USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Bridgeport > Hart's history and directory of the three towns, Brownsville, Bridgeport, West Brownsville also abridged history of Fayette county & western Pennsylvania > Part 3
USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > West Brownsville > Hart's history and directory of the three towns, Brownsville, Bridgeport, West Brownsville also abridged history of Fayette county & western Pennsylvania > Part 3
USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > Brownsville > Hart's history and directory of the three towns, Brownsville, Bridgeport, West Brownsville also abridged history of Fayette county & western Pennsylvania > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
21
Westmoreland County Formed
Paull was not born till six years after the destruction of Fort Necessity and his father did not come into this section till after that, the families might well have been located there and he not hear of it.
WESTMORELAND COUNTY FORMED.
When Westmoreland County was created it included all of the Province west of the Laurel Hill, vaguely called Southwestern Pennsylvania. It in- cluded the present counties of Westmoreland, Fayette, Greene, Washington, that part of AAllegheny and Beaver counties south of the Ohio river, about two- thirds of the county of Indiana and one-third of the county of Armstrong. Its area was about 4,700 square miles.
Many Scots came from the Cumberland valley and other points cast of the mountains and made their homes in the Ligonier Valley and all along the line from there to Pittsburgh. These were true to Pennsylvania from which Province they had obtained their grants. Other Scots came across the mountains from the valley of Virginia and settled along the Monongahela, the Youghiogheny and along Chartiers creek in what is now Washington county. These latter believed that the land upon which they settled was in the Old Dominion as it had not yet been determined how far west Penn- sylvania extended. This dispute of boundary is a matter of history that need not be repeated here suffice is to say that it resulted in no end of trouble and led to the troublesome Mason and Dixon Line with the history of which all readers are familiar.
DIVISION OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
However this vast territory was not destined long to remain as West- moreland County. March 28, 1781 Washington County was created from Westmoreland County territory and February 17, 1784, Fayette County as before stated was trimmed off Westmoreland. Her domain was again invaded September 24, 1788 when Allegheny County was formed, a part of Washington County being pressed into service to form the now famous county of Allegheny. The next year a little more was taken from Wash- ington County and added to Allegheny. The next division of the broad ex- panse originally Westmoreland County, was when on the 9th day of February, 1796, Greene County was carved out of Washington, but in 1802 a part of Greene was returned to Washington. Again on the 26th day of March, 1800 Beaver County was erected from parts of Washington and Alle- gheny. This was the last change made and what was left of Westmoreland as well as the counties formed from its original territory, have since re- mained as they were then.
Long before any real permanent settlements were made in what is now Fayette County, before the first expedition of Washington or of Braddock. Frenchmen had come into this part of the country and intermarrying with the Indians had formed villages at various points. Among these villages was said to be one on George's Creek in what is now George's township.
22
First Settlers in Fayette County
They were not permanent settlers, however, and whence they came or whither they went, is not definitely known.
There is really no absolute certainty as to who the first actual settlers of Fayette County were. We can only quote from the various compilation of facts or alleged facts that we have at hand and that come to us by tradition. Judge Veech who is probably the best authority, says that Wendell Brown and his two sons, Manus and Adam with possibly a third son, Thomas, were the first actual settlers in what is now Fayette County and that they first settled in Province Bottom just below Jacobs Creek in what is now Nicholson town- ship, in 1751-2. They were afterwards led to abandon this location by the Indians who persuaded them to select a location where now some of their descendants still reside and which is near the mouth of Redstone. It is said that when Washington was at Fort Necessity, they furnished him provisions but Veech rather discredits this.
FIRST SETTLERS IN WHAT IS NOW FAYETTE COUNTY.
Early in 1753 we also find William Stewart located on the Youghiogheny at what was for a long time known as Stewart's Crossing but is now New Haven, in Dunbar township.
In 1761 we find both William Colvin and William, Jacobs located on Red- stone near Fort Burd.
