of New York. Undoubtedly the fourth, fifth, and sixth districts, of which James Hamilton, James Johnston, and General James Potter were respectively the deputy-surveyors, must have embraced, if not all, at least much the larger part of the territory that subsequently became the county of Jefferson, while the earliest surveys were made within that territory during the summer of 1785 by the surveyors named. It is possible, however, that part of the third district, of which George Wood, Jr., was the deputy-surveyor, may have been within these limits, and if so, surveys were no doubt also made by him. These first surveys were principally made and returned on the first warrants granted within the purchase, commonly known as the lottery warrants, and many of them in the name of Timothy Pickering and Company were located on lands that are now within Jefferson County.
" General James Potter died in the year 1789, and was succeeded by his son, James Potter, who was appointed in 1790. One of the reasons given for the appointment of James Potter, second, was that he had filled the position of an assistant to his father, and had done so much of the actual work in the field, and was therefore so thoroughly conversant with the lines of surveys already run, that he would avoid the interferences another person might fall into, thus preventing future trouble arising from conflicting locations. It does not appear, however, that the second James Potter ever did any work in the district, as the deputies' lists of surveys on file in the land-office show no returns from him.
" Soon after the year 1790 a change was made by the surveyor-general in the arrangement of the districts within the purchase of 1784, by which the number was reduced to six, counting west from the mouth of Lycoming Creek to the Allegheny River. In this arrangement the two western districts, Nos. 5 and 6, were assigned respectively to William P. Brady and Enion Williams. Williams was succeeded in 1794 by John Broadhead. Brady's district is
80
HISTORY OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
described as 'beginning at a cherry-tree of late General Potter's district, and from thence extending by district No. 4 due north to the northern boundary of Pennsylvania, thence by the same west fourteen miles, thence south to the line of purchase of 1768, late the southern boundary of James Johnston's and General Potter's districts, and by the same to the place of beginning.'
" The sixth district comprised all the territory west of Brady's district to the Allegheny River and Conewango Creek. All of the present county of Jefferson must have been within these districts. The surveys made and re- turned by Brady, Williams, and Broadhead, for the Holland Company, John Nicholson, Robert Morris, and other large purchasers of lands, are so numer- ous as to practically cover all the lands left unsurveyed by their predecessors within that particular section of the State. A small part of the county, in the vicinity of Brockwayville, was in Richard Shearer's district, No. 7, east of General Potter's line, and a number of lottery warrants was surveyed by Shearer in that locality in 1785. That part of the county subsequently fell within district No. 4, of which James Hunter was the surveyor, who also returned a few surveys.
"In what manner these pioneer surveyors in the wilderness were equipped, and what the outfit for their arduous and difficult labors may have been, we do not know and have no means of ascertaining. Doubtless they had many severe trials and endured many hardships in preparing the way for future settlements and advancing civilization, for which they receive little credit or remembrance at this day. Possibly their only equipment was the ordinary surveyor's compass and the old link chain of those days, but they nevertheless accomplished much work that remains valuable down to the present time. For their labor they were paid by fees fixed by law. The law of that day also provided a per diem wage of three shillings for chain-carriers, to be paid by the purchaser of the land.
" Very truly yours, " ISAAC B. BROWN, " Secretary."
You will see from the above that in 1785, Richard Shearer, with his chain-carriers and his axe-men, traversed what is now Brockwayville and the forest east of it; that James Potter, with his chain-carriers and axe-men, traversed the forests near Temples, now Warsaw; that James Johnston, with his chain-carriers and axe-men, traversed the forest where Brookville now is, and that James Hamilton, with his chain-carriers and axe-men, traversed the forest near or where Corsica now is. Each of these lines ran directly north to the New York line. Where these lines ran was then all in Northumberland County. In 1794, James Hunter, with his chain-carriers and axe-men, was in what is now Brockwayville region, William P. Brady, with his chain- carriers and axe-men, was in what is now the Temple region, and Enion
6
81
HISTORY OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
Williams and John Broadhead, with chain-carriers and axe-men, were between where Brookville now is and the Clarion region.
" By an act of the Legislature, passed April 1, 1794, the sale of these lands was authorized. The second section of this law provides that all lands west of the Allegheny Mountains shall not be more than three pounds ten shillings for every hundred acres.
"Section four provides that the quantity of land granted to one person shall not exceed four hundred acres. Section six provides for the survey and laying out of these lands by the surveyor-general or his deputies into tracts of not more than five hundred acres and not less than two hundred acres, to be sold at public auction at such times as the 'Supreme Executive Council may direct.'
