Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 100

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848-
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck
Number of Pages: 1318

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The children of Nathan P. and Mary (Watson) Wheaton are Laura Martha, born in 1839, wife of Roger Keuyon, now of Montrose; James Calvin, born in 1844, married Carrie L. Southworth, and re- sides opposite the homestead (their children are Mary M., Julia Laura and Nathan P. Wheaton); and John R. Wheaton (1848-69), who died suddenly on his re- turn from a business trip to the South.

Mr. Wheaton

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FRANKLIN.

Ireland, to New York in 1800, and subsequently set- tled in Westchester County, where he married Sarah Lounsbury, who bore him the following children : Elizabeth, wife of David Banker, of Franklin; David and John (twins), the former a resident of Franklin, the latter, a farmer, died in the same township at the age of eighty, in 1885; Andrew, a farmer in Frank- lin ; Jeremiah, died in Windsor, N. Y .; Mary, wife of 'Squire Nathan P. Wheaton; Esther, the second wife of David Banker ; James, a farmer, died in Franklin; William, died a young man. The Watson family settled where Upsonville now is about 1807, and after- wards sold the property to Allen Upson, who estab- lished a post-office and was the founder of the place. James Watson died in 1850, aged eighty, and was survived by his wife ten years. He was a great Bible student and had a remarkable memory.

In 1813 a list of taxables in the old township of Lawsville embraced the following names :

Jedediah Adams, Joseph Bishop, George Banker, Stephen Barnum, Zenas Barnum, Charles Blowers, Henry Blowers, Lemon Churchill, Josiah Churchill, Josiah Davis, Josiah Davis, Jr., Levi Griffin, Waples Hance, John Holmes, Joseph Hutchinson, Julius Jones, Norinan Kil- born, Andrew Leighton, Ralph Lines, Belisle Lines, Rufus Lines. Theophilus Merriman, John McFall, Luther Peck, Calvin Peck, Sinion Park, Jesse Ross, Israel Richardson, Thomas W. Rich, Jehiel Saxton, Daniel Stanford, Roswell Smith, Lyman Smith, Sylvester Smith, Titus Smith, Ephraim Smith, Samuel Simmons, David Summers, Jr., Corne_ lius Scott, Theo. Tabor, Friend Tuttle, Ephraim Tnttle, Daniel Tuttle, Samuel Truesdell, James Truesdell, Chauncey Turner, Aaron Van Voorst, James Watson, Harrison Warner.

It will be seen that a number of the above lived in that part of the township which is now Liberty, but by far the greater portion were in Franklin. The relative increase of population in the two town- ships may be seen by reference to lists after the divi- sion took place. The list of Franklin will also show what families remained after the lapse of these years.

TAXABLES 1836 .- Jedediah Adams, Jacob Allard, Jacob Allard, Jr., Amos Barns, Hiram Barnum, Stephen Barnum, Charles Blowers, John Blowers, David Banker, Benjamin Banker, Edwin L. Brundage, Free- man Badger, Anthony Blackman, Samuel Baker, Alexander Barron, Amos Churchill, Ira Cole, Eli Crofut, Isaiah Depue, Samuel Doug- lass, Samuel S. Fisk, Asa Fisk, John Green, Wright Green, C. G. Han- drick, P. H. Hawley, Joel Ives, Rufus Lines, Jr., Rufus Lines, Andrew Leighton, Ebenezer Leighton, Nathaniel Leighton, Theophilus Merri- man, Alfred Merriman, Titus L. Merriman, Timothy C. Mckinney, Benjamin Merritt, Joel Morris, Cyrus Messenger, Cyrus P. Messenger, Luther Peck, Calvin Peck, Covel Park, John A. Pestana, Nehemiah Park, Simon Park, Simon Park, Jr., Levi Summers, Edwin Suminers, Isaiah Smith, Lambert Smith, Lyman Smith, Sylvester Smith, Thomas B. Smith, Titus Smith, Ephraim Smith, Jr., William Smith, Ephraim Smith, Henry B. Smith, Rufus Smith, Norton Smith, Roswell Smith, Raymond Smith, Harry Smith, Andrew Smith, Billoshy Smith, James Stephens, Josiah Stevens, Morgan Sherwood, Eunice Tuttle, Chauncey Turner, Allen Upson, James Vance, Thomas C. Vance, Aaron Van Voorst, Nathan Wheaton, Roswell Wheaton, Andrew Watson, David Watson, James Webster, John Webster, Joseplı Wehster, Harrison Warner, Isaac Willson, Philip Willson, John A. Welsh, Alonzo Wil- iams, Orlando Williams, William Young.

