Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 159

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania > Part 159

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Caroline (1820-48) was the wife of Joel Stevens, a farmer of this township; J. Monroe; and Martha J., born 1826, now living with her brother Monroe. Of the above, Melissa, Nancy, Clarissa and Caroline lie buried in the Clifford Cemetery, and there also lies Mrs. Thirza Callender, who, in 1845, had mar- ried Jeremiah Cap well, of Luzerne County, and after his death, in 1864, returned to Clifford to enjoy the remaining four years of her life. J. Monroe Cal- lender, born January 15, 1824, at Dundaff, had very little opportunity for acquiring an education, having been but six years old when his father died, and be- ing the only boy in the family many matters upon the farm devolved upon him. He grew up to be a sturdy, self-reliant and active man, and still main- tains those characteristics. He has always carried on the farm and his labors have been judicious. For about three years subsequent to 1851 he was the proprietor of the Clifford Hotel. His farm is finely located, and at one time contained an orchard of five hundred apple trees, two of which still remain and measure nine feet four inches each, at the height of a foot from the ground, and one of them bore forty- five bushels of fruit in 1881. On this farm is one of the oldest and most substantial barns in the county, the frame of it being thi rty-six by forty feet and of solid cherry.

About 1860 he joined the Baptist Church with his wife, and is a consistent member thereof. In 1848 he married Mary S. Oram (1824-61), whose parents were George (1780-1836) and Mary Oram (1785-1853), natives of Somersetshire, England, and early settlers in Clifford. Their children were Thirza Mary Callen- der (1849-70); Thomas Clarence (1853-63) ; Helen Augusta (1856-63) ; Carrie Alice and Clara Agnes, twins, born 1861 : Carrie Alice dicd 1862; Clara Ag- nes married Eugene Kennedy, of Lackawanna County, in 1881, is a farmer and dealer. For his second wife Mr. Callender married, in 1869, Mrs. Mary A. Decker, who was born in 1837, and had one child, Adelaide, the wife of K. M. Miller, a farmer of Greenfield township, Lackawanna. County. Mrs. Decker was the daughter of Deacon J. G. Wetherby, of the Clifford Baptist Church, and his wife, Arminda Vail, both of whom reside near the Corners. She was first married, in 1860, to Edward C. Decker, of Clifford, who died in 1863, aged thirty-two years.

Since 1852 Dr. P. H. Gardner has been the resident physician, succeeding Dr. J. C. Olmstead, who came here a few years earlier and removed to Dundaff. Other physicians were here for short periods, and, since 1882, Dr. E. R. Gardner has been associated with his father as a practitioner.

Clifford Lodge, No. 439, F. A. M., was instituted before 1870, and held its meetings in the Grange Hall until it surrendered its charter, early in 1884. At one time it was very prosperous, but removals and other causes reduced its membership to thirteen, when the meetings were discontinued.

I'll Callenders

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CLIFFORD.

The Masonic Lodge, instituted in Clifford, January 24, 1811, and of which David Taylor, Jonathan Wil- bur, Joseph Potter, Oliver Granger and Abel Kent were officers, held its meetings in the northern part of the old township, in what is now Gibson, and was superseded, in 1816, by North Star Lodge, No. 119, of Gibson.

At Clifford a Good Templar Lodge meets statedly in Grange Hall, and here are also held the bi-weekly meetings of the "Clifford Literary Union," which was organized in November, 1886. In April, 1887, there were twenty-five members and a library contain- ing one hundred volumes of standard books.

CRYSTAL LAKE .- This beautiful sheet of water is one mile southeast from Dundaff, and so located that about three-fourths of it is in Lackawanna County. It has an almost eliptical shape, being about one and one-fourth miles long and a little more than half that wide. The entire area is three hundred and eighty- four acres. The water is remarkably clear and pure, and is supplied by springs at the bottom of the lake. The depth varies from sixty to a hundred feet, tlie bed presenting a topography of small hills and hol- lows, not unlike the physical features of the contigu- ous land. The beach is firm, and is composed of crystal sand, whose clearness blends with the bright- ness of the water, causing the lake to sparkle like a gem. The shores are not abrupt, but recede gently, tilled fields sweeping down to the edge of the water. On the northeast side a grove of natural trees re- main, which has been improved for pic-nic purposes; and on the lake a small steamboat was placed for the benefit of pleasure-parties. Hundreds of visitors yearly frequent this charming spot, whose attractions, in connection with those of the surrounding country, have made this one of the most popular resorts in the northeastern part of the State. In 1828 the lake was stocked with pickerel, and fish of many other species abound. The lake was patented to Peter Campbell, who conveyed it to the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, who use it as a feeder for their mining works in the vicinity of Carbondale, the outlet being deepened for this purpose, to afford a greater flow of water. In its use it serves as an extra reservoir.

