USA > Pennsylvania > Bradford County > Annual of the Bradford County Historical Society, 1906 > Part 11
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THE CHURCHES OF SMITHFIELD.
In Poultney, Vermont, Feb. 11, 1801, three noble men, Samuel Kellogg, Nathan Fellows and Solomon Morse, about to emigrate to Smithfield, Pa., declared : " Being sensible of the importance of having the Gospel among us, not only for our benefit but the advantage also of genera- tions to come," were organized into a Congregational
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church. The first record of this church is dated May 6, 1801, when a daughter of Mr. Morse was baptized. Aug. 10, 1801, two persons were received into the church on profession of their faith. The first sermon ever preached in Smithfield was in 1802, by Rev. James Wood, a mis- sionary from the Connecticut Congregational Missionary Society. The sermon was preached and the Lord's Sup- per for the first time observed, in a log school house, the first and only school house in the town, near the foot of what is now called Mitchell's Hill and one-half mile cast of the village. The communion table was a big plank, not sawed, but split out and shaped with a broad axe. The legs were inserted through auger holes. The wine used was the unfermented juice of wild grapes grown near by and sweetened with maple sugar. It was a sea- son of great rejoicing to the church and no doubt accept- able to God. The church held meetings in their home till 1812, principally at Deacon Solomon Morse's.
In the spring of 1811, Jared Phelps came into the town and bought Solomon Morse's land and moved into his house, and the meetings were continued there. There was a growing desire for a church building, and in the fall, 1811, Jared Phelps offered to give to the Society two and one-half acres on the hill for a cemetery and for a church building. The offer was accepted. It was a dense forest. A portion of the lot was ac- cepted for a burying ground and Dec. 25, 1811, Polly, daughter of Mr. Phelps, was buried there, the first burial in the lot. One who assisted in digging the grave, John Bird, said to the writer : "It snowed the night be- fore the burial, and when we went to lower the body in the grave, I shook the limbs of the tree that hung so low as to trouble us, and the snow fell into the grave."
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In the early summer of 1812, the church met, cut the trees and cleared the ground sufficiently to erect a build- ing that summer at a cost of $450. Nails and glass were brought from Catskill on the Hudson river at a cost of transportation of $80 per ton. Nails were 33} cts. per lb. The first seats were boards laid across timbers without backs, and it was 20 years before they could afford more comfortable ones. Their first pastor was Rev. John Bas- com in 1814. They worshiped in that church till 1861, when a new and more commodious one was built and dedicated Feb. 5, 1862. The building committee for that church were Bulkley Tracy, Eli Stockwell and Jesse Sum- ner. The first funeral attended in that church was the that one of the building committee, Bulkley Tracy, April 18, 1862.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
In 1809, Samuel Wood, came from Halifax, Vt., and settled in Smithfield. There being a few Baptist families in town they met Dec. 9, 1809, at the house of Reuben Mitchell, to consult about forming a church. The record reads : " The meeting was opened by prayer for wisdom to direct." The result was an agreement to meet at the house of Joseph Smith in Ulster, Jan. 11, 1810. At this meeting there were present pastors and delegates from Baptist churches in Owego, Chemung and Burlington, with two missionaries from Massachusetts. The church was duly organized with 15 members. Five were from Smithfield, nine from Ulster and one from Athens. The first meeting after its organization was held at the house of Reuben Mitchell, Jan. 25, 1810, when arrangements were made for the holding of public services on the Sab- bath. These were held once a month, sometimes at Mr. Smith's, sometimes at Mr. Mitchell's and often a Dea.
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Wood's barn till Dec. 14, 1811, a log school house having been erected near the present residence of Perry Tracy's, that was chosen as a central place of meeting and so re- mained seven years. The first record of a settled pastor was Dec. 22, 1814, when they voted to have Rev. Stone improve with us three Sabbaths in each month and to give him $40 a year and to make an equality on the church to raise the money. Also voted to meet one-half the time at the school house near Mr. Gerould's, one-half at Dea. Wood's and one-half at Brother Smith's in Ulster. Mr. Stone was ordained Sept. 20, 1815, in Dea. Wood's barn. In 1820, eighteen persons were dismissed to form the Springfield Baptist church. In 1824 several were dis- missed to form a church on the river, which afterward migrated northward until it became the Baptist church of Waverly, N. Y.
