Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 94

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

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

several mails per day, and receives matter for a large scope of country.

Dr. Levi Roberts appears to have been one of the first medical practitioners in this place, from 1821 to 1825. The veteran Dr. Calvin Leet and his sons, Calvin L. and Nathan Y., were conspicuous in the medical history of the place. The former was the first doctor in the northwestern part of the county, and lived at Friendsville until his death, January 1, 1874. Dr. Alfred Peironnet and Dr. Charles Gissey, the latter a Frenchman, also practiced in this place. Dr. John Pierce, son of Henry M. Pierce, an Englishman, said to have been of noble descent, after practicing a number of years, moved to Waverly; and Dr. E. P. Hines, who was here from 1866 to 1879, moved to Great Bend. When Doctors Lathrop and William Bissell were here they were associated with the elder Dr. Leet. Since July, 1863, Dr. E. L. Han- drick has practiced at Friendsville, and since the fall of 1881 has had a drug-store, the first in the place.

But little manufacturing has been done at Friends- ville. The Hosfords had a tannery in operation be- fore the Civil War, which was burned in 1866. J. S. Hosford put up a steam saw and shingle-mill in the same locality, which is at present owned by W. S. Treadwell. The ordinary mechanic trades have been carried on since the village has had an existence, James Palmer being a pioneer blacksmith, and B. T. Glidden following later. E. M. Day, P. Matthews and Michael Welsh have been wagon-makers, the last two continuing ships. Lark Moore, Abraham Foran and R. Gillan have been coopers, a trade which has been carried on since 1866 by R. Foran. Among those who carried on shoe-shops have been James Bliss, Philip Millan, E. Guglan, Michael Dow and Martin McWade. Benj. Glidden has for many years maintained a justice's office in the village, and the legal profession has a representative in A. M. O'Donnel.

EDUCATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS .- From 1832 to 1840 Miss Elizabeth W. Richards successfully taught a select school for young ladies and small boys in the John Hudson house. She was the only daughter of Daniel and Lydia Richards, Friends, who came from Chester County about 1820. Her mother was a woman of marked ability and a public speaker in the Friends' Meeting. The daughter inherited her mother's good qualities, and had, in addition, a strong character of her own. A grateful pupil said of her,-

them ; their journey to a more genial southern clime ; then the last sad scenes, and the lonely grave in which now rest the mortal remains of her only treasure in that far off El Dorado ! Her reliance on the All- sustaining arm alone carried her through all, and brought her home a composed, though sorrowing, woman. She now turned her attention to her brother's orphan children. This duty occupied her time for several years.

"On the breaking out of the Rebellion she offered her services to the Governor of Ohio (where she was then residing) as hospital nurse. She was assigned to duty at Camp Dennison ; but the effects of the Panama fever had never been wholly eradicated from her system, and the expo- sure and hardships of camp life, together with her new duties, soon induced typhoid fever, which terminated her life while yet in its prime in the autunin of 1861."

About 1843 Joseph Hyde and others employed the Rev. Richard B. Thurston, a native of Maine, and who was a son-in-law of Henry M. Pierce, to teach in the academy established by them in the building next to Hyde's hotel. He taught three or four years, when the house was converted to private uses by Joseph Hyde, and a select school was opened in another building, erected by subscription for this purpose. This house soon after passed into the hands of the directors of the free schools, and has since been used by them as the school-house of the borough.

Opposite this was the church erected by the Pres- byterian congregation of Friendsville in 1841. It was, in its day, a serviceable building, but being long un- used, fell into decay before its removal, in 1874, when it was converted into a barn on the R. P. Mulford farm. The church was erected through the instru- mentality of Samuel Milligan, of Ellerslie, who was one of the ruling elders of the congregation, which quickly declined after his removal from the country, in 1847. The congregation became a corporate body on the petition of twenty-one members. August 19, 1841, with the following as trustees : John S. Peiron- net, Garrad Stone, H. M. Pierce, Ahira Wickham, Joseph Hyde and Judson Watkins. There was no settled pastor, though preaching was for some time regularly maintained. The ministers usually taught the select schools above noted. An account of the Friends' Meeting, with which many of the former people of Friendsville were connected, and of the Episcopal chapel now on the same site, is given in Choconut township, in which it is located.

In the eastern part of the borough the Odd Fellows of Lodge No. 471 had erected a small hall, in which their meetings were held a number of years. The re- moval of many members caused the surrender of the charter; but a new lodge, with this number, has lately been established in Rush. The hall is now used for farm purposes.

