History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 82

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

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ern line of "Victory," for, in 1839 and for a few years afterward, John Donaldson was assessed with 43 acres, which the entry in the proper column of the assessment lists indicates to have once belonged partly to the Armstrong tract, and partly to land at some time theretofore owned by Beatty. Those 34 lots were probably laid out by the latter about the time he laid out his heretofore-mentioned coal- lots. James Patrick remembers having, when he was a young man, hauled wood from and plowed the one owned by Donaldson. The foregoing is the only knowledge respecting those lots which the writer has been able to glean from records and the oldest inhabitants.

Sloan conveyed 17 acres to Paul Morrow, July 1, 1809, for $56, and agreed to sell to him 180 acres, more or less, the residue of the tract on which he then lived and which he held "by virtue of his actual residence thereon," May 5, 1810, both of which parcels Morrow conveyed to Robert Brown, November 28, 1815, for $300, on which the latter planted a small orchard near where the reservoir of the Kittanning water-works now is. Brown, , having purchased from James Buchanan "by his articles of sale" 200 acres contiguous thereto, con- veyed 300 acres to John Brodhead, July 14, 1817, for $1,800, which subsequently became revested in Brown by sheriff's sale. He conveyed 29 acres and 75 perches bordering on the purchase line to Robert Brown, Jr., December 10, 1831, for $300, who conveyed the same to Rev. Joseph Painter and Darwiu Phelps, September 18, 1838, for $350. Robert Brown, Sr., in accordance with an agree- ment made between him and Alexander Colwell, March 27, 1819, conveyed to the latter 150 acres, part of the "tract settled by James Sloan, Jr.," "including Sloan's improvement," "surveyed by R. Orr, Jr.," June 17, 1828, for $900.

This tract appears on the map of original tracts as having belonged, when the map was made, to Robert Brown, Sr., and the heirs of Thomas H. Sloan-the southern part to the former, and the northern to the latter. The commonwealth granted a patent to the former for the southern part, Janu- ary 31, 1828, and for the northern part, November 9, 1831. He conveyed 150 acres southeast of the present route of Walker road, lying on each side of the Clearfield turnpike, to James E. Brown, April 3, 1835, for $300. Thirteen acres and 83 perches of this tract, embraced in the last-men- tioned patent, on the northwest side of the Walker road, became vested in Mrs. Mary M. Killikelly, which she conveyed to James G. Henry, in pursu- ance of a previous agreement, September 19, 1873, for $4,055.63. He, Daniel A. Daugherty, Fred-

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

erick Hague, Marshall B. Oswald and Robert G. Curren conveyed all the coal therein to George B. Daugherty, December 23, 1875, for $700.

Troy Hill is the name given to the town laid out on this parcel by its proprietors. It is a pentagon, yet almost a parallelogram in shape. Its twenty- eight lots, with alley and avenues, were surveyed by Robert S. Slaymaker, in 187 -. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, varying from 250 to 260 feet in length, and from 82.5 to 82.91 feet in width, constitute the northern tier of lots fronting south on Dogwood avenue. Fronting that avenue on the north are Nos. 5, 6, each 144 by 82.5 feet. Adjoining No. 6 on the west are Nos. 7, 8, each 115 by 72 feet, fronting west on Wabash avenue-the north side of No. 7 adjoining Dogwood avenue. South of 5, 6, 8 are Nos. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, cach 280 by 100 feet, fronting west on Wabash avenne, No. 17 adjoining Spring on the south. South of Spring avenue-between it and Kentucky avenue-is an- other tier of lots, Nos. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, trapezoidal, their sides varying in length from 145 to 216 feet, . and their ends from 56 to 57.2 feet. South of Kentucky avenne, and between it and Cemetery avenue, is another tier of lots, Nos. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, all trapezoidal except 24, which is nearly a scalene triangle. Their sides vary in length from 165 to 221.10 feet, and their ends from 50 to 58.25 feet. No. 24's sides are respectively 170, 165 and 584 feet long. No. 23 is a rectangular triangle, its perpendicular being 80, and its base 50 feet, on the southeastern side of Cemetery avenue. No. 1 sold for $255; No. 4, $265; Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8 (aggre- gated), $425; No. 9, $175; No. 13, $225; No. 15, $250; No. 16, $250; No. 17, $265; No. 24, $300; No. 25, $300; No. 26, $300; Nos. 27 and 28, $690; and No. 23, the little triangle on the outside of Cemetery avenue, $100. Wabash avenue extends from the northwestern end of Kentucky avenne along the western side of the town, north 24 de- grees west 17734 feet to the western end of Dog- wood avenue. Cemetery avenue extends from the southwestern corner of the town north 88 degrees east 330 feet along the southern end of the town, thence its course is about northeast between Nos. 23 and 24. The alley is 20, and each of the avenues is 60 feet wide.

