History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 76

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

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and be interested in these five acres and all their appurtenances, and "the buildings erected and to be erected thereon," in trust for the persons resi- dent in the vicinity thereof, for the purposes of a public burying-ground, the erection thereon of meeting-houses, schoolhouses, and other buildings for public use. They also agreed that upon a written request of two-thirds of the male citizens residing within five miles of this lot being presented to them, their heirs and legal represent- atives, they would duly convey their trust to such trustees as should be selected by those persons, who should hold the same in trust for those pur- poses in the same manner as they then held them, subject to such modifications as two-thirds of such citizens might deem best calculated to effect the design of the trust. A log church edifice was erected thereon perhaps in 1812 or 1813, for Philip Mechling remembers having passed it one summer-day when a meeting of some kind was being held in it, and having no- ticed the people within looking at him through the open spaces between the logs, which had not then been filled with clay or mortar. The house then had the appearance of having been built several years. He is not certain whether he was then riding as constable or sheriff. If as the former, it was in 1815, but if as the latter, it was in 1817-18. That edifice was used for church pur- poses by different denominations, and for a school- house for several years after the furnace went into operation. Some portions of it still remain. This "meeting-house lot" is situated at an angle on the eastern side of the "Hogback road," and is desig- nated "Cem." on the township map, being about 130 rods south of Mahoning Furnace. Rev. B. B. Killikelly preached in that house occasion- ally.

Roberts' heirs conveyed other parcels thus : 103 acres and +1 perches of " Pleasant Valley " to John and Alexander White, September 1, 1830, for $303, for which they were first assessed in 1831; 91 acres and 60 perches, partly of " Curiosity," to Michael Hollobough, November 1, 1830, for $182.70 ; 186 acres, wholly of " Pleasant Valley," to John Nulf, April 21, 1838, for $314; 58 acres, parts of " Pleas- ant Valley " and "Curiosity," to Adam Nulf, No- vember 1, 1830, for $116.40; 100 acres, parts of " Curiosity " and " Isaac's Choice," to John Martin, November 1, 1830, for $200; 112 acres, parts of the last-mentioned tracts, to Jacob B. Hettrick, Sep- tember 4, 1828, for $225; 51 acres of " Curiosity " to George Stewart, June 17, 1837, for $115.50 ; 68 acres and 29 perches of "Isaac's Choice " to Philip Anthony, June 18, 1837, for $160. In the south-

356

HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

western part of this township is a portion of the Robert Morris tract, No. 4528, noticed in the sketch of Pine township, 235 acres and 80 perches of which Robert Orr conveyed to George Reedy, August 28, 1847, for $824, now owned in part at least by James Roberts. All the rest of what is now Mahoning township, besides those three tracts, and the north western corner of the S. Wallis tract, No. 4128, was covered by warrants of the Holland Land Company. Adjoining "Curiosity" and " Pleas- ant Valley " on the north, was that company's tract No. 317, warrant No. 2880, the southeastern part of which, consisting of allotment 6 and part of allotment 4, became vested in Adam Nulf, on the right bank of the Mahoning, in the southeastern part of which he settled. The log house in which he lived is still there, and is said to have been built in 1799 or 1800. He must have planted an orchard soon after his settlement, for it contained the old- est trees and the largest number of them in this section of the country. If he settled here as early as above indicated, he must have escaped the assessor's notice for several years, for his name is not found on any tax list until that of Red Bank township for 1809, when he was assessed with 50 acres, improvement, and one horse, at $190. IIe died intestate, and his heirs entered into an agree- ment, November 14, 1837 (his widow having pre- viously died), for an amicable partition of the lands which he had left, consisting of abont 215 acres, nearly all of which was then in Red Bank town- ship, which, except the 15 acres on the left bank of the Mahoning, then in Wayne township, which their father had agreed to sell to Jacob Nulf, on which about 40 acres were then cleared, and on which there were a house, stable and the above- mentioned orchard, which they finally agreed to sell to the highest and best bidder on the first Monday of April, 1838. They, however, did not thus sell their lands, but subsequently conveyed them to the Colwells, so that they are now included in the Furnace property.