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER'S CHURCH (R.C.)-This church, as originally built, was small and plain, and was put up in 1831 by Edward White and others of the early Catholics in this part of the county, embracing mem- bers from the Keenan, Flynn, Ryan, Tierney, Reilly, Hickey, Lee and other families. Through the efforts of Father Mattingly, the church was improved and supplied with a fine-toned bell. The parish has again outgrown the Church, and a new edifice will be erected

" Many were anxious to avail themselves of Miss Richards' success in imparting instruction ; but her instinctive modesty and desire for a re- tired life prevented her becoming as widely known as her attainments de- served. Her mission to California in attendance on her youngest brother-the late Joseph T. Richards, Esq , of Montrose-was as heroic as it was sad.

" The journey at that time (in 1852) was but rarely attempted by women, and almost only by those impelled by love and duty. Yet the privations were nothing compared to the changes of climate ; their peril on the rainy night, when their hotel at Sacramento was consumed by fire ; their flight and exposure, only escaping with the bedclothes wrapped around

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in the near future. A good priest's-house has also been secured in the village for the benefit of the parish, which includes the church in Rush. A library at Friendsville has been a valuable adjunct in the work of the church, greatly promoting the intelligence of the younger members. It is kept in a substantial building, a part of which has been fitted up for a hall for literary and other meetings. Here, also, was maintained, several years ago, a Catholic Temperance Society. The parish has a very large and growing membership, the communicants numbering several hundred. Under the watchful care of the present priest, the Rev. Father J. J. Lalley, it promises to become among the strongest churches of the denomi- nation in the county.

The grave-yard connected with the church is large and well kept. Here repose some of the early Catho- lic pioneers, including members of the White family, and Patrick Griffin and his wife, Ellen. They were the parents of the gifted Gerald Griffin, the Irish novelist, and of Mrs. Edward White. The following epitaphs mark their places of rest :

I. H. S. Sacred to the memory of

PATRICK GRIFFIN, The first Catholic settler in this country, Born in Limerick, Ireland.

DIED January 20th, 1836,

Aged 72 years. May the Lord have mercy on his soul,

Through the merits of our Savior. Amen.

-: 0 :- SACRED

To the memory of ELLEN,

Wife of Patrick Griffin, of Susquehanna Co., Born in the city of LIMERICK, IRELAND, May, 1776, Died Oct. 14th, 1831. Aged 65 years. Revered and beloved by her own fam- ily, respected and esteemed by all who knew her, she presented in her life the model of a tender mother, an affectionate wife and a sincere Christian. May she rest in peace.

This stone is erected as a tribute of affection by one who loved her as a son, her nephew, Doctor Robert Hogan, of New York.

Patrick and Ellen Griffin settled, in the year 1820, on a tract of land bordering on Quaker Lake, in Sil- ver Lake township, Susquehanna County, one of the prettiest and most beautiful spots in this portion of the State, which they christened "Fairy Lawn," in memory of their forsaken home in the old land.

They were thus the pioneers of Catholicism, not only in Susquehanna County, but in Northern Penn- sylvania, introducing a faith which has since been embraced by thousands of those who came after them to this section.

CHAPTER XXXII.

SILVER LAKE TOWNSHIP.

THE township of Silver Lake was the first one added to the ten original townships of the county, and was erected in pursuance of a decree of the first court, in August, 1813. Originally it extended five miles along the State line and seven miles south, giving it an area of thirty-five square miles. This was reduced in 1836, when about four square miles were taken from the southwestern part and added to Forest Lake. The present bounds are as follows: North, the State of New York; east, Liberty and Franklin; south, Bridge- water and Forest Lake; west, Choconut. The title of the township was suggested by the beautiful little lake whose silvery waters have ever been one of the principal attractions of this section, and which early received the name of Silver Lake. The outlet of this body of water is Silver Creek, which drains the south- ern part of the township, also taking the waters of Cranberry Lake, a small sheet of water east of Silver Lake, and flowing eastward, empties into Snake Creek at Franklin Forks. Mud Lake, formerly called Ten- bury Lake, is southeast of the centre of the township, and takes its name from the color of its waters, when agitated by the winds. Unlike Silver Lake, it has no attractive surroundings or picturesque borders. It drains south ward into Silver Creek. About two miles north of this is Quaker Lake-called Derwent in early times-which is the largest in the township, being one mile long by half a mile wide. It is a very pretty sheet of water, and, on account of its fine surround- ings, has obtained favor as a summer resort. One of its inlets is called Sucker Brook, from the abundance of that species of fish found in it. The lake drains northward and its outlet also takes the waters of Meeker's Pond, a small lake near the State line. All these streams are small and were formerly heavily fringed with laurel bushes. The lakes were well stocked with fish and the surrounding forests were filled with game, which caused this section to be a favorite resort of the Indians, as the many relics found by the early settlers attested. On the divide between Mud and Quaker Lakes is Ranney Creek, a small stream having a general northeasterly course into Liberty township. In other sections are small brooks, and numerous springs abound, making this one of the best-watered townships in the county. The surface of Silver Lake is hilly, but not broken as much as the townships east and west; and most of the land is tillable. The ridges were formerly well covered with beech, maple or chestnut, and the lowlands with pine or hemlock; but the greater part of the country has been cleared up and turned into fruitful farms.

