History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 105

Author: Smith, Robert Walter
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : Waterman, Watkins
Number of Pages: 790

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This tract was named after Strabane, a municipal borough and market town in the county of Tyrone,

in the province of Ulster, Ireland, and is situated opposite Lifford, on the Mourne, which is there spanned by a bridge, near its confluence with the Finn and Foyle, and is now a railway station. Its trade is facilitated by a canal from it to the point where the Foyle becomes navigable for barges of forty tons. Adjacent to Strabane is a salmon fishery. The population of this town, some years ago, was 4,896.

Adjoining "Strabane" on the east in a large scope of apparently unsurveyed territory or blank space on the Gapen map, is on the other deprecia- tion lot No. 276, in shape a rectangular parallelo- gram, for which, called "Unequal Contest," the patent was granted to William Findley, Novem- ber 20, 1786, as containing 27616 acres, which he conveyed to Francis and Samuel Robinson, No- vember 7, 1806, for $736.80, 50 acres and 79 perches of which they conveyed to Margaret Peebles, April 24, 1821, for $200, and 11I acres and 55 perches to John Summerville, October 20, 1827, for $200. Samuel released 121 acres to Francis Robinson, November 3, for five shillings, who conveyed the same to Sarah Robinson, November 11, 1831, for $1.

Adjoining "Unequal Contest" on the east is depreciation lot No. 283, another of William Find- ley's tracts, 22016 acres, which he conveyed to David Reed, June 5, 1815, for $200, being the tract on which Reed and his family had then "resided for several years," who by his will, dated May 28, 1838, and registered Jannary 19, 1839, devised the part of it west of Glade run to his son David, sub- ject to the proper maintenance of the latter's mother during the rest of her life, and the pay- ment of $50 to John Reed with interest thereon from the year 1803. That part of it east of Glade run he agreed, March 19, 1834, to sell to Jacob Denny, of Pittsburgh, for $338, of which $238 re- mained unpaid at his death. No deed for it hav- ing been executed by him in his lifetime, the specific performance of the contract was decreed by

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EAST FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

the proper court, December 16, 1839, and his execu- tors, John Reed and John Summeal, conveyed 104 acres and 91 perches, neat measure, or 98 acres and 110 perches and allowance, according to the survey of B. Meredith, September 8, 1838, to Denny, March 30, 1840, for $313, which was probably the balance of purchase-money and interest then due. It subsequently became vested in Alexander Mc- Nickle, and was among other parcels conveyed by Chambers Orr, sheriff, to Robert Buchanan, March 17, 1841, for $136, having then 20 acres cleared, 5 of which were meadow, a log cabin and small stable, and which Buchanan conveyed to Isaac Wible, March 23, 1853, for $550.

Adjoining the southern part of No. 283 and the northern part of "Center Hill" on the east is depreciation lot No. 288, 23516 acres, called "Specu- lation," which, like its southern adjoiner, "Liberty Hall," became vested in Robert Morris, Jr., who conveyed it to Wilson Hunt, May 21, 1796, for " five shillings and other valuable considerations." It was sold for taxes by John Sloan, then sheriff of Westmoreland county, to Samuel Murphy and James Sloan, October 13, 1807, for $4.77, and which they released to Hunt, October 14, 1812, for $20. It became vested in Alexander Colwell, who con- veyed it to his brother William, to whom it was surveyed by J. E. Meredith, March 30, 1838.

Adjoining "Speculation " on the north is depre- ciation lot No. 289, hexagonal, 284 acres, called " Pleasant Grove," whose northwestern part or tongue extends across Glade run, bounding the eastern part of No. 283 on the north, for which the patent was granted to John McCullough, of Phila- delphia, January 22, 1792, which his executor, Dr. Samuel McCullough, agreed to sell to Isaac Wible for $2,850, one-half of which was paid before that executor's death, and on taking security for the other half Dr. John McCullough, administrator de bonis non, etc., conveyed the entire tract to Wible, January 1, 1839.