During the winter af 1818 and '19, under the pastoral labors of Elder Thomas Bebee, a powerful revival of re- ligion was experienced. Eighty-six persons were received for baptism and 12 united by letter. By reason of these large accessions it became necessary to build a house for worship. But how were they to do it ? All articles of merchandise must be brought from Catskill on the Hud- son river and the cost of transportation, $80 per ton. It required 20 bushels of wheat to pay for one box of glass, and 4 lbs. of butter to pay for one lb. of nails. It was resolved to make the effort and trust an overruling Provi- dence. A building 36 by 50 feet, 22 feet posts was raised in June, 1819. Such was the enthusiasm and interest manifested that nearly every man and boy in the town attended that raising and it is recorded, " The Smithfield boys had the body of the building up and the plates on in 56 minutes from the time they began the work of rais.
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ing." When it was enclosed, the floor laid, the breast- work in front of the gallery and the pulpit finished, their expenses exceeded their subscription $400. Rude benches of unplaned boards were then made and no further work done upon the house for three years. Although in such a rude and unfinished condition they welcomed the Associ- ation in October of the same year. In 1838 the first Bible class was formed. In 1820 the population of the town- ship was only 695; in 1830, 1,126 ; in 1860, 2,071.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
This church was organized Sept. 15, 1815, in the west- ern part of the town on what was afterward called the Turnpike, organized with 16 members. David Forest was the first class-leader, Rev. Palmer Roberts preacher- in-charge. There were regular appointments there for two years previous to the organization. For many years this church worshiped in private dwellings and in school houses. In 1825 they opened a Sunday school, one of the first in the township, in the school house in the Crowell district, organized by the preacher-in-charge, Mr. Piersoll. The first summer it had no superintendent. Sophronia Rice opened the school in absence of the preacher. The school was held at 12:30 each Sunday from May 1st till October-closed during the winter. In 1826, Truman Beach became superintendent, and continued as such many years, when the church on the Turnpike was built it was transferred to that and continued till 1862. In 1848 a church building was erected on the Turnpike, a good parsonage secured, and that place was the stronghold of Methodism in the township until 1863, when a church building was erected at Smithfield Center and the two classes united in one church. A parsonage was built in
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1877 and Smithfield Center became the central point of Methodism in the town.
THE DISCIPLE CHURCH.
In 1828, the Disciple church hired Elder Silas C. Shep- ard as pastor. He had adopted the views of Alexander Campbell, that articles of faith and a covenant were un- necessary, yet this was unknown to the church when they hired him. This influence led others to adopt the same views. He remained pastor of the church only a few months but the seed he had sown had taken great root and grown, until Dec. 2, 1830, at a meeting called for a final vote on the question, 39 voted to reject the articles, and were afterwards dismissed from the church. Dec. 20, 1830, they organized themselves as a Disciple church, or a Church of Christ. For 17 years they occupied the Baptist church for Sunday services on two Sabbaths in the month, the Baptist the other three, till 1847, they sold their interest in the church building to the Baptists for $400. They built a nice church and parsonage, have had a great and good influence in the town sending out many Christian workers into many fields, the pulpit, Sunday school and missionary work.
DR, DARIUS BULLOCK.
Dr. Darius Bullock, the most noted man of pioneer days in Smithfield, was born July 20, 1791, in Halifax, Wind- ham county, Vermont. His father, Darius Bullock, was for many years a member of the Vermont Legislature and one of the most prominent men in Halifax, highly re- spected and honored with various public offices, covering a period of half a century.
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Smithfield Township.
Our subject came to Smithfield as a practicing physi- cian in October, 1812. He came all the way from Ver- mont on horseback, and his whole estate, on arriving in the new country, consisted of a horse, a saddle-bag, a pill- bag, four or five dollars' worth of medicine and two dol- lars and a half in money. Not really his whole estate, indeed, it was but an insignificant part of it, for he was then rich in the treasures of a well-balanced mind, a tenacious memory, a good moral character and untiring habits of industry and economy. At the time of Dr. Bul- lock's advent into Smithfield, a wilderness of huge beech, pine, maple and hemlock trees covered the hills and val- leys, except here and there an open patch of ground with a log hut among the big stumps as residences of the pio- neer settlers. As the inhabitants were few the profession of medicine was not a lucrative one ; and to eke out a scanty income he kept school for several seasons, visiting his patients before and after school hours-school then being kept for five and one-half days in the week. His field of practice extended from Columbia to Athens, a distance of twenty miles, and, indeed, ten or twelve miles in any direction from his home with an occasional call from greater distances. From the lack of roads it was often necessary to make his visits on foot. Frequently he was called to visit his patient in the darkness of the night, and would go for miles on foot through an almost path- less woods infested with bears and hungry, howling wolves ; neither were the panther and catamount then unknown.