The whole of the present township of Silver Lake was included in the lands purchased by Dr. R. H. Rose, February 18, 1809, of Anne, widow of Tench

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Francis, who had bought of Elizabeth Jervis and John Peters, to whom it had been patented by the State in 1784. It extended at least thirteen miles along the State line and embraced two hundred and forty-eight tracts of four hundred acres each, or ninety-nine thousand two hundred acres in all. In the early sur- veys most of this country was known by the name of Hibernia, a term especially appropriate when the character of the present population is considered.

DR. ROSE AND HIS HOME .- Soon after the pur- chase of his lands Dr. Rose applied himself to their development and labored assiduously in this direction until his death. He directed all the early improve- ments and, during 1809, gathered around him a force of workmen to fell trees near his future home, at Silver Lake, and to construct a saw-mill preparatory to the erection of his dwelling-house. For these ser- vices he paid cash, a rare return for labor in that period. In all the early enterprises of the township he was such an important factor that a sketch of his life is an essential part of the most interesting history of this section.

" Robert Hutchinson Rose was born in Chester County, Pa., in 1776. His father was a Scotch gentle- man, and his mother a native of Dublin; hence the son belonged to that sturdy race known as Scotch- Irish. They emigrated to America before the Revo- lutionary War, and being persons of intelligence and means, gave their son a liberal and accomplished education. He was a writer of force and an author, which distinguished him in his day.1 He was the largest land-holder and most wealthy citizen among the pioneers of Susquehanna County. Of his large tract of land in Silver Lake and adjoining townships, he sold fifty thousand acres to Caleb Carmalt. He cleared land and erected a fine residence not far from the most beautiful sheet of water in the county, called Silver Lake. He had beautiful and well-laid-out grounds, and lived like an old English baron, while all around him was a howling wildernesss. His residence and grounds were so much finer than anything else for miles around, that the chance traveler gazed with as- tonishment on his improvements. He was active in pro- moting the building of turnpikes through Susquehan- na, and especially the Milford and Owego. He was influential in having Montrose made the county-seat, giving lands towards the erection of public buildings. He spent some of his time in Philadelphia, and was considered a good hunter in the wilderness. He was passionately fond of nature, and his wife, a daughter of Andrew Hodge, Esq., whom he married in 1810, being in delicate health, he determined to locate on the banks of the lovely mountain lake ever after asso- ciated with his name. He studied medicine and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, and was a man of musical ability and literary taste. In 1811 he brought his bride to Susquehanna County; here

they transformed their wilderness home into a fairy- land, laying out the grounds with walks and orna- menting them with statuary. Dr. Rose died February 24, 1842, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, leaving a widow, three sons and four daughters. One of the daughters became the wife of Wm. Main, of New York, another the wife of Rev. Francis D. Ladd, and another the wife of H. K. Sheldon, of New York, who has improved a portion of the Rose estate for a summer residence. One of the sons, Major R. H. Rose, died in Mankato, Minn., in 1865. The Mankato Review says : 'His character had so many attractive points, and his life was so winning, that the ties which bound us to him were something more than the common ties of friendship.'

Mrs. Rose died in Philadelphia in 1866. The oldest son, Edward W., resides upon the estate, having a fine house south of the lake, and at the op- posite end of the lake lived the other son, Andrew, deceased, also in a comfortable house. But neither residence is modeled in any respect after the paternal home, which, to the great loss of the community, as well as the family (absent at that time), was con- sumed by fire, with all its contents, April 30, 1849. The Rose family still own large tracts of land in the township, and for nearly eighty years the name has been synonymous with any important interest in connection with the affairs of Silver Lake.