About this time the settlements at Redstone, Gist's, Turkeyfoot and on the Cheat, commenced to grow rapidly. These were all under the impression that the land on which they were settling was within the domain of Virginia. It was at this time that the controversy came up as to what Province the land belonged or rather as to who had jurisdiction over it, because it seems that both the Province of Virginia and Pennsylvania conceded that it as yet belonged to the Six Nations.
Prior to the influx from the east, the Indians had been committing no end of depredations on the western border, but the chastisement that General Bouquet gave them on the Muskingum over in what is now Ohio, brought them to their senses and the security that followed accounted for the rapid growth of the above-named settlements.
ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE FIRST SETTLERS.
However the holders of real estate in Fayette County were compelled to do more fighting for their possessions. They found that the savages were not the only ones that wished to dispossess them. About this time the King of England through the Governor of the Province of Virginia, made an effort to stop further settlements in Fayette County and to remove those who had already settled. This was done on the grounds that the Indians were com- plaining of encroachments, whether with or without foundation, we will leave to the closer student of history, but it seems from information at hand that
23
The Mason and Dixon Line
the King and the Governors were making more trouble than the savages just then, as will be seen later on. At any rate Captain Alex. Mackay with a de- tachment of troops, was sent to Fort Burd to order the settlers away. Very few of them left, however, and the militia soon withdrew This was in 1766. However, in 1767 troops were again sent to Fort Burd to warn settlers out of the forbidden territory and this time many were actually driven away but as soon as the troops were withdrawn, they returned. They seemed determined to stay with the soil of old Fayette County or what afterwards became Fayette County.
THE MASON AND DIXON LINE-PENNSYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA.
The extension of the Mason and Dixon line to the second crossing of Dunk- ard Creek during 1767 disclosed the fact that this territory was in Pennsyl- vania and not in Virginia, and the Governor of Pennsylvania then issued an ironclad proclamation threatening death without even the solace of a clergy- man, to those who did not vacate. To explain the law and the ultimatum, Governor Penn sent Rev. Captain Steele of the Presbyterian church of Car- lisle, Cumberland County, John Allison, Christopher Lewis, and Captain Porter, into the valleys of the Monongahela, Youghiogheny and Redstone. These gentlemen held a meeting at Fort Burd or near it, March 27, 1767, at which they read the Governor's proclamation and explained the reasons for it but just about this time a number of Indians came on the scene as representa- tives of their great men and said that the settlers should not go till the con- clusion of a treaty then pending. This virtually settled it and the settlers did not go. Another meeting was held at Gist's, however, but with no better results and shortly afterward the commissioners returned home. In their report of the mission, they gave the names of the settlers at the different points which as it shows virtually the entire population or the heads of families then in Fayette County, we here append the list as it appears in Ellis' History of Fayette County.
LIST OF SETTLERS AT REDSTONE OLD FORT, GIST'S, TURKEY- FOOT.
"The names of inhabitants near Redstone :- John Wiseman, Henry Prisser, William Linn, William Colvin, John Vervalson, Abraham Tygard, Thomas Brown, Richard Rogers, Henry Swatz (Swartz), Joseph McClean, Jesse Mar- tin, Adam Hatton, John Verwall, Jr., James Waller, Thomas Douter (Douthet who owned a part of the site of Uniontown), Captain Coburn, John Delong, Peter Young, George Martin, Thomas Down, Andrew Gudgeon, Philip Sute, James Crawford, John Peters, Michael Hooter, Andrew Linn, Gabriel Conn, John Martin, Hans Cook, Daniel McKay, Josias Crawford, one Province."
"The names of some who met us at Giesse's (Gist's) place :- One Bloom- field (probably Brownfield), James Lynn, Ezekiel Johnson, Richard Har- rison, Phil Sute, Jed Johnson, Thomas Geisse (Gist), Charles Lindsay, James
24
List of Settlers at Redstone Old Fort
Wallace (Waller), Henry Burkman, Lawrence Harrison. Ralph Hicken- bottom."