It is related of Dr. Bullock that when he came to Smithfield one of the poormasters, a quaint character, noticing the doctor's scanty belongings and thinking he
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was liable to become a town charge ordered him to leave. The doctor, however, remained, was the architect of a fine fortune and lived to see the man, who was anxious to drive him from the town, laid in a pauper's grave.
For the first years of his residence in Smithfield he boarded with Mr. Mitchell and then with James Satter- lee, till thinking it time to prepare a habitation of his own, he married Miss Polly Satterlee, purchased a parcel of ground at East Smithfield and erected a house, mostly with his own hands. In those days very little money was in circulation ; business was done mostly by barter, and doctor's bills were generally paid in that way.
The doctor was a man of great energy and enterpisc. With a view of starting a town, at an early day, he opened a store and hotel on the "turnpike." But the enterprise not meeting his expectations, he gave it up and returned to East Smithfield. He was never idle and withal was a diligent student. He decided to add the practice of law to that of medicine and engaged himself in reading Blackstone whenever opportunity afforded. Although practically his own teacher, with few books, by diligently improving his time he acquired a good knowl- edge of the law, and on the 12th of May, 1819, was ad- mitted to practice in the several courts of Bradford county. We now find the doctor with a severer task on his hands than ever before. He must attend to the sick on the hills and in the woods, and be at the Courts in Towanda-a distance of 12 miles by the nearest course. His horse, as he had one, was needed on his farm at home, and besides this it was not in those times an easy matter to have money to pay for keeping a person and a horse at a hotel during the week of Court. Accordingly, he often
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went on foot to Towanda, and not infrequently during the week came to Smithfield (on foot) to visit his sick patients and return (on foot) to Towanda in the morning to attend to business at Court. But even this was not the extent of the economy practiced in those days. Leather was not then made here, and being brought from a dis- tance it was very expensive. Hence, men and women as well as children, were often to be seen at their work bare- footed ; and frequently when going from home they carried their shoes in their hands to save so much of the wear of them, and put them on when they arrived at the place to which they were going. Tradition says that the doetor was wont in this manner to save his shoes in trav- eling back and forth to attend the sessions of Court. It is even said that sometimes he did not own shoes fit to wear in the courtroom, and was thus compelled to bor- row of some of his neighbors. In 1822 he was elected County Commissioner for a term of three years.
He was Deputy Attorney-General, or District Attorney, for the county during the years 1824, '25, '26, '27 and '28. He held the office of Prothonotary by appointment of Governor Wolf from 1830 to 1831. In 1835 he was elected to the lower branch of the State Legislature and served one term. In 1857, Judge Wilmot having accepted the Republican nomination for Governor, resigned as President Judge of the 13th District, comprising the counties of Bradford and Susquehanna, whereupon Gov- ernor Pollock on the Sth of August, appointed Darius Bul- loek to fill the vacancy, his commission to expire on the first Monday of December following.
For nearly half a century Doctor Bullock was a sort of fac totum in Smithfield. Mortgages, deeds, notes, wills, and other legal instruments had to be either written by
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him or pass under his inspection. He possessed an un- common versatility of genius. Very few men are com- petent to know so many things and do them as well as he did. His information was extensive on a great variety of subjects ; and his knowledge of the history and other affairs of the county was scarcely equalled by that of any other man. He contributed many articles to the Mental Luminary and Literary Leaves and also wrote much for the county papers. The articles from his pen were always instructive and entertaining, frequently amusing. He would have been no mean poet had he given his attention in early life to the muse. He always took a deep inter- est in the literary societies of the place and all things that tended to advance his people mentally and morally. In the days of the old military trainings, he was one of the most active and was commissioned General. From this fact he was known as ".General Bullock."
Doctor Bullock was a man of exalted character, who earned his way to fame and fortune by indomitable in- dustry, frugality and honesty in his dealings with all men. He continued in the practice of medicine and law and also conducted a mercantile business, almost to the close of his life. His mind remained bright and active to the last.