In and after 1811, Thomas Barr, afterward deputy surveyor for this county, taught school in a log schoolhouse on that part of "Pleasant Grove" near the present site of Isaac Wible's house. His scholars barred him out for three days from Jan- uary 1, 1812, as related to the writer by one of his pupils. He attempted to smoke them out by cov -. ering the top of the chimney with boards and placing himself on them. They thrust the long poles, with which they had provided themselves, up the chimney and threw him off into the snow. With hair-springs he threw pins at them, from which the eyes of some of them barely escaped severe and permanent injury. He then ascended

the roof, tore off some of the roof-boards, and de- scended to the schoolroom. Some of the pupils seized him by his legs and others by his arms and ejected him into the snow. After a three days' struggle he capitulated, and signed a written agree- ment to furnish his conquerors with a bushel of apples and four or five gallons of cider, with which he complied .* The door was then unbarred, and the usual scholastic exercises were resumed in that primitive temple of knowledge.

Adjoining "Speculation " on the east is the Cog- ley-Ross-Huston land, heretofore mentioned,t ad- joining the southern part of which on the east is a tract, a rectangular parallelogram, 100 acres, sur- veyed to John McAnninch, on which he settled probably before 1800; with 75 acres of which, 1 horse and 2 cows, he was assessed in 1805, and the next year at $62. He continued to be assessed with the land until 1834. This is probably a part of a larger tract which included the hereto- fore-mentioned Joseph Cogley tracts, which was assessed to Nathaniel George in 1805, and respect- ing which Rachel Jones and John McIninch en- tered into a written agreement, August 16, 1797, the substance of which was, that Rachel and Jolin should keep settled for George for five years " a certain tract of land, situate on Slippery Rock path, bounded by James Cogley, Sr., N. 87 E. 343, and by Daniel McClelland, 87 W., 240 perches," to clear and put under fence 8 or more acres, and convey to him the remainder of the tract left after deducting 50 acres containing the improvement to be made by them, for which George was to give them "a clear deed out of the office," £5 in store goods and £5 in cash. George's inchoate title does not appear from the records to have been per- fected. McIninch conveyed 99 acres to Asa Free- man, April 6, 1834, for $450.

Adjoining that McIninch tract and the northern part of the Huston parcel on the east is a long and rather narrow tract, 330 acres and 250 perches, extending to the Allegheny river, which was sur- veyed to John Scott, on a warrant dated January 22, 1794. Scott conveyed his interest to Charles Campbell and James Sloan ("Col."), May 30, 1799, about which time the latter settled on it, kept a ferry and the only hotel in this region for several years, and where he resided when he was appointed a trustee of this county. He was assessed with 200 acres, 2 distilleries, 3 horses, 4 cattle and 1 ferry, in 1805, at $402 ; but the next year his valuation was only $250. He conveyed his interest to Paul Morrow, September 15, 1813, for $1,980 ; Campbell

* Vide Plum Creek.

t Vide North Buffalo.

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

conveyed his interest to Robert Brown, October 15, 1821, for $1,100, “ on which Brown and Sloan had formerly resided," which Brown conveyed to Morrow, July 13, 1825, for $5,000, to whom the pat- ent for the whole tract was granted, March 22, 1826. Morrow reconveyed 165 acres of the northern part to Brown, February 21, 1827, for $2,500, one- half of which the latter conveyed to his brother, Joseph Brown, September 9, 1836, in “ considera- tion of $I and the improvements made on the premises," who was first assessed with his ferry across from here to Kittanning in 1833. James E. Brown was first assessed with saltworks on this parcel in 1835, and continued to be until 1840, the last two years to his father and heirs, which yielded daily 5 or 6 barrels. Peter Bellas fell into one of the salt-boilers Wednesday, January 29, 1835, and was so severely scalded that he died that evening.