Soon after the county was settled, a tavern was opened at Crystal Lake by James Coil, Jr., and which was kept, in 1827, by Benajah P. Millard, of Lenox. Peter Campbell became the owner, and in 1834 Charles Barstow began keeping the house. Benja- min Ayres succeeded him, and during his residence the house was burned. Peter Campbell built a part of the present house, on the site of the old one, but it has been enlarged and improved to accommodate forty guests, affording them a pleasant summer home. For many years the house and grounds, comprising about five hundred acres of land, have been the prop- erty of the Simpson Brothers, and for fourteen years the hotel was kept by O. P. Phinny. Since the spring of 1886 the proprietor has been John W. Barnes.

"Overlook Cottage," on the hill commanding the lake, is a pleasant summer house, kept by S. H. John- son.

FOREST CITY .- This new and rapidly-growing town is on the west side of the Lackawanna River, in the southeastern part of the township, and is also a station on the Jefferson Branch of the Erie Railway. The main part of the town is built on a bend of the hill bordering the narrow valley, about eighty feet above the level of the river. Along this is built the railroad, and the five streets of the town have a nearly parallel course, almost north and south, each street being elevated about thirty feet above the other. No grades have been established, and Main Street is the only one which has had the stones and stumps cleared from its course. The appearance of the other streets and the contiguous lots truly indicate the building of a city in a forest. The country is wild and mountainous and the place is easily accessi- ble only through the valley, over long and difficult roads, which were constructed to carry away the lumber which was cut at the mills along the Lacka- wanna thirty years ago and later. Aside from the small clearing made on the Barrett farm, all this sec- tion was a comparative wilderness until after the completion of the railroad, in 1871, when a few more persons came to work at the mills, as their product could now be increased. Yet, in spite of these disad- vantages of location, a town has been built here within the space of a few years, which had, in April, 1887, a settled population of two thousand souls, about one-half of which had been added in the course of a few months, with a transient population running into the hundreds. There were more than a dozen stores, two hotels, a Methodist Church and a good school-house, with a number of the adjuncts of an old place, many of them brought into existence with- in the last year. Many of the public and private buildings are attractive and substantial, and the town, though fairly in a transition state, has less of the crude and unfinished appearance than most towns of a like nature. This wonderful development has been brought about mainly by the discovery and mining of anthracite coal, all prior interests being confined to lumbering.

The existence of coal in this section was long sus- pected, but no systematic effort to develop it was made until after the completion of the railroad. A cut in the track revealed the out-cropping of coal, and bore-holes made with the diamond drill also in- dicated the presence of that mineral, but the dip of the rocks made it doubtful whether it existed in pay- ing quantities. A further test confirmed the belief of sanguine prospectors, and led the Hillside Coal and Iron Company to purchase large tracts of land for mining purposes. It thus secured the James Bar- rett farm of nearly one hundred acres and other holdings, in 1873. The following year Z. Kreger & Bros. began opening a mine for the company, and

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

struck a paying vein of coal within seventy feet. In 1874 a small breaker was put up, hewed timbers being used in its construction, and in 1875 the shipment of coal in a small way was begun. This mine was worked until 1883, the screen being operated by mule- power, and the output amounting to about three thousand tons per month. In 1885 this breaker burned down, but in the fall of 1886 the foundations for a larger breaker were laid, thirty rods north of the old one. While this vein was worked a mining ham- let sprang up, not exceeding a dozen buildings in all, in 1881, most of them being owned by the Hillside Coal and Iron Company. Meantime a new shaft was being sunk by the company lower down the val- lcy, and a breaker erected in connection, employing steam-power, which was fairly gotten in operation in 1884. The coal found was a very pure anthracite, lying in veins of such thickness that it confirmed the hopes of those interested that mining would here be- come a permanent business. Coal was also found on the lands of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com- pany, on the east side of the river, with prospects of its early development. An unusual interest in the future of the place was awakened, and from early in 1884 may be dated the real growth of the town. Houses were rapidly erected on lots leased from the Hillside Company, and in the spring of 1886 the Del- aware and Hudson Canal Company sold lots outright from its tract on the west side of the creek, which had the effect of still further stimulating the building boom. In the fall of that year the work of mining was commenced in the second shaft of the Hillside Company, at a depth of nearly one hundred and forty feet, or about double that of the shaft near at hand. In this mine the vein is nearly seven feet thick.