His beloved wife, Polly, with whom he had lived in sweetest harmony for almost half a century, died April 29, 1863, in her 71st year. He survived her fourteen years, his death occuring at East Smithfield on the 15th of November, 1877. Both are buried at East Smithfield, where a modest marble shaft marks their final resting place. Darius and Polly Bullock had no children, and there is no heritage to claim their good name, but their memory will be cherished and handed down the genera- tions.
SOME WYALUSING PIONEERS.
PAPER BY MRS. H. J. HALLOCK.
As soon as the Revolutionary War had closed and it was safe for the old settlers to return to their homes in Wyalusing, quite a number who wishing to escape the troubles in Wyoming, determined to get away from there as soon as possible. Among the very earliest of the set- tlers in Wyalusing after the war were Thomas Brown and family and Henry Elliott and family. Mr. Brown was a native of Rhode Island. He settled at Stonington, Conn., moved to Quaker Hill, Dutchess N. Y., thence to Wilkes- Barre. In 1776, both families resided about eighty rods below the Sterling Hotel on the river front in Wilkes- Barre. Here these families met at the time of the battle at Wyoming (whose fearful horrors were fresh in the minds of those who witnessed them till the day of their death). After the battle they were all taken to Catawissa. From there they went to Goshen where they remained until November when they returned to the Valley.
In 1783, they removed from Wilkes-Barre to Wyalu- sing. For two years they worked the flat (now owned by G. H. Welles,) and then Mr. Brown purchased a farm two miles down the river, which became a noted one, and is to this day known as Browntown. Here Mr. Brown died June 25, 1791, aged 74 years. His grave stone bears the oldest date of any in the cemetery at Wyalusing. Henry Elliott, whose wife was Mary Kegwin, moved to Sugar Run, and in 1792, they removed to Merryall to live with their son, Joseph, who was born in Stonington, Conn., Oct. 10, 1755.
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Some Wyalusing Pioneers.
Joseph Elliott married first Patience, daughter of Thomas and Patience Brockaway Brown. Second, he married Deborah, daughter of Thomas and Mary Turrell Lewis, October 18, 1787. Joseph Elliott died at Merry- all, March 31, 1849, aged 93 years. It is no doubt ex- pected I would speak more particularly of Joseph Elliott, iny great-grandfather, but time will not allow to give a complete sketch and it is perplexing to select from the important events in which he was engaged. His escape from Queen Esther at " Bloody Rock " at the time of the Wyoming Massacre and his many encounters with the Indians have been told and re-told, many times by the firesides of the early homes ; but unfortunately for us, few thought it important to put in writing the facts so well known, and with the generations that have passed away have been buried many of the details of these im- portant events. I have been fortunate to secure an ac- count of one, the locality of which you will all recognize -written from Joseph Elliott's word of mouth, December, 1831, by Thomas Smiley :
" April, 1782, the Indians came down into Hanover in Wyoming and captured Mrs. Franklin, having an infant in her arms and three more children. A party of nine of whom I was one, concluded to pursue, get before them, await their approach and fight. We proceeded up the river with great cantion, keeping in the woods exclusive of being forced to cross the Indian path a few times, which was done with great care to leave no marks behind us. Seventy miles up the river, on the top of the great hill south of where Asylum now is, was the place where we made our stand the first day. We stopped about noon and concealed ourselves, waited until night, but none appeared. Through the night we were in a secret
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Some Wyalusing Pioneers.
place -- a deep hollow, and spent the whole of the second day on the watch but no Indians. On the third day in the morning provisions were scarce and two went out to hunt. Some had become weary of waiting, but eventually it was concluded to wait for that day. About ten in the morning Indians were seen on the path at a distance from us, appearing to proceed with caution and one of them considerably in advance. We lay closely concealed and reserved our fire until they were quite near and then we let loose a volley upon them. The one in advance fell dead and we did not know what effect it had on the rest who were further off, but they fell back. Several fires were now exchanged and then each one of them took his fire-lock in his left hand and with his tomahawk in his right, rushed forward on us. We again reserved our fire until they were near and then discharging upon them, some of them fell and then gave back. We pursued them in the same manner they had come up to us, but soon finding they were displaying right and left, we took our first stand on the very top of the hill, lest they should surround us. We had counted them on their first appear- ance as thirteen in number, and only seven of us began the action, one of whom was wounded. Soon after we began they attempted to outflank us, so we displayed to meet them on the left. One was killed and another wounded. The wounded one came within my rifle shot near the center. He fell. They now retreated both on the right and left and collected in the center. Some long shots were now exchanged.