The Pioneers .- Most of the early settlers were at- tracted by the inducements held out by Dr. Rose, who advertised his lands extensively and offered easy terms. Zenas Bliss was one of the first to open a farm. He came from Tolland County, Conn., in 1809, and located in the Choconut Valley, but within the bounds of Silver Lake. He was appointed the first justice of the peace, in which office he " exhibited an enlightened sense of his duty as a guardian of the public peace. He believed that peace was as effectu- ally promoted by discouraging unnecessary litigation as by inflicting the salutary penalty of the law when circumstances made that necessary." As a Christian, he was unobtrusive and exemplary, always being con- sistent. In 1841 he moved to Leroy, Bradford County, where he died, January 26, 1861, in the ninety-fourth year of his age. His first vote was cast for Washing- ton, his last for Lincoln. Zenas Bliss had six sons- Gordon, Horace, Edwin, Beza H., Clark W. and Chester. The two last-named became physicians in the State of New York. Horace died in the town- ship May 15,1868, aged seventy-six years. But a few of the descendants of the family, belonging to the third and fourth generations, remain in Silver Lake.

The next lot of settlers located in the neighborhood of Quaker Lake, which received its name from the fact that those first living there adhered to the Quaker faith. On the 10th of June, 1809, Alpheus and Syl- vanus Finch, Jacob Hoag, Isaac Higgins, Charles Wooster, Peter Soule and Philip Griffith arrived at Binghamton from Duanesburg, New York, and

1 See chapter on authors.

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SILVER LAKE.

from thence proceeded by marked trees to Silver Lake, passing but one clearing on the way. Most of them were pleased with the country and selected lands, to which they brought their families the fol- lowing year, and, in moving, were two days on the road from Binghamton. Alpheus Finch built the first house on the east side of Quaker Lake, and the second was built on the south side by Philip Griffith. As there was no saw-mill convenient, logs were split for floors, gable-ends and roofs. Griffith retained his home in the township until his death, November 21, 1868, a period of fifty-nine years, when he was seventy-nine years old. His wife was a daughter of

Jonathan Soule, and died in 1857. They reared ten children, all of whom were married before the death of their mother. One of the daughters became the wife of Joseph S. Gage, of Brackney. The sons were David, Jonathan, Benjamin, Isaac, Philip, Ezekiel, Absalom and Charles, none remaining in the town- ship. Jonathan Soule came a few years later than his son Peter, who came with Griffith. He had seven sons and four daughters, one of whom was the wife of Charles Wooster. He died in June, 1842, aged eighty-one years. A little earlier came Jabez Griffith, the father of Philip, an old man, who died March, 1819, aged eighty-two years.

Within the next three years a number of other settlers came to Silver Lake from Duanesburg, N. Y. Among these, Philo Briggs, who came in 1810, lo- cated on Sucker Brook, where he died in 1859. Two of his daughters married Ansel B. Hill and Michael Hill. The same year came John and Joseph Whip- ple. The latter first cleared up a farm where part of Brackney now is, but nearer to the Charles Wooster farm, on Quaker Lake. Having made some more improvements at that place, he sold out to Dr. Rose and bought a farm on Ranney Creek, on which was a saw-mill. This he left again to clear up another new place, on which he lived until his death, in 1872. It is said that he reared twelve children, for whom he never spent a dollar for medicine. As showing the fertility of the virgin soil, he said that he had raised sixty bushels of wheat from two bushels of seed ; and other crops yielded equally bountiful returns.

In 1811 Mortimer Gage came from Duanesburg, and two or three years later Henry Hoag and Wm. Miller. Gage (formerly spelled Gaige) was the first of the many families of that nanie who lived in Sil- ver Lake, numbering eighteen at one time. They all descended from four brothers at Duanesburg, N. Y., -Simeon, Moses, Benjamin and Joseph, the latter being the only one who ever came to live in Silver Lake.

The Gages have been very numerous in the town- ship, and still constitute a large proportion of the native population.