BUSINESS INTERESTS .- The township had no vil- lage within its bounds until nearly fifty years after its settlement. But, in the eastern part, was a sort of business centre, about 1800, which has been continued

ever since. The first of this nature was the public house of David Barnum, on the hill near the church, which was kept by him from about 1799 to 1804, and afterward a short time by Richard Barnum, when the place became an ordinary farm. David Barnum moved to Baltimore and there established the hotel so favorably known by his name. The building in Franklin burned down in course of years, and no tavern has since been kept in this part of the town- ship.

About 1810 Andrew Leighton opened a small store in his residence, at the present Dearborn place, which he kept some time, and this was the first store in the township. Later a store was opened, a little more than a mile from this place, by a man named Chap- man, who sold out to John A. Pestana. The latter traded only a few years, when the place became farm property. At what is now the hamlet of Upsonville Henry B. Smith engaged in trade, in the yellow build- ing still standing there, being succeeded by Eliab Farrar and later by Titus Smith. In 1846 J. L. Mer- riman began trading there, and continued until he had built his new brick store in 1856, which he called the "Upsonville Exchange," and where he has traded ever since. The name exchange was adopted because at that time cash was so scarce a commodity that most of the trading was done by barter.

In this locality Lawsville post-office was established, December 1, 1814, with Arad Wakelee as postmaster, who kept it until 1821, when Ira Cole was appointed. Allen Upson became the postmaster in 1824, and it was in honor of him that the name of the office was changed to Upsonville in 1836. The next year Fred- erick Lines became postmaster, and, in 1838, Titus. L. Merriman. In all this period it was kept on the same lot of ground, on the hill opposite the church Since that time the postmasters have been Ephraim Smith, in 1849; T. L. Merriman, in 1853; James P. Smith, in 1861; Ephraim Smith, in 1863; E. H. Merriman, in 1866 ; F. Lines, in 1872; Stephen A. Smith, in 1873; F. Lines, in 1875; J. K. Reid, in 1876 ; and Peter S. Dearborn since 1879. The mail service is daily from Great Bend, and the mails have been carried the past thirty-five years by J. L. Merri- man, who has missed but a few trips in all that time.

UPSONVILLE was, in 1886, a straggling hamlet of half a dozen residences, a post-office, store, Presby- terian Church and parsonage, and a good school- house. The surrounding country is fertile, and has well-cultivated farms. There have been mechanic shops in the neighborhood, Rufus Lines being the blacksmith and Raymond Smith the pioneer shoe- maker.

One mile south of the corners, at Upsonville, Sam- uel Douglas had a small tannery and also carried on a shoe-shop. Here is now the Franklin Creamery, owned by the American Dairy Company, of which B. de Schweinitz is the county manager. The building is a two-story frame, which was put up in 1882, and is

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

well supplied with apparatus. It has a capacity to work up eight thousand pounds of milk per day.

Near here was the saw-mill of Simon Park, oper- ated from 1809 to 1812, when it was abandoned on account of the weak power. Lower down the stream, near the township line, Robert Bound, one of the land-owners, caused mills to be built in 1802, which were carried on a short time by Obed Doolittle, when they were abandoned as a failure. In the intervening period the settlers patronized the mill of Captain David Summers, which was put up about this time, in New Milford, but which also went down after a few years' operation. In more recent years J. P. Tingley erected a saw-mill, in the neighborhood of the old Park mill, which was kept running about fifteen years, and a small feed-mill was also carried on ; but both have been abandoned, on account of the insufficiency of the water-power, and no manufactur- ing is now done in this part of the township.

FRANKLIN FORKS is a thriving village in the valley of the Snake Creek, where the waters of Silver Creek fall into that stream. It is seven miles from Montrose, and having fine and easy roads leading to it from all parts of the township, it has become an im- portant business place. There are the interests noted below, two churches, a number of fine residences and about one hundred and fifty inhabitants. The main part of the village is on Turnpike Street, which is crossed at right angles, in the centre of the place, by Silver Lake Street. Near this point was a com- mon corner of four hundred acres of land, owned, before the village was begun, by Joseph Smith, Robert Vance, Benjamin Merritt and Harry Beebe. The Vance place passed into the hands of Edwin Sum- mers, who has occupied it since 1846, his house being the oldest in the village. Merritt lived on the north- west lot and died in this place, in 1881, aged eighty- six years. In his lifetime he was considerable of a wanderer, making three trips to the Pacific coast.