" When all claims had been paid, 'in specie or money of the State,' for patenting, surveying, etc., a title was granted to the purchaser. In case he was not ready or able to make full payment at the time of purchase, by paying all the fees appertaining thereto, he was allowed two years to complete the payment by paying lawful interest, and when the last payment was made a completed title was given.
" By the act of April 8, 1785, the lands were sold by lottery, in portions not to exceed one thousand acres to each applicant. Tickets, commencing with number one, were put in a wheel, and the warrants, which were called 'Lottery Warrants,' issued on the said applications, were severally numbered according to the decision of the said lottery, and bore date from the day on which the drawing was finished.
"Section seven of this act allowed persons holding these warrants to locate them upon any piece or portion of unappropriated lands. The land upon each warrant to be embraced in one tract, if possible.
" On the 3d of April, 1792, the Legislature passed an act for the sale of these lands, which, in some respects, differed from the laws of 1784 and 1785. It offers land only to such persons as shall settle on them, and designates the kind and duration of settlement.
" By section two of this act all lands lying north and west of the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers and Conewango Creek, except such portions as had been or should be appropriated to public or charitable uses, were offered to such as would 'cultivate, improve, and settle upon them, or cause it to be done, for the price of seven pounds ten shillings for every hundred acres, with an allowance of six per centum for roads and highways, to be located, surveyed, and secured to such purchasers, in the manner hereinafter men- tioned.'
" Section three provided for the surveying and granting of warrants by the surveyor-general for any quantity of land within the said limits, to not exceed four hundred acres, to any person who settled upon and improved said land.
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HISTORY OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
." The act provided for the surveying and division of these lands. The warrants were, if possible, to contain all in one entire tract, and the form of the tract was to be as near, as circumstances would admit, to an oblong, whose length should not be greater than twice the breadth thereof. No warrants were to be issued in pursuance of this act until the purchase-money should have been paid to the receiver-general of the land-office.
" The surveyor-general was obliged to make clear and fair entries of all warrants in a book to be provided for the purpose, and any applicant should be furnished with a certified copy of any warrant upon the payment of one- quarter of a dollar.
" In this law the rights of the citizen were so well fenced about and so equitably defined that risk and hazard came only at his own. But contro- versies having arisen concerning this law between the judges of the State courts and those of the United States, which the Legislature, for a long time, tried in vain to settle, impeded for a time the settlement of the district. These controversies were not settled until 1805, by a decision of Chief Justice Mar- shall, of the Supreme Court of the United States.
" At the close of the Revolutionary War several wealthy Hollanders,- Wilhelm Willink, Jan Linklaen, and others,-to whom the United States was indebted for money loaned in carrying on the war, preferring to invest the money in this country, purchased of Robert Morris, the great financier of the country at that time, an immense tract of land in the State of New York, and at the same time took up by warrant (under the law above cited) large tracts in the State of Pennsylvania, east of the Allegheny River. Judge Yeates, on one occasion, said, 'The Holland Land Company has paid to the State the consideration money of eleven hundred and sixty-two warrants and the sur- veying fees on one thousand and forty-eight tracts of land (generally four hundred acres each), besides making very considerable expenditures by their exertions, honorable to themselves and useful to the community, in order to effect settlements. Computing the sums advanced, the lost tracts, by prior improvements and interferences, and the quantity of one hundred acres granted to each individual for making an actual settlement on their lands, it is said that, averaging the whole, between two hundred and thirty and two hundred and forty dollars have been expended by the company on each tract.'
" An act was passed by the Legislature, March 31, 1823, authorizing Wilhelm Willink, and others of Holland to ' sell and convey any lands belong- ing to them in the Commonwealth.'"
THE DONATION LANDS OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
The soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line who served in the War of the Revolution were by act of legislation entitled to the wild lands of the State, and a large part of the northwestern portion of the State north of the depreciation lands and west of the Allegheny River was set apart and sur-
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HISTORY OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
veyed to the officers and soldiers who had served in the Continental army, in the Pennsylvania Line. A description of these lands, reference to the legis- lation authorizing their survey, and the explorations made in reference to their value, will be of interest to all those who are making a study of the origin of titles in Pennsylvania.