"Names of the people at Turkey Foot :- Henry Abrahams, Ezekiel De Witt, James Spencer, Benjamin Jennings, John Cooper, Ezekiel Hickman, John Enslow, Henry Enslow, Benjamin Pursley."
In a supplemental report, Steele set forth the fact to the Governor that the people at Redstone alleged that the removal of them from the unpurchased lands was a scheme of some gentlemen and merchants at Philadelphia to get hold of the lands as soon as the purchase was made from the Indians and thus get the benefits of the improvements they had made. He cited the fact, in confirmation of their opinions, that they said a gentleman named Harris in company with another named Wallace and one named Friggs, the latter a pilot, had spent considerable time that summer in viewing the lands and creeks thereabouts. Continuing, the Rev. Mr. Steele said: "I am of the opinion from the appearance the people made, there are about an hundred and fifty families in the different settlements of Redstone, Youghiogheny, and Cheat." This estimate was intended to include all the settlers in what is now Fayette County and the, about eight, families on the east side of the Youghiogheny at Turkey Foot.
It will be noticed that the list of these commissioners did not include many settlers who are known to have been here and to have been of more than ordinary prominence. Among them may be named Christopher and Richard Gist, William Cromwell, William Stewart of the "Crossings," Captain William Crawford, who had been settled near the "Crossings" for about three years; Hugh Stevenson, on the Youghiogheny; Martin Hardin (father of Colonel John Hardin), on Georges Creek; John McKibben, on Dun- lap's Creek, and others.
About a month after the commissioners had met with the people at Red- stone and at other places in this vicinity, they met with the government's agents and representatives of the Six Nations in what is now Pittsburg and made a desperate effort to get the Indians to join them in ordering the whites from their homes here in Fayette County, but it seems that the Indians had more honor in the matter than the government representatives and finally absolutely refused to have anything to do with it, telling the government's agents and representatives that they did not desire the white settlers driven from their homes because they would only come back as soon as the govern- ment had bought the lands from them (the Indians) and then would not feel kindly towards them for having taken part in driving them away. Thus ended the effort to expel the settlers from their chosen domain.
Fayette County History
GROWTH OF POPULATION-ORGANIZATION OF COURTS-FIRST COUNTY OFFI- CIALS AND ATTORNEYS- PRESENT COUNTY OFFICIALS-PRESENT AT- TORNEYS OF FAYETTE COUNTY-THE POOR FARM-NAMES AND NUMBER OF TOWNSHIPS AND WHEN ERECTED-FIRST COAL DISCOVERED AND USED IN FAYETTE COUNTY-FIRST MANUFACTURE OF COKE-IRON INDUSTRY IN FAYETTE COUNTY-VARIOUS SOCIETIES-GEOLOGY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
GROWTH OF POPULATION.
From 1767 to the erection of the county in 1783 the increase of population in the county or in what is now Fayett County, was phenomenal. This was partly due to the fact that it was directly on the line of travel from Cumber- land to Fort Pitt or what is now Pittsburg, and because what is now Fayette County, was singularly free from the incursions of the Indians that committed so many and such atrocious depredations in other sections of what was then Westmoreland County, particularly that portion east of the Monongahela river. There were also other causes among them the fact that the country abounded in game, in springs and streams of pure water, the soil is rich and last, but by no means least, because the men who settled here first were men of energy and ability and their judicious enthusiasm was contagious.
The lines of Fayette County as established in 1783, were extended in 1784 to include all that portion of the present county that lies north and east of the Youghiogheny river.
Immediately after the organization of the county there was considerable trouble about the collection of the taxes that had already been levied when the county was formed. It was ruled that these taxes should be collected and paid into the treasury of Westmoreland County. This trouble was most manifest in what is now Menallen township and in the country along Georges Creek. All these things, however, were more the result of the transition from the free-and-easy methods of frontier life to the more circumspect man- ner of civil procedure than anything else and soon disappeared.