In the eastern part of the broad, deep bend in the Mahoning in the southeastern part of this town- ship, opposite Eddyville, is a portion of the Holland land, covered by warrant No. 3150, the patent for which is dated July 21, 1836, in the southeastern portion of which is the Smith burying ground, quite an old one, which is somewhat overgrown with weeds and bushes, in which are the graves of Gasper or Casper Nulf, Sr., and his wife. They had formerly resided on another Holland tract on the north side of the Red Bank. The assessment list of 1817 shows that he had "moved away "- that is, he had the year before removed thence,

where he had resided since 1808, when he was first assessed there with 100 acres, two horses and one cow at $51. He was first assessed on the Plum Creek township tax list for 1817, when the territory within this bend was in that township. His and his wife's deaths were noticed in the Kittanning Gazette thus: "Died, February 1, 1837, Casper Nulf, aged one hundred and six years, and on No- vember 11, 1836, Phebe, his wife, aged one hun- dred and three years. They had lived together more than eighty years, and were the parents of eighteen children. Their descendants are believed to number 300. They had supported themselves by their own industry until within three years of their deaths."

George Smith, almost a centenarian, who was employed as rodman, axman or chain-carrier in the surveys of the Holland lands many years ago, was an early settler on this tract, in this part of what is now this township, of which Willink & Co. con- veyed to him 105 acres, September 17, 1839, for $275.

There may have been some other cotempo- rancous early settlers on it besides those above mentioned. The later settlers appear from the fol- lowing conveyances : Willink & Co. to Andrew Foreman, who had settled on it in 1830, 105 acres in the northeastern part of the bend, January 9, 1839, for $250, and he to Reuben Huffman, March 14, 102 acres and 32 perches thereof for $900; Willink & Co. to John Doverspike, March 12, 1840, 121 acres and 120 perches for $303.

The German Reformed and Lutheran churches were organized in this bend. Services were held by clergymen of both these denominations in George Smith's house, in an old log schoolhouse and elsewhere until 1873, when the present neat and substantial frame edifice, 40×40 feet, was com- pleted, in which there has been regular preaching, alternately, by clergymen of both these denomina- tions.

This Le Roy & Co. tract and warrant No. 3119 were laid over the southern part of an earlier one to Charles Campbell. It was not known for many years just where the latter was laid, but it extended about an equal distance north and south of the Mahoning, was surveyed on warrant No. 3832, April 22, 1793, and contained 226 acres and 70 perches, and which was conveyed by Campbell's heirs to John McCrea, who instituted an action of ejectment, October 6, 1857, against its occupants, John Kuhn, John Huffman, Daniel Doverspike and Andrew Foreman, which finally resulted in Mc- Crea's recovering all but the 58 acres included in the commissioner's deed to Doverspike.

GEORGE S. PUTNEY.

The father of the subject of this sketch, David Putney, the be- ginner of the improvement which developed into Putneyville, where his descendants reside, was born in Connecticut, October 18, 1794, and came to Pittshurgh, then considered a town of the Far West, hefore he was of age. There he married, upon September 29, 1818, Miss Lavinia Stevenson, who was born January 7, 1796. The children of David Putney and wife were: James Thompson, born July 8, 1819; George Stevenson, May 29, 1821; David Taylor, August 20, 1823; Mary Eleanor (Smullin), September 26, 1825; William Nel- son, April 13, 1829; Samuel Boyd, May 24, 1831; Nelson Osborne, Sep- tember 7, 1833, and Ezra Judson, July 31, 1837. Of this family the only members now living are the subject of our sketch and Mrs. Smullin, both of whom reside in Putneyville. Shortly after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Putney moved to Freeport, and it was there that their son George Stevenson was born. In 1833 David Putney purchased from the Holland Land Company, at $1.50 per acre, a tract of 1,000 acres of land surrounding and including the site of the present village named after him. Soon after this purchase was made, Mr. Putney, with his sons James Thompson and George Ste- venson, came to the spot where the village now stands. The bottom- lands and the hillsides were then covered with a thick growth of lanrel and hazel-brush, through which a road was cut with consid- erable difficulty. A little shanty was erected upon the creek bank, near where the gristmill now stands, The material of which it was constructed was slabs gathered along the creek, and it was roofed with bark taken in large pieces from trees in the vicinity. This served as their home, and in it George S. Putney discharged the duties of head cook. Instead of plates fresh chips of wood were used, each serving

MRS. GEORGE S. PUTNEY.