The breaker was also enlarged to double its former capacity and, in March, 1887, over eleven thousand tons of coal were mined. About three hundred men and boys, most of them Welsh, are employed under the direction of Benjamin Maxey, mine boss, and J. D. Caryl, outside boss. The superintendent of the com- pany is W. A. May, of Scranton. Other mine bosses were David McDonald and Alexander McKay. For several years A. L. Reed had charge of the outside affairs of the company.

It has been stated that lumbering was the first business interest carried on in this section. At an early day the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company secured large tracts of timber land in this region and put up mills on the Lackawanna to cut up the same. Such a mill was put up at the outlet of the "Still- water," which was operated until it became useless. A steam-mill of larger capacity is now in that neigh- borhood. Below Forest City, Hosea Carpenter had an upright mill which he sold to Brennan & Wood- man. In 1864 the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company erected a new mill, also with upright saws, which was carried on successfully, a number of years,

by William Pentecost. The present is the third mill at this site, and has circular saws, giving it increased capacity. James Johns is the present operator. Higher up the stream the Hillside Company put up a mill, in 1882, which was burned. It was rebuilt and again burned in the fall of 1886. A new mill on its site has just been gotten in operation. The motive- power is steam.

Martin Barrett sold the first goods in the place, beginning to trade in April, 1875. Since 1880 he has occupied his present stand. In the spring of the latter year W. H. Bates began merchandising in part of the store he has since occupied, and which has been enlarged to accommodate his increasing trade. He is the oldest general merchant. In the fall of 1883 Arnett Bennett opened the third store, lower down Main Street, where he traded three years, sell- ing to Brown Brothers in the fall of 1886. Early in the spring of 1884 W. J. Davis opened the first clothing-store, occupying his present stand since the fall of 1886. The same year Thomas J. Pentecost opened a good store and, since the summer of 1886, has been at his present commodious stand. In the fall of 1884 W. J. Gilchrist opened the sixth store, which he sold to Henry Box in 1886, the latter con- tinuing as a general merchant. In November, 1885, the first drug-store was opened by J. J. Janswick, in a building which had been enlarged and which is still occupied by him. A furniture-store was opened in the spring of 1885 by W. L. Bates, which is con- tinued by him. In 1886 stores were opened by W. R. Hankins, on the central part of Main Street; John Lynch, on the lower part of the same street; E. Margan, on the same street, nearer the centre, and by R. C. Bodie, on Higgins Alley. In August of the same year H. F. Aldrich opened the first hardware- store.

Among the business places opened in the early part of 1887 were a notion-store by Charlotte Mad- dens, meat markets by Stephen Brownson and W. H. Leek, and a cigar factory by Martin Bliss. In 1886 was opened the first hotel-the Fleming House, a three-story frame building, a part of which had served as a skating rink-which had John McLaughlan as proprietor, in 1887. The Bennett House, also a three story building, on the lower part of Main Street, was opened in April, 1887, by Ben- nett & Son. Pool-rooms and restaurants were opened in the spring of 1886 by C. L. Avery and in the fall by Z. C. Bell.

The first bakery was opened in January, 1887, by W. H. G. E. Wedeman ; and since the fall of 1885 Michael McGrath has been the barber of the town.

As builders and mechanics, Forest City had, in 1887, Rogers & Alexander, wheelwrights; Tripp & Woodmansee, M. Cramer, L. P. Wedeman, and W. H. Higgins, contractors and builders ; M. H. Davis and John Brown, shoemakers; and George Curtis, mill-owner, since the spring of 1886.

+ B Stephens

801

CLIFFORD.

S. C. J. Thayer became a citizen of Forest City May 6, 1881, and has been the justice of the peace since May, 1886.

Dr. J. C. Seco located here as a physician in No- vember, 1885, and remained about a year. Dr. P. G. Griffin was here next, about five months ; and since November, 1886, Dr. W. Saint C. Gibbs has been the practitioner.

The post-office at this place was established Decem- ber 15, 1879, with the name of Pentecost and David R. Lumley, postmaster. The subsequent appointees have beeu : November 28, 1881, John W. Coon; April 8, 1884, William Pentecost ; April 30, 1886, James R. Fleming. The name was changed to Forest City September 8, 1886, and Mr. Fleming continues as postmaster. Forest City became an election precinct in 1886.