Robert Brown conveyed the undivided one-half of this parcel, and the heirs of Joseph Brown the other half, to Philip Mechling, October 14, 1846, for $5,800. There is on the southern part of it an ancient pile of stones, such as the Indians placed over their dead. Morrow conveyed the southern parcel of this tract to William Phillips June 10, 1828, who conveyed 154 acres and 158 perches to Asa Freeman, August 10, 1832, for $1,000. Free- man conveyed 72 acres and 150 perches, partly of this tract and partly of what McIninch had con- veyed to him, included in patent to Freeman, August 10, 1832, to Conrad Reiter, April 9, 1846, for $442 ; and 92 acres and 15 perches to John Portsmouth, April 4, 1852, for $2302.34, which the latter conveyed to James Mosgrove, October 2, 1858, for $4,800.

Adjoining the western part of that Scott-Brown- Morrow tract and its western adjoiner, the Hus- ton tract, for which Freeman probably obtained a patent, on the north is depreciation lot No. 293, a rectangular parallelogram, 2161% acres, the pat- ent for which was granted to John McCullough, January 22, 1792, and which Dr. Samuel McCul- lough conveyed to James Blair, August 8, 1844, for $2169, on which he had resided from 1840, while he was county commissioner. By his will, dated September 20, 1875,* he devised 103 acres of the southern part to his son Joseph, and the residue to his son Henry, subject to an annuity of $300, to be paid by them to their mother during the rest of her life.

Adjoining the southern part of No. 293 on the east is a trapezoidal-shaped tract, rather narrow, extending from the river back on the hill, 201 acres and 55 perches, on which John Cunningham made

an improvement and settlement, probably about 1800, by virtue of which it was surveyed to him by Ross, deputy surveyor, Jannary 7, 1807, with which he was assessed, and with 1 distillery and 1 cow, in 1805, at $176. A teacher by the name of Beard taught a school of thirty scholars, some of whom resided three and four miles distant on Glade run and elsewhere, in 1808-9, in a log cabin about 16×16 feet, on the hill part of this tract. The patent was granted to him September 10, 1824. He conveyed 10 acres and 118 perches to his son Will- iam, October 8, for $1,000, at the river, and hence called Williamsburgh, where the latter established his chain ferry, mentioned in the sketch of the borough of Kittanning, on which a hotel has been kept by various persons for many years. He and Philip Mechling were first assessed with their saltworks on this parcel in 1835. They bored a well the usual depth, but some oil and considerable gas rendered it unprofitable as a salt- well, and it was abandoned. While it was being operated Philip Templeton was in the upper part of the derrick one day, when the gas became ignited, and he was for awhile in danger of being burned. George Monroe was assessed as a mer- chant at this point in 1836, and Philip Temple- ton in 1841. Philip Mechling was first assessed with the ferry here in 1846.

John Cunningham, Sr. and Jr., conveyed 1} acres adjoining the river to William Boney and William Herron, January 10, 1840, for $12, on which Boney erected a carding-machine in 1844, with which he continued to be assessed until they conveyed 6 acres adjoining the river on the east and Philip Mechling's parcel on the south, to Robert Robinson, February 18, 1846, for $360, with the privilege of taking coal from their farm, and which he christened "Linden " in 1848, from a linden tree on the river bank, and his preference for the " sage of Lindenwald," who was then the presidential candidate of the free democracy, which he conveyed to Philip K. Bowman, Jan- mary 15, 1850, for $300, on which the latter and James S. Quigley were first assessed with a steam sawmill in 1852. Bowman conveyed his interest in this parcel to Quigley, April 2, 1857, for $2,800, who continned to operate the mill until he sold the land, mill and several houses to George W. Cook and James G. Henry for $16,000. His deed to them is dated May 14, 1869. They operated the mill until Henry sold his interest to James Cathers, which has since continued to be operated by Cook & Cathers .*

John Cunningham laid out the town of Belleville

* Registered June 9, 1877.

* The mill was burned in October, 1876.

499

EAST FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

on the hill part of his tract, nearly equally divided as to the number of lots by the Butler and Kittan- ning turnpike, consisting of 46 lots, which were sur- veyed by James Stewart January 24, 1855, 33 of them being rectangular parallelograms, each 66×165 feet, the others varying in shape and areas. Lots Nos. 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, containing about 2 acres and fronting on the northwestern side of the Freeport road, were con- veyed -- 1863, by John Barnett and Mark B. Colwell to George Bowser, for $300.