for only one meal and then going into the fire over which the next was cooked. About four months later a second cabin was built, similar to and near the first. This was to serve the purpose of a store, and was stocked with a limited assortment of staple goods brought from Freeport and Pittsburgh. For about a year there were no other buildings erected, but during that period Mr. Putney was engaged in working upon a headrace and dam and taking ont tim- ber for a grist and saw mill, employing ten or twelve hands. The sawmill was completed the second year. Shanty life no longer pos- sessing the charm of novelty, and now having a mill to manufacture lumber, a story-and-a-half frame dwelling-house was erected-the first in the neighborhood. Father and sons were then made happy by association with the rest of the family, who moved up from Free- port; and George S. Putney, being relieved from the duties of chief cook, was promoted to the position of "boss sawyer" in the mill, and commenced getting out the lumber for the gristmill, which was built and put in successful operation during the third year of the settlement. The elder Mr. Putney was a natural genius in mechan- ics and a typical New England pioneer, able to turn his hand to almost any industry. With the improvements alluded to business was continued very successfully up to the spring of 1840, by which time considerable land had been cleared and the sunshine allowed to reach the fertile soil of the little valley. A few honses for tenants had also been erected. About this time David Putney contracted to furnish a large amount of timber for the completion of dam No. 1 on the Monongahela river, at Pittsburgh, and to meet the contract he purchased some rafts on Mahoning and Red Bank creeks, But in addition to these purchases he was obliged to buy a tract of timber land on the Clarion river, where he and his son James Thompson went to get out what they needed. The two brothers being greatly

attached to each other, James Thompson refused to stay longer than abont thirty days, and returned home. His father then summoned George S. to his assistance. In a reasonable time the timber was all taken out and in readiness for high water to run it to market. George S. Putney, having to remain there awaiting a rise, went to work and took out frame timber for the Methodist Episcopal church at Free- port. To their misfortune there was no freshet during the fall suffi- cient to afford them the opportunity to make a delivery, and the timber was frozen up in the ice the following winter and lost. In consequence, David Putney became financially involved, and in 1842 was obliged to effect a sale of the greater part of his property to meet his indebtedness. It was then that James Thompson and George S. Putney, by request of their creditors, purchased the grist and saw mills with about 190 acres of land surrounding them, agreeing to pay therefor the sum of $4,000. This was for the time, and to them, in their condition, a heavy undertaking, as they were entirely desti- tute of funds and had to rely wholly upon the proceeds of the mills to pay for the property. About the same time they made another purchase, which time has demonstrated to have been a wise one. This was a tract of pine land in Henderson township, Jefferson county, then of small value, but now, left unmolested and with a rail- road running through it, worth from $75,000 to $80,000. Fortunately for the young men who succeeded their father in business, the Ma- honing furnace was put in operation, in 1845, by John A. Colwell & Co., and an outlet was demanded for the metal which they manu- factured. This the Putney brothers supplied, putting up a boat scaffold and building boats upon which, under contract, they carried the company's pig-iron down the creek and the Allegheny river to Pittsburgh. They put up a new sawmill, entered into a general Inm- her business. and in 1848 engaged in merchandizing, taking into part- nership in the latter a third brother, David T. These industries were fairly remunerative, but it was the business of building and purchas- ing boats to carry metal for the furnace people which gave them the greater part of the revenue with which they discharged their indebt" edness. By 1852 they had discharged the obligations which they inenrred at the start. The partnership in the store remained un- changed until 1854, when David T. Putney went to the West for grain, and on his return home was attacked with cholera and died on the steamer, near St. Louis, May 2, 1855, his remains being brought to Putneyville. In the meantime a tannery had been established, and this, with the two mills, the store, boating interest, etc., was carried on by James T. and George S. Putney quite successfully until the death of the former, December 24, 1858. During this year the grist- mill was burned, and at the time of James T. Putney's death a new one was in process of construction. Upon his brother's death, George S. Putney bought from his heirs his entire interest in the firm prop- erty, with the exception of two tracts of land. He now had the business of the two mills, the store, tannery and metal-carrying to attend to, and employed his brother, Samuel B. Putney, and A. Smul- lin to assist him, the former devoting his attention principally to the boat business, and the latter going into the store. Both continned with him during the war. Through this period Mr. Putney carried on business under many disadvantages, chief among which was an almost nniversal credit system. He had, about the time the war broke out, suffered a severe loss by a great flood, which carried away his milldam, boats, and some other property. But notwithstanding his misfortune, he was able during the war to assist others who needed favors. No soldier's widow or other deserving person was obliged to go without the comforts of life because lacking the cash with which to buy them. His liberality also found expression in large money subscriptions to protect from the draft some of his fel- lowmen who could illy afford to go into the army and abandon family and the business or labor which supported them. He paid many times the amonnt which, had he been subject to the draft and