J. B. STEPHENS, the eldest son of Jolin Stephens, born iu Lenox township, Susquehanna County, on December 6, 1812, and his wife, Mary A. Brownell (1811-86), was born August 1, 1834. His grand- parents were Jacob and Ann (Baker) Stephens, of Wyoming County, farmers. Mrs. John Stephens was born in Rhode Island and came to Pennsylvania with her parents when a child. They shortly after mar- riage came to Susquehanna County. The children of John and Mary Ann Stephens are Jacob B .; George H., bern 1835, a business man of the township; Martha A. W., born 1836, married Andrew Simpson (of Jones & Simpson), of Archbald, Pa .; Mary A., born 1839, the wife of James C. Decker, a farmer of this township, who was a lieutenant in the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Regiment during the Rebellion ; Hannah L., born 1842, mar- ried Charles M. Hunter, a jeweler, of Clifford, who also served during the late war; John, born 1847, en- listed in the United States regular army in 1865, and for four years following he was out in the Western Territories fighting Indians. After another four years spent at home he returned to the West, and for ten years past has been interested in mining opera- tions in Montana. The father of these children was a carpenter and farmer, and for a couple of years kept the Dundaff Hotel at an early day. He now makes a home with his son J. B., at Royal. Jacob B. Stephens learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner of his father, and acquired habits of diligence and exactitude, which have stood him in good stead during his business career. They carried on business together until 1875, and erected many of the more substantial and handsome buildings in this neighbor- hood, including three school-houses. After the great fire at Carbondale, in 1867, Mr. Stephens opened op- erations there, rebuilding that city, and employed a large force of workmen. The Moffatt residence and block and many other prominent buildings were put up by him. Since 1876, as manager for his father and himself, he has operated the steam saw-mill which Lee & James had built in 1872 on lands owned

by Mr. Stephens, on the Milford and Owego turnpike. He was oue of the ten originators of the Clifford Valley Cemetery, and retains a large interest therein. In politics he is a Democrat. During the two terms his services were given the township as supervisor (being elected by a handsome majority, although his party is in the minority) three iron bridges were built and a good record made. For some years past he has been interested in the cause of temperance. He was one of the charter members of Clifford Lodge, F. and A. M., and is a Past Master in the order. He also holds membership in Eureka Chapter, No. 179, R. A. M., and Palestine Commandery, No. 14, K. T., at Carbondale. He married, on Christmas Day, 1862, Soluna Johnson, and has had three children-Harry, born 1865, now iu the United States Postal Service ; Archie, born 1869, died 1873; and Fredie, born 1870. William W. Johnson, son of Andrew and Eliza John- son, a native of Orange County, N. Y., was a carpen- ter by trade, and married Rosetta Young, of Michi- gan. Their children were Soluna, now Mrs. J. B. Stephens ; Nettie married Charles Wilson, of Nichol- son ; Eventine F., a merchant at Nicholson ; Con- stantine, a carpenter and builder, located at Seattle, Washington Territory ; Julius, also a carpenter and builder, at Scranton; and Amanda, who died in youth. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson moved from Orange County to Pennsylvania, and for some time lived in Lackawanna County. In 1844 they located in Clif- ford township, and now live at Nicholson, Pa.

The school-house was erected in 1885. It is a neat frame, thirty by fifty feet, and two stories high. Two schools are maintained.

Forest City M. E. Church became an incorporated body January 17, 1885, with W. J. Gilchrist, Wm. Pentecost, Benjamin Maxey, Robert H. Dunn and George Johnson as the first board of trustees. Under their direction a neat church edifice was built on con- tract by L. P. Wedeman, which was dedicated Novem- ber 17, 1886. It is a frame, with a small spire, and has sittings for two hundred persons. Prior to the completion of this building meetings were held in the school-house, the preaching services being first regu- larly held by the Rev. Q. P. Christopher, preacher in charge of the Uniondale Circuit. Among the mem- bers of that period (1884) were R. H. Dunn, W. J. Gilchrist, Eleazer Monroe and their wives, Mrs. Ben- jamin Maxey, and a few others. In April, 1887, there were twenty-three members, and the Rev. J. Madison as pastor, succeeding the Rev. Thomas. In 1884 was also organized the first Sunday-school, with W. J. Gilchrist as the superintendent. The membership has been increased to sixty, and the school is doing much good in producing an interest in religious matters.