John Snow first utilized the water power and laid the foundation for a business place. In 1836 he used the waters of Silver Creek to operate a small lathe to turn chair stuff, and other material for making furni- ture, carrying on such a shop several years. In the meantime Joseph E. Webster and Daniel H. Blowers began clearing up small farms on the village site; and in 1840 the school-house was built in which Blowers taught. Lower down the creek James Vance began making bricks about this time, and also had a small saw-mill ; but neither interest was long continued.

In April, 1844, Joseph Smith and his son, Eli B., came from Roxbury, N. Y., and the former purchased the mill-seat on Silver Creek, with forty-three acres of land, on which he built a solc-leather-tannery. He used the water-power to grind his bark and carried on business quite extensively those times, having sixty vats. At the end of six years Eli B. took charge of the property, but in the course of a year it burned down, and was not rebuilt.

In 1853 the mill-site was sold to Asa Fisk, who erect- ed a saw-mill and operated the same by water-power. This subsequently had many owners, and, in 1878, a small buckwheat-mill was added to the property by A. Y. Smith. While owned by E. E. Tuttle steam- power was supplied, in 1882. Since April, 1884, the owner of the mill has been Silas B. Knapp. The power is forty horse and the cutting capacity is eight thousand feet per day. Employment is given to five men.

Higher up the Silver Creek are the " Acid Works," erected in 1881 by Tarbell, Lindsley & Co. The main building is fifty-eight by one hundred and sixty-five feet, and there are six retorts and two stills and conden- sing apparatus, making crude alcohol and acetate of lime. It is operated ten months per year, consuming thirteen hundred cords of hard wood, and gives occupa- tion to seven men. Since July 1, 1886, the owners have been G. W. Lindsey & Son. On the turnpike road a cigar factory was built, in the fall of 1886, by Potter, Crandall & Co., which had a half-dozen men at work in December of that year. The building is eighteen by twenty-four feet, three stories high, and has table-room for twenty men. Eight grades of cigars are made.

The village is supplied with the ordinary mechanic shops, and, since 1867, B. B. Todd has had a shoc- maker's shop and store combined. The first merchan- dise in the place was sold, about 1845, by Joseph Smith, a small room in his residence being set aside for this purpose. In 1850 Stillman Fuller built the first regular store, using part of the building for a residence, and traded several years, when he was suc- ceeded by H. L. Blowers ; and later came Charles Tinker, Roger Kenyon and D. C. & F. H. Fordham. The latter when succeeded by Joshua Boyd, who traded seven years in the old store, when the building was removed and the present building erected in 1878, in which Boyd is still in trade. The old building was converted into a barn and burned down, having a span of horses in it at the time. In 1871 the Fordhams built a store on the opposite side of the street, but in 1876, sold out to G. H. & P. H. Smith, who occupied it until the Smith stand was completed, in the fall of the year. Since 1883 the firm has been G. H. Smith.

In 1881 F. H. Fordham again occupied his old build- ing, and traded two years, when he sold to M. A. Blair, who occupied it as a drug-store, on the old site, one year, when it was moved to its present site, where it has been occupied as a drug-store, since the fall of 1886, by Dr. A. S. Blair, and is, also, the post-office of the village. A fourth store was opened in the place, in 1883, by Ed. Conklin, in which he has since mer- chandised.

In 1871 the Lawsville Centre post-office was kept a short time, but in the same year Franklin Forks post-office was established with Joshua Boyd, postmas- ter. He filled this position until the fall of 1885, when M. A. Blair succeeded him. It has a daily mail. As physicians there have been, at Franklin

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Forks, Doctors G. A. Westfall, Charles Tiffany, and the present, Dr. A. S. Blair.

Southworth Post, No. 222, G. A. R., was instituted at Franklin Forks, October 17, 1880, with twenty-two charter members, J. J. Stockholm as the first Com- mander and J. H. Munger Adjutant, a position he has since filled. Other Commanders have been E. L. Beebe, B. C. Vance, T. L. Smith and S. B. Knapp. In all its history the Post never missed a stated meet- ing, notwithstanding its first hall was destroyed by fire. Death has taken away two members, but, in December, 1886, there were thirty-five working mem- bers, and the affairs of the Post were in a flourishing condition.