The rapid influx of population within the next three or four years can best be shown by an advertise- ment of Dr. Rose's which appeared August 26, 1814,

in The Union, the first paper printed in Union Coun- ty, Pa., and issued at Mifflinburg :

"To SETTLERS .- The subscriher offers for sale a large hody of lands on the waters of the Wyalusing, Choconut, Apolacon and Wappasuning Creeks, in the townships of Silver Lake, Bridgewater, Choconut, Mid- dletown and Rush, county of Susquehanna (lately part of Luzerne County), and State of Pennsylvania. The timher is principally beech, mixed with sugar maple, hemlock, ash, birch, basswood, chestnut, cher- ry and white-pine. The soil is in general of a good quality, and the country remarkably healthy and well watered. There are several mills huilt, two post-offices established, and a considerable settlement formed which is rapidly increasing. Montrose, the seat of justice for the coun- ty, is placed on the southeastern part of the tract. It is ahout one hun- dred and thirty miles from the city of New York, and one hundred and sixty miles from Philadelphia. A turnpike is now making to the city of New York, which passes for twenty miles through the tract; and an- other is granted to Wilkes-Barre, on the way to Philadelphia, which passes twelve miles through it. The purchaser is suffered to take his choice of all the land unsettled. The price is three dollars per acre, ex- cept for the lots on the turnpikes, which are four dollars per acre. A reasonable credit will he allowed, an indisputable title, and deed of gen- eral warrantee will he given. For further particulars inquire of the suhscriher, at the Silver Lake, on the premises.

" ROBERT H. ROSE.

" We, the subscribers, ha ve purchased farms on the lands of Robert H. Rose. The soil is in general of a good quality, deep and lasting ; and the situation very favorable on account of market for our produce :-

"Daniel Gaige, Peter Soule, Alpheus Finch, Oliver C. Smith , Isaac Howard, Mortimore Gaige, Abraham Gaige, Joseph Whipple, Philip Griffith, Peleg Butts, Charles Davis, Christian Shelp, Nathan Brewster, Geo. John Griffis, Jonathan Ellsworth, Henry Ellsworth, Jacob Bump, John Lozier, William Price, Lark Moore, Bela Moore, Joseph Addison, Chas. Chalker, Daniel Chalker, Scott Baldwin, Rich. Daniels, Zenas Bryant, Ephraim Fancher, Zephaniah Cornell, Moses Chamber- lin, Benjamin Fancher, Caleb Bush, Asa Baldwin, Samuel Baldwin, Philip Blair, Thurston Carr, Elisha Cole, Isaac Soule, Hiel Tupper, Ja- hez A. Birchard, David. Owen, Jeremiah Glover, Alhert Camp, Daniel Heman, Ebenezer Cohurn, H. P. Corhin, D. Taylor, Lemuel Walhridge, Leman Turrell, Canfield Stone, Philo Bostwick, Salmon Bradshaw, Bil- lings Babcock, Robinson Bolles, Zenas Bliss, John C. Sherman, Philo Morehouse, Reuben Faxon, Darius Bixby, Asahel South well, Asa Brown, Edward Cox, Peter Brown, Amory Nelson, William Chamberlin, Daniel Chamherlin, Moses W. Chamberlin, Luther Dean.

"From Northumberland the distance is ahout one hundred and twen- ty miles ; the road is up the river, by Wilkes-Barre and Tunkhannock, at which places it leaves the river and passes hy Montrose to Silver Lake. To Tunkhannock, ninety miles, the road is very good ; the greater part of the rest is bad, but is rapidly improving."

In 1818 the above was repeated with additional statements intended to induce immigration. The price of lands on the turnpikes was given at six dollars per acre, and for those off them at five dollars per acre. The terms were " the interest commencing at the time of the contract, to be paid at the end of three years, and one-fifth of the principal annually afterwards, making in all eight years."

Easy as these terms appear, many of the settlers could not make their payments when they fell due, and between April, 1813, and September, 1815, more than one hundred suits were entered against debtors by Dr. Rose. Nevertheless, his leniency is still remembered. A contemporary said of him: "It reflects no little honor on his memory that, notwith- standing the large amount owing him from a thousand different hands, yet from first to last he was never known to sell by process of law the per- sonal property of any one for the purpose of enforc- ing the collection of a debt."

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Prior to 1813 John L. Minkler, Isaac Howard, John Howard and Oliver C. Smith lived north of Quaker Lake. The latter was the architect of the first court-house, at Montrose, and built a grist-mill at where is now Brackney. Peleg Butts and his son Isaac also lived in Silver Lake at this period, but moved to Liberty, where he died. In 1814 Eli Meeker and his family came from Columbia County, N. Y., and settled north of Quaker Lake. He was a blacksmith, and put up the first shop in the town- ship, on the road along the lake-shore, where he carried on his trade many years. The sons of Eli Meeker were William, Samuel, Nelson, Eli, Joshua and Andrew, who have had numerous descendants, making this name as common in the township as that of Gage. Aaron Meeker, a brother of Eli, the elder, was the father of Reuben Meeker. They lived at Meeker's Pond, the most northern lake in the township.

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Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 94

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