chosen, would have hired a substitute, and did it disinterestedly. Mr. Pntney worked on alone, ambitiously, although with little en- couragement, until 1868, when he was joined by his sons, W. F. Tay- lor and L. Miles, the latter assuming the active management and attending to the bookkeeping and buying. From the fact that Mr Putney had not been able to give his personal attention to the store its business had declined, but nuder the new management it was rapidly built np, and the other lines of business were correspond- ingly developed. In 1869 the sawmill was rebuilt, and the boat scaffold soon after. By 1870 the business of the store had so increased that its proprietors were compelled to build an addition. The grist- mill was remodeled at a cost of from $7,000 to $8,000, and steam intro- dnced in the tannery. Varions improvements attested from time to time the enterprise and energy of father and sons. Upon Sunday, October 7, 1877, fire destroyed the store, and Mr. Putney and his sons suffered a loss over and ahove their insurance of abont $10,000. L. Miles Putney was in New York buying goods at the time, and was apprised of the calamity by telegraph. After a few messages had been passed hetween himself and the people at home, it was decided to continue the business and he went on with his purchases. Business was resumed, eight days afterward, in a small building and under many disadvantages, but the firm had a prosperous trade. Prepara- tions were made for building a new store as soon as the adjusting agent of the insurance company had estimated and reported the losses by the fire, and the new structure was erected and goods sold in it in April, 1878. It was fully completed by July of that year This store building, of which the sole architect was Mr. L. Miles Putney, is 80 feet deep by 40 in width, and two stories in hight. The store proper, than which there is nonc finer in Peunsylvania ontside of the great cities, is 24×80 feet, and is adjoined by a ware- room and private office. It is a-marvel of convenience and elegance, and contains many ingenious devices which are suggestive of the New England descent of its designer. The second story is finished off in fine style as a hall, which is occupied by Putneyville Lodge, No. 735, I. O.O. F.

The firm of George S. Putney & Sons is now engaged in this store, in which they do a large business, in the grist and saw mills, a boat- yard, farming, stock raising and a general lumber business.

Mr. George S. Putney's father, David, lived to see the country in which he settled finely developed and to enjoy the sight of a well- ordered village developed through his own and his family's enter- prise npon the land which he took up at an early day in its virgin state. He was honored by an election to the legislature in 1854, and was a nseful, esteemed citizen all of his life. He died Angust 31, 1879, and his wife, Lavina, April 20, 1873.

George S. Putney, who has carried on and amplified the enter- prises begun by his father, and resulting in the building up of Put- neyville, has been, like him, a most highly respected resident of Armstrong county, and one who has materially aided in its improve- ment. He was elected to the legislature, upon the democratic ticket, in 1870, defeating M. M. Steele. He has held nearly all the offices of trust and honor in the gift of his fellow-townsmen, and both in offi- cial and private life done much to advance the interests of the com- mnnity. The new honse of worship of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member, was built largely through his influence and pecuniary aid.

Mr. Putney was married, October 10, 1844, to Margaret, daughter of Jacob and Susannah Andrews, born in Allegheny county, July 25 1826. To his wife, a very superior woman, great credit is due for wise assistance which very materially enhanced her husband's suc- cess and prosperity. The offspring of this nnion were six sons, of whom four are living. Their names and respective dates of birth are as follows: Nelson Boyd, born October 20, 1845 (died April 27, I861); William Taylor, June 30, 1847; Lemuel Miles, June 17, 1849; Homer Clark, December 25, 1855 (died April 6, 1881) ; George Wesley, October 8, 1860, and Calvin Kingsley, April 23, 1867.

William Taylor Putney was married to Clara B. Hamilton, De- cember 25, 1872, and George Wesley Putney to Nancy Nolf, December 8,1881.

357

MAHONING TOWNSHIP.