One of the frame schoolhouses of Franklin town- ship was located, a short distance back from the river, on this parcel, which was abandoned a short time since, and a brick one erected in its stead on the south side of the Kittanning and Butler turn- pike, on the brow of the hill, on the Cunningham tract.

Adjoining that tract on the north is depreciation lot No. 302, 274 acres and 71 perches, the patent for which was granted to Andrew Porter in Janu- ary, 1792, who conveyed it to his son, George B. Porter, March 18, 1812, for $1 and " natural love and affection," who by his will, dated March 25, 1830, devised it to his wife, Sarah H. Porter, who conveyed it to Peter Graff, June 24, 1850, for $3,224.72. The latter conveyed 138 acres and 100 perches of the southern part to Joseph Brown, May 26, 1851, for $1,612. Brown laid out the town of Linden, called after the parcel so named by Robert Robinson, into - lots, each fronting 6 rods on the river and extending back to the brow of the hill, and containing nearly an acre, and which were surveyed by J. E. Meredith, Monday, March 24, 1851. Brown conveyed 150 perches, with the privilege of drifting and mining coal, iron ore, limestone, etc., the width of this parcel, through to the line between this and the tracts adjoining it on the west, to Hugh Campbell, May 29, 1851, for $198; two small parcels, aggregating 1 acre and 156 perches, with like mineral privilege, to Alexander Colwell, the same day, for $250.

Graff conveyed, in pursuance of a previous con- tract, 132 acres of the northern part to J. Alexan- der Fulton, January 6, 1865, for $6,276, on which the latter planted a valuable orchard, and made other improvements, in the interval of several years between the date of the agreement with and the conveyance of Graff to him, and then conveyed the same quantity, known as " Clara Vista," to Robert Criswell, January 7, for $16,000, to whose estate it still belongs.

Adjoining No. 202 on the west is depreciation lot No. 292, 2493 acres, " on the waters of Beaver creek," which was surveyed by Joshua Elder, Octo-

ber 21, 1785, and was sold at public auction to John McCullongh, who released his interest therein to Andrew Porter, to whom the patent for it, called "Hop Yard," was granted January 22, 1792, and which was included in the latter's gift to his son, George B. Porter. The latter, adjutant-general of Pennsylvania, conveyed it to George Beitz, Jr., of Manor township, Lancaster county, February 14, 1828, for $873, from whom it was sold by Jacob Mechling, sheriff, who conveyed it to Pherson Campbell, September 26, 1829, who was the next year assessed with a distillery. He conveyed 1242 acres to John Brown, the present owner of most of this parcel, December 27, 1830, for $374.25. The latter sold 21 acres and 13 perches of the south- eastern part to William McAninch for building him a barn, which Margaret McAninch, as sur- viving administratrix of her husband's estate, con- veyed to Gabriel P. Lobeau, December 30, 1837, for $120. This parcel of " Hop Yard " afterward became vested in James P. Wick, who conveyed it to James E. Brown, January 16, 1846 ; Brown to John Morgan, June 14, 1847, for $400; Morgan to Robert R. Fleming, April 5, 1850 ; and Flem- ing to John Donaldson, to whose estate it belongs, April 1, 1854, for $630, who, soon after his pur- chase, planted upon it a large nursery, containing various species of the fruits that flonrish in this region, and of evergreens, which aided essentially in introducing into various parts of this county a better quality of fruit.

Pherson Campbell assigned the other portion of " Hop Yard," together with his other property, April 14, 1832, to Peter Rummell, for the benefit of his creditors, directing that a judgment in favor of Robert and Chambers Orr be first paid out of the proceeds of sale. Before he found a purchaser it was sold by Chambers Orr, sheriff, to Rummell, who conveyed it, 125 acres, to Jonathan Whitesell, the present owner, January 1, 1839, for $1,000.