" The prisoners had been laid by in a close place, until now, with orders from them not to stir. What became of the infant we never knew. I now saw one discharge
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Some Wyalusing Pioneers.
his gun in a direction that I knew none of our men were, and suspected that he was killing the prisoners. Mrs. Franklin was the victim. I discovered also that he was charging again but taking great care not to expose him- self. But I made out to get near him, unperceived, and as he arose from behind the log where he lay hid to fire on one of the children, I shot him in the breast. He fell dead. Likely now they were intending to kill the prisoners and get off. The children now crept up through the brush toward me. I saw the oldest one approach and suspected that an Indian was advancing on me with her before him to save himself and was standing ready to dis- charge, but soon discovered that it was the children. They were soon sent to the rear where there was a wounded man. All now was silent for some considerable time. We could see the foe at a distance but stood fast on our high ground. Mr. Swift, one of our hunters, now arrived and seeing all still, said he : 'What's the matter ?' 'Oh !' said I, 'Indians enough. I have had my fill of them all day.' ' Well,' be said, 'it never shall be said that I came seventy miles to fight Indians and never shot at them. I will have a shot if I follow them to the Gen- esee.' He crept up among the brush, got a chance, dis- charged, one fell and we saw three of them dragging him off with all speed, and there was not a gun fired more. We got six of their scalps, ten of their packs and several of their guns.
" It was now four o'clock in the afternoon, if not more, and now the great point was to get back safe home. When we had consulted thereon, it was concluded that to descend the river on a raft would be the best way. A part therefore of our company were sent off with the prisoners (we had recovered and the wounded man aforesaid, the
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Some Wyalusing Pioneers.
other one had made out to take care of himself, but they both recovered,) to a place we knew of to make what preparation they could. The remaining part of which I was one, kept the ground until dark. We prepared fuel for a line of fires-pine knots-and lighted them up at dark. We then all joined in a hearty shout and left them burning. Now having again joined our friends, all went to work with the greatest assiduity and got much matter bound together and afloat and bore the whole down to an island in the river, about seven miles, by daybreak. We lay concealed for fear on said island all the next day, and found a canoe and paddles what the Indians somehow had lost. Provision we had none but in the course of the next few nights we got pretty well down. We then pro- ceeded by daylight and arrived safe among our friends."
OUR FIRST JUDGE.
CONTRIBUTED BY C. F. HEVERLY.
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John Bannister Gibson, the first President Judge of Bradford county, was born November Sth, 1780, in Sher- man's Valley, Pa. He was the son of Lieut .- Colonel George Gibson, an officer of the Revolutionary Army, who fell in St. Clair's expedition against the Indians on the Miami in 1791. He received his preparatory educa- tion in the grammar school attached to Dickinson Col- lege, and subsequently studied in the collegiate depart- ment from which in due time, he was graduated. He entered the office of Thomas Duncan, who was afterward
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Our First Judge.
an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsyl- vania, and passed through a severe course of reading for the legal profession, and was admitted as an attorney-at- law at the bar of Cumberland county in 1803.
He first opened his office at Carlisle, Pa., and after a few years removed to the town of Beaver in the same state. From this latter locality he changed to Hagerstown, Maryland, and shortly afterwards returned to Carlisle. In 1810, he was elected by the Democratic-Republican party as a Representative in the lower branch of the Leg- islature and was re-elected the following year, during each session filling prominent stations on important com- mittees. On the 14th of October, 1812, he was commis- sioned by Governor Simon Snyder, President Judge of the Eleventh Judicial District of Pennsylvania, comprising the counties of Bradford, Tioga, Wayne and Susquehanna. ( Luzerne being subsequently added). June 27, 1816, he was commissioned an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court, which, at that time was equivalent to a life tenure, the appointment being "during good behavior." At the death of Chief-Justice Tilghman in 1827, he was appointed by the Governor to succeed him. In 1838, at the date of the adoption of the New Constitution of the State, he re- signed his office, but was immediately re-appointed by the Governor.
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