The Franklin Salt Springs are a mile above the village, on the south side of Silver Creek, and below the month of Cold Brook or Falls Creek. Fromn the earliest settlement of the country there have been traditions regarding this spring, and interesting legends have also been associated with this spot. It is stated that the Indians, on leaving this country, sought to hide all traces of the spring by turning the channel of Cold Brook over it, and that for many years the exact spot from wlience issued saline waters was unknown to the whites. In the course of years some Indians who visited this section offered to reveal the spot to Waples Hance, of Liberty, and, on receiving the twenty-five dollars demanded, exposed the place in the stream, a small basin pounded out of the rock, in which was a large wooden spoon, with a stone laid over it. When the waters of the brook were returned to the natural channel saline water slowly gathered in the basin, which was dipped up with the spoon and, upon being boiled, produced good salt. The existence of a salt or mineral spring having been established beyond doubt, various means were em- ployed to develop it, the first work of this nature being done by Judge 1 Balthaser De Haert and his brother, who came from New York for this purpose, about 1810.

Colonel Nicholas Biddle, the owner of large tracts of land in the county, had reserved the spring and five hundred acres of land connected with it, but despairing of realizing on its minerals, if the land contained any, sold this tract to N. P. Wheaton, who improved it for farm purposes. The following year Daniel H, Keeler, who had been operating Dr. Rose's woolen factory in Silver Lake, secured a mill-site below the falls of Cold Brook, where he erected a two-story building, twenty-four by fifty feet, for factory purposes, and equipped the same with machinery. Here lie carried on the business of carding, fulling and the making of coarse cloths for about ten years, when work was suspended and the machinery re- moved to Corbettsville, N. Y. The building, being unused, soon went to decay and added to the pictur-

esqueness of this romantic spot. The power was derived directly from the falls by means of a flume, and the water passed over a sixteen-foot wheel. For many years the springs were the resort of pleasure- parties, and the waters gained considerable celebrity on account of their curative properties.

Montrose Tannery .- In the valley of Snake Crcek, in the southern part of the township, is a hamlet, locally known as Mungerville and Stumpville, the latter name being applied when the forests at this place were first removed. Its principal feature is the above-named tannery and the tenements-twelve in number-connected with it. The first improvement was here made about 1840, when Grover & Mitchell put up a small tannery, which was burned down after several years' operation. The site then passed into the hands of J. W. Biackney & Co., who put up a larger tannery and carried on the same for ten years. Azur Lathrop became the owner before 1853, and en- larged the capacity by introducing steam-power, and tanned sole-leather by the new process. He had one hun- dred vats and employed twenty-five hands in tanning thirty thousand sides of leather, about three thousand cords of hemlock bark being used per year. In 1871 the tannery was sold to J. H. & E. P. Munger, who controlled it until 1884, when they sold out to A. Healy & Sons, but remained as managers. In their ownership they added sixteen vats, but have not lately worked the tannery to its full capacity. In 1886 twenty men were employed. In 1882 the brand of the leather here made was changed from Franklin to Montrose Tannery, and as such has a good reputa- tion in the markets. With the tannery are also twenty-five acres of land, on which is a good man- sion.

On the creek, south of Mungerville, Azur Lathrop had a saw-mill, which became the property of L. Foot in 1871, who operated it with steam-power until it was removed. A small mill on the east branch of Snake Creek, owned by Isaac Harris, has also been abandoned. A small store was kept a short time at Mungerville ; but being only three miles from Mont- rose, was closed up as unprofitable.

EDUCATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS.2-The first school- house-a log structure-was erected in 1806, on the farm Titus Smith formerly owned, and near where Stiles Jacobus lives. The first teacher was Esther Buck (afterwards Mrs. James Newman, of Great Bend); the second was Polly Bates (Mrs. Sylvester Smith) ; the third, Penila Bates (Mrs. Seth Hall), both daughters of Thomas Bates, of Great Bend. Anna Buck and Selina Badger were later teachers. It is not known that there was any winter school till about 1809, when Dr. Gray, a transient settler, was employed to teach-he and his wife living in the school-house at the same time. James De Haert taught there the next winter. (He died at the house

1 Sce chapter on Geology.

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

of Rufus Lines in 1813.) It is thought Lehman Churchell taught, during the winter of 1810-11, the last school in the building. Mr. Churchell was a Methodist exhorter, and held regular meetings in school-houses at an early day.

The old school-house was built in 1811 or 1812. It stood nearly forty years, and was then accidentally burned. A better one was soon built near its site. The first building, called the East school-house, was erected in 1818; but a better one has for many years stood in its place. In 1819 the North school-house was set a little north of Upsonville. At a later day a brick school-house was erected in its stead on a lot adjoining the Upsonville Exchange, which was used until 1875, when the new school-house, on the hill, opposite the church, was occupied. This is a good two-story building, and was erected with a view of maintaining a graded school in it; and several terms of such a school were taught with encouraging suc- cess, when the project had to be abandoned on ac- count of opposition from other parts of the township. The same feeling prevented the formation of an inde- pendent district in 1878. Since that time the lower room only of this building has been used for school purposes, the upper story forming a public hall. The first school-house at Franklin Forks was built in 1840. In 1886 there were seven schools in the township, at- tended by one hundred and eighty-seven pupils.