As early as the 7th day of March, 1780, while the war of the American Revolution was still in active progress, and being vigorously waged by the hostile armies in the field, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania by resolution made a promise of " certain donations and quantities of land" to the soldiers of the State, known as the "Pennsylvania Line," then serving in the Federal army. It was provided that these lands should be " surveyed and divided off" at the end of the war, and allotted to those entitled to receive them according to their several ranks. In order to comply with the letter and intention of the resolution of March, 1780, by the same act passed by the General Assem- bly March 12, 1783, in which it was provided that certain lands should be set apart and sold for the purpose of redeeming the certificates of depreciation given to the soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line, under the act of December 18, 1780, it was also provided that "a certain tract of country, beginning at the mouth of Mogulbughtiton Creek; * thence up the Allegheny River to the mouth of Cagnawaga Creek; t thence due north to the northern boundary of the State; thence west by said boundary, to the northwest corner of the State; thence south, by the western boundary of the State, to the northwest corner of lands appropriated by this act for discharging the certificates # herein mentioned; and thence by the same lands east to the place of beginning ; which said tract of country shall be reserved and set apart for the only and sole use of fulfilling and carrying into execution the said resolve."
Under Section VI., of the same act, all rights, titles, or claims to land within the described bounds, whether obtained from the Indians, the late Pro- prietaries, or any other person or persons, were declared to be null and void, thus reserving the entire tract from sale or settlement until after the allot- ments of the soldiers were duly made and their claims fully satisfied. By Section VII., officers and privates were to be allowed two years after the declaration of peace in which to make their applications, and in case of death occurring to any one before his application was made, an additional year was allowed to the heirs, executors, or administrators of such person, and there- after unlocated tracts were to be disposed of upon such terms as the Legis- lature might direct. It may be said in passing, however, that the period for making applications was a number of times extended by subsequent legisla- tion. By the last section of the act, Section VIII., non-commissioned officers
* Now known as Mahoning Creek, in Armstrong Countv.
¿ Conewago Creek, in Warren County.
# The depreciation certificates.
84
LERIE
THOS. REES JR. DISTRICT Cession to the U.S. by New York in 1781, by Massachusetts in 1795; and by the U.S. to Pa. in 1792; by Act of Congress in 1788 Sold to Pa. by the Indians in 1785
Longitude
79°45/45.26
STATE LINE
N. Y.
OLD STATE LINE
STATE
LINE
Lat. 42 00 01.42
Ik
Y.
Waterford
E
R Fort Le Boeu
1 Union City
F
Conneaut
Casz
Br. French & Corry
E
This District was assigned to James Dickinson, who did not make any surveys in it, and surveys marked 1, 2 & 3, in Districts Nos, I, II. & III were made by Griffith Evans in place of those intended for this District, See explanation in text
R
obomossny
Surveyed by ALEXANDER MCDOWELL Returned Feb. 15. 1786.
C
R
F
R
0
VII.
Creek'
Surveyed by WILLIAM POWER, Returned Feb. 12, 1786.
Titusville
Conneant
Lake
I
ench
Surveyed by JAMES CHRISTY Returned March 13, 1786.
Creek
H
Shi
Surveyed by BENJAMIN LODGE Returred Feb. 7 1786
Cr
Creek
Oil City
V.
Surveyed by BENJAMIN LODGE Returned Feb.7, 1786.
FRANKLIN
Fort Franklin Fort Venango
E
N
G
0
M
.E
R
C
E.
H
Sandy L.
Big
Cr.
Sandy Cr.
LINE
Surveyed by ANDREW, HENDERSON Returned Jan. 12, 1786.
Creek
MERCER
Sharon
Surveyed by GRIFFITH EVANS Returned Dec. 28. 1785.
Part of G. EVANS" TSurvey
R
C
STATE
CO
Foxburg
Surveyed by GRIFFITH EVANS Returned July 24.1786.
Surveyed by JOHN HENDERSON
Returned Feb. 6,1786.
L
Mattoning
Hil NEWCASTLE A
MAP
1
Surveyed by WILLIAM ALEXANDER Returned Feb. 6; 1786.Mnddy
Cr.
SHOWING LOCATION OF THE DONATION LANDS IN
5
Slippery
DEPRECIATION LINE
PENNSYLVANIA
West B'. French
DAVID WATTS
Returned Feb. 12. 1786.
Longitude 80°31'18"17 West of G. VIIV.
Surveyed by Cr
West of G.
Dist. No. Ii
R.
KRZE N CE -
STRUCK DISTRICT (See text )
River
Cr.
Sandy
East
IV.
Crooked
Oil
Longitude 80°31'17.40 West of G.