Adjoining " Hop Yard" on the west is depreci- ation lot No. 291, 210 acres, the patent for which, called "L'Orient," was granted to Peter B. Audi- bert, and was included in Sheriff Brown's sale to Joseph Audibert, who conveyed it to Gabriel P. Loeben, May 20, 1817, for $1,200. The latter con- veyed 150 acres to Michael Red, December 28, 1819, for $1,100, for which he took the vendee's mortgage, which, it is presumed, was not paid, as Red reconveyed to Loeben, February 13, 1821, for the same consideration. Loeben conveyed all of "L'Orient" to Alexis Jordell, April 29, 1822, for $800, which the latter transferred to Bakewell Page, February 17, 1827, for $1 and other " valua-

500

HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

ble considerations," as the record shows. But the record also shows that Loeben conveyed all of No. 291, "L'Orient," to William Shultz, January 22, 1833, for $1,000, who conveyed it to James Thomp- son, April 13, 1837, for $2,700, who, by his will, dated April 9, 1855, and registered April 21, de- vised it to his son, James A. Thompson, the pres- ent owner.

This tract was, of course, called after the seaport of that name, 350 miles southwest from Paris, on the bay of Port Louis, at the mouth of the river Scorf, in the department of Morbabon, France.

Adjoining " L'Orient" on the west is depreciation lot No. 290, included in Joseph Audibert's sale to Loeben, who conveyed the northern part of it, and the southern part of depreciation lot No. 306, 177 acres and 138 perches, to Joseph Boney, February 5, 1839, for $1,760. The latter conveyed 6 acres and 110 perches, to George Bowser, April 12, 1852 ; 20 acres and 38 perches to John Bradford, October 5, 1854, for $621 ; and 124 acres and 101 perches to John M. Thompson, November 25, 1855, for $3,395. Loeben's executor, James Amstrong, con- veyed 50 acres of the southern part of No. 290 to Anna Regina Erfmans, September 17, 1852, which she conveyed to James Noble, August 12, 1867, for $700.

Joseph Audibert, by Loeben, his agent and attorney, conveyed 10 acres, in the central part of the tract, to George Bowser, January 5, 1836, for $50, on which, or on the parcel which he purchased from Boney, he erected a sawmill in 1841, and a gristmill in 1843, which and these 2 parcels he conveyed to John Burford, April 17, 1852, for $1,000, and which the latter, together with 42 acres which he had purchased from Jonas Bowser, April 6, 1853, and 28 acres and 38 perches, from Boney, October 5, 1854, conveyed to James Noble, March 14, 1856, for $4,000 .*

In pursuance of a previous call, a meeting of landowners was held Saturday afternoon, May 28, 1870, at James Noble's house, the object of which was to consider the practicability of organizing an oil company, to develop the territory along Glade run. It was a respectably large assemblage, and considerable enthusiasm was evinced. Fifty acres of land and $1,000, it was stated, had already been subscribed to drill a test well at some point on that stream. Among those present were ex-Gov- ernor Johnston, Judge Boggs and the writer. The two former were quite sanguine that a test well or two would develop oil in the valley of Glade run,

The writer, in the course of his remarks, referred to the geological features of this valley, as found in Rogers' Geology of Pennsylvania, from which he concluded that the first, second and third sand- rocks, of the Venango region, if present here, are respectively 1,150, 1,350 and 1,550 feet, more or less, below the bed of that run, and directed the attention of those present to the undulation, which Rogers says " is suspected to pass from Scrub- Grass creek through the neighborhood of Allegheny Furnace, causing local northwest dips," and to the general fact "that these undulations of the strata are in the form of long, parallel waves, resembling much those great continuous billows called in dynamics ' waves of translation,' and by seamen 'rollers,'" and queried whether there is not too much undulation of the subterranean strata for the generation of oil. The experiments since made on Buffalo creek and David Reed's farm seem to indicate that such a geological condition is more adapted to the generation of gas than oil. The proposed project of sinking a test well in this val- ley was deferred until the one on the Reed farm was drilled, which yields no oil, but an abundance of gas.