The First Regular Baptist Church of Clifford .- As early as the fall of 1802 the Rev. John Miller, of Ab- ington, preached occasionally in that part of the "Elk Woods" settlement now known as Clifford

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Corners. He held his meetings in the log cabin of Amos Harding and in the forests in the summer sea- son following. His labors caused the conversion of a few persons, who were baptized in June, 1803. About the same time the Rev. E. Thompson, of the "Frce Communion " branch of Baptists, preached in Clifford, and had a number of adherents throughout the coun- try. Some of these were led to acknowledge the doc- trine of close communion as preached by Elder John Miller, and to connect themselves with the Abington Church. In this way Adam Miller and his wife were received in July, 1804, aud others joined soon after. These members were finally organized as a branch of the Abington Church and supplied with preaching in addition to having the lay services of James Hulse. In 1812 Ira Justin united with this branch and com- menced to preach, alternating with Elder John Mil- ler, pastor of the Abington Church. It was deemed best to organize a church. This was done at a meet- ing held at the Union School-house, at Clifford, on Monday, October 20, 1817, when the above church was constituted. Thirty-four persons presented let- ters from the Abington Church, and on subscribing to the articles of faith, were recognized as a separate body. A quickened interest followed, and "a good work took place in a neighborhood lately notorious for vice and immorality.".

In 1818, when the church uuited with the Abington Association, forty baptisms and seventy-six members were reported. Elder Ira Justin continued to preach as a licentiate, and in the fall of 1820 was ordained the first pastor, serving four years, when he removed to New York. For three years there was no pastor, and a spiritual decline took place. In 1820 thirty members were dismissed to form a Baptist colony in Ohio, and the church was now in a low condition. In 1826 Charles Miller, a son of Adam Miller, began to improve "his gift for preaching," and supplied the church. He exerted himself to provide a separate place of worship, and secured a site upon which to build a meeting-house, and the pledge of nineteen dollars, payable in cash, labor, and maple sugar. In spite of this small beginning, the project was pushed, and the promise of five hundred dollars was secured. In the fall of 1830 the house was completed at a cost of twelve hundred dollars. It was a plain frame building, thirty-eight by forty feet, and, after the manner of that day, simply furnished. April 21, 1841, the church became an incorporated body on the peti- tion of William S. Finn, Alanson Halstead, S. L. Wood, C. N. Miller, Zophar Mackey, Elias Stephens, Wm. A. Miller, Alfred A. Merriman, Eliab Farnam, Thomas Taylor, Charles Miller and David Mackey. The meeting-house was used as built, with minor repairs, until the fall of 1881, when the work of en- larging and remodeling it was begun. A tower, with vestibule and spire, was added to the front of the building, and a lecture-room, with movable partition, built in the rear, the whole being completely reno-

vated and given a modern appearance. The com- pleted edifice was consecrated in the fall of 1882 as one of the handsomest Baptist Churches in this part of the county. It has sittings for four hundred people, and has a value of two thousand five hundred dollars. In 1887 a movement was set on foot to build a parsonage, which promises to be successfully accom- plished very soon.

In 1829 Elder James Clark preached and fifteen persons were baptized, increasing the membership to sixty-six. In the fall of 1830, Elder Charles Miller was ordained as pastor and served at different inter- vals until 1863. Under his ministry the church pros- pered until 1834, when it was somewhat distracted by the influence of Antinomianism. This caused a loss of a few of the older members, and prevented additions by baptism. After a few years an increase of interest came, and in 1839 there was a great revival, and twenty-eight persons were baptized, and the com- municants now numbered one hundred and nine. In 1843 Henry Curtis assisted the pastor, preaching with marked power. This year the church attained its maximum membership, one hundred and thirteen.

In 1846 William A. Miller, a son of the pastor, was licensed to preach and assisted his father iu later ycars. The Rev. Almon Virgil preached this year, one-half the time. In 1850 Robert P. Hartley, a licentiate, preached one year and was ordained pastor May 1, 1851, but soon removed to another field of la- bor. This summer eight persons were dismissed to form the Elkdale Church. In 1856 Elder William A. Miller became the pastor of both the churches, for one-half time each. The following year Elder A. O. Stearns assumed this relation, which was continued until 1862. Elder William A. Miller again became the pastor in 1863, and served two years. Then the pulpit was supplied by Elders Benjamin Miller, David W. Halstead, S. E. Miller and Newell Callender. In 1867 Elder William A. Miller was again the pastor, serving until 1880. He was succeeded by the Rev. Wm. B. Grow, who was the pastor five years. Since the spring of 1886 the pastor has been Elder Eugene B. Hughes, who was ordained to the ministry in 1874. The members of the church number eighty-four, and are working harmoniously for the advancement of its interests.

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Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 159

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