"It is said that in the 'Lawsville settlement ' the Sabhath was ob- served from the first. With Saturday night secular labor ceased, and quiet reigned throughout the forest-homes.

" The influence of early training, example and habit preserved the people from open desecration of a day which they had been taught to regard as sacred, though they were far removed from those religious privileges and associations which had attended their childhood and youth.

"Most of them were from Cheshire, New Haven County, Conn., where no deep religious interest is known to have been felt until many years after the period under consideration. This may in a measure account for the fact that, notwithstanding these privileges, few of them had made an experimental acquaintance with religion at the time of their emigra- tion ; but they erected and maintained a high standard of public morals. Mrs. Tamar Lines and Mrs. Sarah Merriman were the first, and for five years the only, professors of religion in the place. Their piety, though uuohtrusive, was decided, and in after-years they were referred to as aliuost faultless examples of Christian character. Mrs. Merriman died in 1835, aged sixty-six ; Mrs. Lines in 1843, aged eighty. But their memory has not perished, nor has their influence ceased to be felt. Of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, it may be said that some of them, we have good reason to believe, have 'fallen asleep in Jesus ; ' some are useful citizens and active Christians of Franklin and other townships of this and a neighboring county ; and others of them, sustaining the saine character, are scattered in several distant States. Captain Roswell Smith was the first male professor of religion, who settled here in 1805.

" Religious worship commenced soon after the first settlement of the town. As early as 1801 or 1802 missionaries came here from Con- necticut and Massachusetts, and meetings were held at Mr. Theophilus Merriman's and other private houses, until the old South school-house was huilt, and theu meetings were held there. About 1809 meetings were held on alternate Sabbaths by Deacon Ward, at the houses of Ben- jamin Doolittle, in New Milford, and Titus Smith, in Franklin, and soon thereafter regular services were established through the efforts of the missionaries and these local workers. Of their labors and their re- ception by the pioneers, Mrs. Hannah Park 1 has written :

1 She was the daughter of Captain Roswell Smith, and became the

"They hailed with joy the coming of missionaries, entertained them at their honses, sent notices through the settlement where they would preach, and always attended religious worship with as many of the fam- ily as circumstances would permit. When meetings were within two miles all could go. The older children could walk; father rode on one horse with a child before him ; mother on another, with a babe in her lap. In addition, when necessary, they could take one of the older daughters upon a pillion behind them on the same horse. From the place now called Brookdale, in Liberty, to New Milford Valley, there were persons who were habituated to public worship, and many log dwellings between these points were, at different times, crowded for that purpose. People sometimes went to Harford and to Great Bend to hear missionaries, and it was not uncommon when we had preaching to see people from those places in our congregation.

"There were two services on each Sabbath, with an intermission of an hour, or (in winter) of half an hour. During this time the people re- mained in and around the house where the meeting was held, separately eating a lunch brought from home, or engaging in such conversation as was thought to befit the occasion. All common secular talk was consid- ered a desecration of the day, and children of religious families were strictly charged to be very circumspect in this particular. When no minister was present our public worship was conducted by Deacon Ward, of New Milford, who was a good singer and reader ; but Mr. John Foot usually led the singing, aud sometimes he or Mr. B. Doolittle read the sermon."

The organization of a congregation follows, and on the 28th day of September, 1813, was constituted the Lawsville and New Milford Union Congregational Church. The meeting took place at the house of John Hawley, in New Milford, and was under the direction of the Rev. Ebenezer Kingsbury, missionary from Connecticut, and the Rev. Joseph Wood, pastor of the first church in Bridgewater, when the follow- ing persons united in membership; Ichabod and Mary Ward, Roswell and Hannah Smith, Titus Smith, Sally Smith,2 Friend Tuttle, Lucretia Trues- dell, Hannah Doolittle, Sybil Dayton, Phebe and Merab Hawley. Circumstances deferred Mrs. Tamar Lines' and Mrs. Sarah Merriman's connection until February, 1814, but they were essentially a part of the original membership.

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Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 100

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848- Publication date: 1887 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck Number of Pages: 1318

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848-
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck
Number of Pages: 1318