Adjoining the southern half of No. 290 and the northwestern part of the Mccullough-Wible tract on the west is depreciation lot No. 282, called "Lamie Bay," one of the Audibert tracts, which Loeben as attorney-in-fact conveyed thus: 29 acres and 46 perches to Alexander B. McGregor, Octo- ber 9, 1832, for $100, which, with 20 acres 157 perches additional, he conveyed to Thomas Arm- strong, March 5, 1839, for $600; 50 acres and 53 perches to David Reed, March 9, 1839, for $400, and 100 acres to Joseph D. Bowser, November 2, 1840, for $450.

Adjoining "Lamie Bay" on the west is deprecia- tion lot No. 277, 201 acres called "Out-lot," the patent for which was granted to William Lindley, November 20, 1786, for £5, who conveyed one-half of it to Margaret Peebles (who was first assessed in Buffalo township with 1 horse and 2 cows in 1806 at $32), adjoining her other land on which she then resided and including " an improvement made hy Samuel Claypoole " where he then resided, June 30, 1810, for $150, which she conveyed to John Reed, October 30, 1833, for $5, " natural love and affec- tion," and his covenant to maintain her during the rest of her life "in such a manner as a woman of her age requires," and to afford her a proper Christian burial.

The Glade Run, latterly called the West Glade Run, Presbyterian church was organized at the house of John Reed on this parcel of " Out-lot,"

* James Noble, by his will, dated August 22, and registered Septem- ber 29, 1878, devised his farm, consisting of the above-mentioned parcels, to his wife, during the rest of her life, and after her death, one-half to his son, and the other half, "share and share alike," to , his three daughters.

THLUIT

FMG

RES. OF O. BARNHART.

501

EAST FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

December 27, 1845. Its first elders were John Craig, William Cratty and John Patton, with Rev. John Stark, moderator, who was its stated supply about ten years. Rev. George Cairns was installed as its pastor in 1856, who was succeeded by Rev. John V. Miller from 1859 until 1864. It was then dependent on occasional supplies until the present pastor, Rev. A. S. Thompson, was installed for half time in 1867. Its number of members is 65; Sab- bath-school scholars, 80. Services were held for several months in the schoolhouse on this parcel. The present church edifice, frame, was built by David J. Reed in 1846, on ground conveyed by his father, John Reed, to the trustees of this congre- gation.

The other half of No. 277 was conveyed by Lindley to Samuel Huston, September 29, 1810, which, having become vested in William Huston, was conveyed by him to James Noble, November 20, 1851, for $1,400, who conveyed it to Van Buren Bowser, January 20, 1868, for $2,450.

The next tract on the west of "Out-lot " is de- preciation lot No. 270, 20316 acres, called " Ports- mouth," included in the purchase by McCall and McDowell from Joshua Elder, May 9, 1791, and allotted to McCall in the heretofore-mentioned partition between him and McDowell, which he conveyed to his son, George A. McCall, July 8, 1834, for $500, who conveyed it to James and John Noble, March 6, 1839, for $1,100. "Portsmouth must have been seated by William McLaughlin prior to 1805, for in that and the next year he was assessed with it, one distillery and one cow at $96.

This tract, like places of the same name in this country, was so called after Portsmouth, a noted seaport in the English channel, 72 miles southwest of London.

Adjoining "Portsmouth " on the north and the present township line on the west is a tract on the Gapen ,map, a rectangular parallelogram, "408 " acres, surveyed by Gapen to Joseph Baldridge, but the warrant, dated September 10, 1805, and the patent for which the latter were granted to Will- iam Noble, Sr., July 13, 1806, called "Hunting- dale," in consideration of his having made it ap- pear that he had made, or caused to be made, a set- tlement thereon, who conveyed 100 acres and 80 perches to William Noble, Jr., May 3, 1839, for $100. This parcel, after his death, was appraised July 23, 1873, in proceedings in partition as con- taining 109 acres and 73 perches, at $7,790.30, and was conveyed by his heirs to the present owner, Adam Stewart, April 13, 1874, for $9,000. John and William Noble must have acquired an interest in a part of "Huntingdale," for they conveyed 151

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History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 105

Author: Smith, Robert Walter Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago : Waterman, Watkins Number of Pages: 790

Author: Smith, Robert Walter
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : Waterman, Watkins
Number of Pages: 790