SLAVERY AND SERVITUDE IN FAYETTE COUNTY.
Of the people who emigrated from the cast to settle west of the Laurel Hill prior to 1780, a large proportion were from Virginia and Maryland, and many of those who had held slaves east of the mountains brought those slaves with them to their new homes in the west, for at that time the laws of Pennsyl- vania recognized and tolerated the "peculiar institution" as fully as did those of Virginia. Among these were the Crawfords, Stevensons, Harrisons,
26
Slavery in Fayette County
MeCormicks, Vance, Wilson, and others. A most distinguished (though non- resident) holder of bondmen in Fayette County was George Washington, whose improvements on his large tract of land in the present township of Perry near Perryopolis were made principally by their labor. Frequent al- lusions to these "servants" are found in letters addressed to Colonel Washington in 1774 and 1775 by Valentine Crawford, who resided on Jacob's Creek, and acted as general agent in charge of Washington's lands and affairs of improvement in this region.
On the first of March, 1780, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania passed "An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, " which provided and declared "That all persons, as well as Negros, and Mulattoes as others, who shall be born within the State from and after the passing of this act, shall not be deemed and considered as servants for life or slaves; and that all servitude for life or slavery of children in consequence of the slavery of their mothers, in the case of all children born within this State from and after the passing of this act as aforesaid, shall be and hereby is utterly taken away, extinguished, and forever abolished. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That every Negro and Mulatto child born within this State after the passing of this act as aforesaid (who would in case this act had not been made have been born a servant for years, or life, or a slave) shall be deemed to be, and shall be by virtue of this act, the servant of such person, or his or her assigns, who would in such case have been entitled to the service of such child, until such child shall attain unto the age of twenty-eight years, in the manner and on the conditions whereon servants bound by indenture for four years are or may be retained and holden."
The passage of the law for the gradual abolition of slavery in Pennsylvania was very offensive to most of those who had come into this region with their servants from the other side of Mason and Dixon's line. It has been said (but with how much of truth is not known) that General Washington was greatly displeased by the enactment, and the story even goes so far as to as- sert that he regarded it as a personal affront, and that this was the cause of his disposing of his real and personal property in Fayette County. How- ever this may have been, it is certain that a large proportion of the Virginians and Marylanders who had settled with their slaves west of the Laurel Hill be- came so incensed at the adoption of this measure, and the establishment at about the same time of the boundry line, by which, to their surprise, they found themselves in Pennsylvania and not within the bounds of Virginia, as they had supposed, that they sold out their possessions in the Monongahela country and removed with their slaves to the Southwest. This was one of the principal causes for the commencement of the very extensive emigration from this section of the country to Kentucky, which set in about 1780, and continued during a succeeding period of ten or fifteen years.
Among the number of residents of Fayette County who registered slaves under the requirements of the law of 1780 are found the following-named persons :
Edward Cook, registered Oct. 12, 1780, seven slaves, viz: James, aged 45; Sall, 35; Davy, 24; Josua, 22; Esther, 17; Nelly, 16; and Sue, 1 year.
27
Courts Organized-First Attorneys
Zachariah Connell, Oct. 28, 1780, two slaves, viz .: Tom, aged 32, and Luce, 40.
Thomas Brown, Dec. 27, 1782, six slaves.
William McCormick, Dec. 30, 1782, five slaves.
James Finley, 1781 and 1782, eight slaves.
Van Swearingen, 1780, nine slaves, and in 1781 four more.
William Goe, 1782, ten slaves.