Adjoining the last-mentioned tract on the west was tract No. 320, covered by warrant No. 3119, the eastern part of which is traversed by Mill- seat run, which flows in a northwesterly course and empties into the Mahoning abont 150 rods below the "Narrow Sluice," where this creck is only twenty-two feet wide. Tradition relates that a mill, with one set of stone, was erected in the first decade of this century, by Adam Smith, on this run, 75 rods northeasterly from the present schoolhouse No. 5, but ceased to be used many years since. John Daubenspike's name on this tract is one of the few that appears on the map of the original tracts which were between the Ma- honing and Red Bank creeks. He settled on it in 1816, and was assessed on the Plum creek township list for the next year with 130 acres at $130. The Holland Company did not obtain their patent for this tract until November 3, 1827. They conveyed to him 92 acres and 110 perches of it June 24, 1830, then in Wayne township, for $150; and 56 acres and 46 perches of it March 21, 1832, for $28.75 ; 150 acres and 91 perches to Andrew Foreman, Feb- ruary 26, 1841, for $125, on which is the public schoolhouse No. 5; 85 acres and 48 perches to David McCullough, December 15, 1842, for $70; 100 acres and 39 perches to John Huffman, September 21, 1842, for $82; 208 acres and 100 perches to David Putney, March 14, 1843, for $150 -he must have settled on this tract in 1834, about which time he removed hither from Freeport, for he was first assessed for the next year on the Wayne township list, with 750 acres of No. 3119, and two horses, at $622. He may have agreed to purchase that or a greater quantity from the Holland Company, and they may have conveyed directly to his vendees. The only persons, according to the tax lists, assessed with parcels of this tract in 1840 were John Daubenspike and David Putney. The latter built his sawmill in 1835-6 and his gristmill in 1838-9, on the western part of his parcel, near the left bank of the Mahoning.

That portion of Putneyville on the same bank was founded by him. Fifteen town lots, between East Main and East Water streets, were laid out in 1841, surveyed by J. E. Meredith July 7, 1842, several of which are numbered. The two earliest sales of them were, according to the public records : David Putney to Dr. J. H. Wick, the first resident physician here, lot No. 5, containing 45 perches, September 29, 1848, for $40 ; lot No. 6, 24 perches, to Ambrose Shobert same day for $30, and lot No. 3 to David Kirkland for $20. The following conveyances are given as indicating the value

of real estate in various portions of the eastern part of this town, at different periods : David Putney to George S. Putney, 1 acre and 118 perches, December 27, 1850, for $10, which was not, of course, the full pecuniary value, but as he also conveyed another parcel for a similar consid- eration to one of his other sons, portions of which the former and the heirs of the latter conveyed to others, it is here given ; 1376 perches to Win. Cunningham, February 28, 1861, for $50, which, with the improvements, the latter conveyed to G. S. Putney, November 25, 1865, for $800; 1 acre and 25 perches to S. B. Putney for $50; 504 feet to Wm. A. Brown, March 26, 1861, for $5 ; lot No. 2, 26 perches, to Andrew Bradenbangh et al., October 28, 1865, for $5; George S. Putney to George Beck, same day, one-half an acre and one- half a perch for $50; David Putney to W. C. Putney et al., 2 acres and 81 perches, between Main street and the Mahoning, November 30, 1867, for $150; George S. Putney to Adam Nulf, 90 perches, December 12, for $50; to Susan Boyle, one-fourth of an acre, December 25, 1862, for $33 ; to C. C. Keesey, two lots between First, Second, Keesey and Walnnt streets, May 11, 1874, for $510.

The postoffice, David Putney, postmaster, was established here July 18, 1844.

The building of flatboats for transporting pig- metal to market was begun here in 1847-8, which has been continued to the present time by the Put- neys, and has afforded employment to an average of ten or twelve persons. Abont fifteen are built annually. Their length, at first, was seventy-five or eighty, and their width eighteen feet. Since the improvement of the navigation of the Mahon- ing below this point, their width has been increased to twenty-five, and their length to one hundred and seventy-five feet. The boat-yard is at the junction of First, East Main and East Water streets.

The tannery south of Walnut, and between Second and Third streets, was established in 1852-3. James Wilson was first assessed as a tanner here in 1853. This tannery was first assessed to J. T. and G. S. Pntney in 1855. It was originally one of the common kind, but it is now operated by steam.

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History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 76

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