MEADVILLE
Conneaut Lake Outle
HISTORY OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
and privates were prohibited from selling their shares of the land appro- priated to their use until after the same had been "actually surveyed and laid off," the act declaring such sales or conveyances absolutely null and void. In this last section of the act a distinction was made between the commissioned officers and the non-commissioned officers and privates, probably under an impression that the former were able to take better care of their interests than the latter. It will be observed that the territory thus set apart under the act of December 12, 1783, for donation purposes, comprises parts of the present counties of Lawrence, Butler, Armstrong, Venango, Forest, and Warren, all of the counties of Mercer and Crawford, and that portion of Erie which lies south of the triangle. The territory was then a wild and unbroken wilderness, and we can at this day, after a century of progress and civilization, truly regard this section of our great Commonwealth, now filled as it is with a prosperous and industrious population that has wrought wonders of advance- ment and improvement, as a splendid, a princely domain, devoted in our early history to a noble purpose.
As a further reward for the services of the soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line, the next act of the General Assembly was one that exempted from taxation during lifetime the land which fell to the lot of each, unless the same was transferred or assigned to another person, and then follows soon after the purchase of 1784, the acts of March 24, 1785, which directed the mode by which the allowances of lands were to be distributed to the troops, and pro- viding that legal titles, vesting in them the right of ownership, be granted to them. The details of the plan of distribution provided in this act are particular and comprehensive. The surveyor-general was directed forthwith to appoint deputy-surveyors for the purpose of surveying the lots, who were to give bonds in the sum of eight hundred dollars each for the faithful performance of their duties, and to follow such instructions as they might from time to time receive from the surveyor-general and the Supreme Executive Council of the State.
Another section describes the persons who should be entitled to land; and Section V., in order to comply with a previous resolution of the General Assembly, included the names of Baron Steuben, who was to receive a grant equal to that of a major-general of the Pennsylvania Line, and Lieutenant- Colonel Tilghman, a grant equal to that of a lieutenant-colonel of the same line; while by Section VI. other troops, raised under resolutions of February and December, 1780, were also declared to be entitled to lands according to their rank and pay respectively. Section X. enacted that the lots should be of four descriptions : the first to contain five hundred acres each, the second three hundred acres each, the third two hundred and fifty acres each, and the fourth two hundred acres each, with the allowance of six per cent .; and before proceeding to perform their duties under the act the deputies were required to subscribe an oath or affirmation that in making their surveys they
85
HISTORY OF NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
would not choose out the best lands for the purpose of favoring any one of the four classes to the prejudice or injury of the others, or of the State. This section also provides for the proper marking of the lines, the numbering of the lots, and the transmission of field notes, drafts, and returns to the sur- veyor-general's office. Complete lists of all persons entitled to land under the act, with their rank and the quantity of land to be allotted to each, were to be furnished by the comptroller-general to the Supreme Executive Council in order that proper instructions, through the surveyor-general, might be given to surveyors in the field as to the number of lots to be surveyed and the quantities in which they were to be laid off ; and when a sufficient number of lots were surveyed and returned, a draft of the whole was to be made and deposited in the rolls-office as a public record to serve in lieu of recording the patents. The wisdom of the last provision may be considered extremely doubtful, as has since been demonstrated in the fact that there are many patents for donation lands in existence of which the patent books of the land-office do not contain a line, and no little trouble in tracing title to certain of these tracts has been experienced in consequence of that defect in the act. The patent books should have contained the enrolment of all. Section VIII. provides minute directions for the distribution of the lots to claimants by lottery. Tickets representing the four classes, carefully numbered and tied " with silken thread," were to be placed in four wheels "like unto lottery wheels," from which the applicants were required to draw for their respective allotments. When not in use for drawing, the wheels were to be sealed and kept in the custody of a committee of the members of the Supreme Executive Council, the same committee having the right to judge and determine the right of every applicant to receive a grant, allowing in cases of doubt or difficulty an appeal to the council, whose decision was to be final. By this section of the act it was further provided that a major-general should draw four tickets from the wheel containing the numbers on the five hundred acre lots ; a brigadier-general, three tickets from the same wheel; a colonel, two tickets from the same wheel; a lieutenant-colonel, one ticket from the same wheel and one from the wheel containing the numbers on the three hundred acre lots ; a surgeon, chaplain, or major, two tickets from the wheel containing the numbers on the three hundred acre lots; a captain, one ticket from the wheel containing the numbers on the five hundred acre lots ; a lieutenant, two tickets from the wheel containing the numbers on the two hundred acre lots ; an ensign or regimental surgeon's mate, one ticket from the wheel containing the numbers on the three hundred acre lots; a sergeant, sergeant-major, or quartermaster-sergeant, one ticket from the wheel containing the numbers on the two hundred and fifty acre lots, and a drum-major, fife-major, drummer, fifer, corporal, or private, one ticket from the wheel containing the numbers on the two hundred acre lots. It will be seen that the allotment according to rank was therefore as follows: To a major-general, two thousand acres; a
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