Robert Beall, 18 slaves; Walter Brisco, 9; Margaret Hutton, 9; Isaac Mea- son, 8: James Cross, 8; Andrew Linn, 7; Sarah Harding, 7; Nancy Brashears, 12; Richard Noble, 7; Benjamin Stevens, 6; James Dearth, 6; John Steveson, 5; Samuel Kincaid, 5; Peter Laughlin, 5; John Mckibben, 5: Edmund Free- man, 4; James Blackiston, 4; Isaac Pierce, 4; Agustine Moore, 4; Hugh Laugh- lin, 4; Benjamin Davis, 4; James Hammond, 4. Each of the following-named registered three slaves, viz .: Providence Mounts, John Minter, Margaret Vance, William Harrison, Dennis Springer, Thomas Moore, Joseph Grabel, Robert Harrison, Isaac Newman, John Wells. Among those who registered two slaves cach were Richard Stevenson. John Harding, Mark Harding, Robert Ross, Philip Shute, John Mason, John Laughlin, Otho Brashears, Jonathan Arnold, and Rezin Virgin. There were also many others who had slaves.
COURTS ORGANIZED-FIRST ATTORNEYS.
The same act of Assembly that erected Fayette County also provided that the Justices of the Peace then commissioned and residing within the territory, or any three of them, could hold Courts of General Quarter Ses- sions of the peace and such other courts as the business of the community or the county demanded.
Under this provision the first term of Court of Quarter Sessions and Com- mon Pleas was held in the schoolhouse at Uniontown, on the fourth Monday of December, 1783, before Philip Rogers, Esq., and his associates. The first business of the court was the admission of attorneys, and the first attorneys admitted to the bar in Fayette County were Thomas Scott, Hugh M. Brecken- ridge, David Bradford, Michael Huffnagle, George Thompson, Robert Gal- braith, Samuel Irwin, and David Redick.
NUMBER AND NAMES OF TOWNSHIPS-WHEN ERECTED.
At this same session of court the following townships were created: Wash- ington, Franklin, Luzerne, Menallen, Union, German, Georges, Spring Hill, and Wharton. Since then the following townships were erected: Tyrone, March, 1784; Bullskin, March, 1784; Redstone, December, 1797, Salt Lick, December, 1797; Dunbar, December, 1798; Bridgeport, November, 1815; Brownsville, November, 1817: Connellsville, October 31, 1822; Henry Clay, June 9, 1824; Perry, June 7, 1839; Jefferson, June, 1840; Nicholson, Decem- ber 19, 1845: Youghiogheny, December 11, 1847; Springfield, March 10, 1849;
2
28
First County Officials
North and South Union, March 11, 1851; Stewart, March, 1855; at which time the township of Youghiogheny ceased to exist, a part of its territory being included in Stewart, and the remainder was annexed to Springfield. In September, 1877, Tyrone Township was divided and formed into the two townships of Upper and Lower Tyrone.
Concerning this first court, Ephriam Douglas in a letter to President Dick- inson, under date of February 2, 1784, and written from Uniontown, says: "The courts were opened for this county on the 23d of December last; the gathering of people was pretty numerous, and I was not alone in fearing that we should have had frequent proofs of that turbulence of spirit with which they have been so generally, perhaps so justly, stigmatized, but I now take great satisfaction in doing them the justice to say that they behaved to a man with good order and decency. Our grand jury was really respectable, equal. at least, to many I have seen in courts of long standing."
FIRST COUNTY OFFICIALS.
The following is a list of the first officials of the different departments, who served after the organization of the county. It should perhaps be stated here that until 1839 there was no election of sheriff, prothonotary, treasurer, register, recorder, clerk of orphans' court, or coroner. Up until this time these officers were appointed by the court. The first election of surveyor took place in 1805 and the first election of auditor, in 1809.
For three years after the organization of the county, it had no sheriff but the sheriff of Westmoreland County filled the position.
First Sheriff (appointed) Robert Orr, 1784.
First Sheriff (elected) William Morris, 1841.
First Prothonotary (appointed) Ephraim Douglass, 1783.
First Prothonotary (elected) Daniel Kaine, 1842.
First County Commissioners, Zachariah Connell, Joseph Caldwell, Thomas Gaddis, 1787.
The first Clerk of the Board of Commissioners of which there is any record was in 1796 when Andrew Oliphant filled that position.
First County Treasurer (appointed) Ephraim Douglas, 1784.
First Treasurer (elected) William B. Roberts, 1839.
First Register of Deeds who it seems was also Recorder of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court, (appointed) Alexander McClean, 1783 served till 1833.
First Register, Recorder and Clerk (elected) Joseph Gadd, 1842.
First Coroner (appointed) Henry Beeson, 1786.
First Coroner (elected) James C. Cummings, 1841.
First Surveyors (appointed) Archibald McClean, A. Lane, Alexander Mc- Clean, Moses McClean, served 1769 to 1772.
First Surveyor (elected) James Snyder, 1850.
First Auditors (appointed) Alexander McClean, Presley Carr Lane and Nathaniel Breading, 1791.
First Auditors (elected) Joseph Torrence, William Linn and Thomas Col- lins, 1809.
29
Present County Officials
First President Judge of the courts of this judicial district. Nathaniel Ewing, 1838-48.
For a number of years after the organization of the county, the work of the district attorney was done by a deputy attorney-general. R. Galbraith was the first to serve in this capacity, under William Bradford, 1792. Prior to this time the work was done by the attorney-general. The first District Attorney elected was Everard Bierer, 1850.
PRESENT COUNTY OFFICIALS.
Judges, E. H. Reppert and R. E. Umbel.
District Attorney, A. E. Jones.
Assistant District Attorney, Thomas Hudson.
Sheriff, S. E. Frock.
Register and Recorder, Logan Rush.
Prothonotary, P. E. Sheppard. Treasurer, R. H. MeLain.
Commissioners, M. E. Townsend, A. J. Stentz. J. S. Graham.
Poor Directors, A. E. Mosier, O. G. Chick. T. H. Ryan Auditors, Newton Newcomer, J. H. Humbertson, James Rhodes.
Steward County Home, Joseph Miller. Coroner, A. C. Hagan.
LIST OF PRESENT ATTORNEYS.
The following is a list of attorneys of the Fayette County bar and among them are many whose fame is not confined to Fayette County nor to the State of Pennsylvania, while not a few have been honored with the highest political offices in the gift of the people of the county, Congressional, Legis- lative or Judicial District :
UNIONTOWN.
J. B. Adams A. P. Austin
William Beeson
John Bierer A. D. Boyd
S. P. Boyd E. W. Boyd
John Boyle Edward D. Brown Edward Campbell W. N. Carr J. H. Carroll J. S. Christy C. D. Clark
D. M. Hertzog
Wm. A. Hogg
R. F. Hopwood Monroe Hopwood George D. Howell
T. J. Hudson
D. W. Henderson
George B. Jefferies A. E. Jones W. L. Johnson Thomas P. Jones George B. Kain Charles F. Kefover R. P. Kennedy
30
Courthouse, Sheriff's Residence and Jail
M. M. Cochran
T. S. Lackey
J. H. Collins
R. H. Lindsey
A. F. Cooper
W. C. McKean
J. M. Core
D. W. McDonald
J. R. Cray
J. T. Miller
W. E. Crow
L. L. Minor
Harry A. Cottom
W. P. Parshall
Percy B. Cochran
Ira E. Partridge
R. W. Dawson
J. M. Oglevee
J. E. Dawson
R. W. Playford
H. F. Detwiler
George Patterson
H. S. Dumbauld
H. L. Robinson
T. W. Dawson
F. P. Rush
J. K. Ewing
C. W. Rush
Nathaniel Ewing
B F. Sterling
S. E. Ewing
Daniel Sturgeon
J. H. Field
W. J. Sturgis
L. H. Frasher
Lee Smith
F. M. Fuller
J. Q. Van Swearingen
E. D. Fulton
T. R. Wakefield
E. Dale Field
R. D. Warman
WV. L. Gans
A. D. Williams
A. C. Hagan
J. C. Work
CONNELLSVILLE.
Wm. H. Brown S. R. Smith
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