Vestiges of the old state road are still visible on the southwestern part of this tract. The laying out of this road was authorized by the act of assembly of April 4, 1805. By the act of March 31, 1806, the sum of $5,000 was appropriated for opening and completing it. It extended from Blair's gap, then in Huntingdon county, through the towus of Ebensburgh, Indiana, Kittanning,

Butler, to the western boundary of this state at or near the place where the Mahoning branch of the Big Beaver creek crosses that boundary. The amount appropriated was apportioned among the counties which it traversed, according to its length or distance in each. The amount thus apportioned to this county was $1,040. Although the law re- quired one of the three viewers to be a practical surveyor, that road must have been, at least along some parts of the route, laid out on very unfavor- able ground, respecting which loud complaints went up to the legislature, wherenpon the act of March 26, 1808, was passed, authorizing the courts of quarter sessions of Armstrong and Cambria counties to appoint six disinterested and reputable freeholders to view such parts as passed through these two counties, and if their report should make alterations in the route they were to be confirmed by the courts.

Portions of the territory of the Sloan tract be- came historical before the purchase line, its southern boundary, was run; before the inception of his title to it, and before the boundaries of any other tract in what is now this county were indi- cated by the surveyor's compass and chain. At early dawn on the 8th of September, 1856, the minor portion of Col. Armstrong's force, which had not then been " brought over the last preci- pice," when the front had "reached the river Alle- gheny, about 100 perches below the main body of the town," was ordered to march along the top of the hill from its end, "at least 100 perches and so much further, it being daylight, as would carry them opposite the upper part, or at least the body of the town," that is, across the western part of the Davidson-Buffington tract and the purchase line, to that part of this tract a few rods north of the old state road hollow, where it halted, whence it and the main force below "the last precipice," were simultaneously, from their respective points, to attack the town." Philip and John Mechling remember seeing Jeremiah Lochery, soon after they came to Kittanning, from their father's door on the north side of Market near Water . street, point out the hollows down which, he said, Arm- strong's force, separated into three detachments, descended. He was reputed to have accompanied Armstrong in his expedition to Kittanning. Whether he did or not, he was evidently mistaken as to there having been three detachments and as to their having reached the town through the ravines in the adjacent hill. His statement does not accord with Col. Armstrong's report, written at Fort Littleton six days after the action. Such would

* Sec general sketch of the county.

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VALLEY TOWNSHIP.

have been an unwise order for any commandant to make, because of the danger of one or more of the detachments being hemmed in and captured or destroyed, if, as it was possible might have been the case, the enemy should become aware of their approach. It may, then, be reasonably pre- sumed that the detachment on the hill descended a few rods north of the ravine back of the court- house, through what is now Mrs. Nulton's field, which would be the direct course to "the body of the town." Capt. Hugh Mercer was taken to "the top of the hill " immediately after he was wounded. It is not stated in Armstrong's report whether his company was one of the three on the hill. If so, he may have been taken to that part of the hilltop north of the ravine. If, however, his company was one of those that descended "the last precipice " and made the attack upon and through the corn- field, as he was wounded " early in the action," he was probably taken to a point not far north or south of the purchase line, on either this or the Davidson tract, whence some of his men repre- sented they could take him " into the road a nigh way." Col. Armstrong proceeded, after the houses were fired, probably to the hill part of this tract north of that ravine, "to have his wound dressed and blood stopped." It may be presumed that, as he beheld from this point the landscape below, he conceived the idea of adding "Victory" to his acquisitions. At this point he received informa- tion from the English prisoners, who had escaped, that twenty-four warriors had started eastward the night before, which intelligence induced him and his force to proceed instantly to the relief of Lieut. Hogg and his detachment at Blanket Hill.

Adjoining that tract on the east was one called " Roan," 5313 acres, for which a lottery warrant No. 109 was granted to Maj. Isaac Craig, May 17, 1785, and the patent May 5, 1789. He was born of respectable Protestant parents near Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland, whence he emigrated to Philadelphia in 1767, where he followed his trade of house-joiner until the beginning of the revolu- tionary war. Having been appointed a captain of marines by the authorities of Pennsylvania, he sailed in the sloop-of-war Andrew Doria, Capt. Nicholas Biddle, in Commodore Hopkins' squadron, to the island of New Providence, in the West Indies, where they seized and brought home a large quantity of much-needed arms and munitions of war. Craig was appointed, soon after his return, a captain in Col. Thomas Proctor's artillery regi- ment, and participated in the capture of the Hes- sians at Trenton, and in the battles of Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown. He accompanied

Gen. Sullivan's expedition up the Susquehanna against the hostile tribes of the Six Nations, and was afterward ordered to Fort Pitt, then under the command of Col. Brodhead. After the close of his military service he made Pittsburgh his per- manent place of residence, and the historical writ- ings of his son, Neville B. Craig, are regarded as standard authority respecting early events in and about that place.

Dewalt Mechling, of Greensburgh, Pennsylvania, must have settled on that part of " Roan " a short distance, perhaps twenty or thirty rods, west of the run which flows northeasterly past the western side of Merganthaler's, formerly Taylor's, grove, into the south side of the Cowanshannock, and about seventy-five rods southwesterly from that creek, on the line of the old road which intersected the old state road at the head of the ravine back of the present court-house. He must have settled here very early, perhaps between 1784 and 1790- the precise time cannot now be ascertained. He erected a shanty and cleared a patch of the level ground, respecting which he repeatedly inquired of his grandson, Philip Mechling, on the latter's occa- sional visits to Greensburgh after his removal to Kittanning. It was probably the first improve- ment made north of the purchase line in this county. Whether he abandoned it because of Craig's better title, or because of the dangerous proximity of the Indians, the writer's informant has never learned.

Craig conveyed all of "Roan " to Jacob Lowery, September 15, 1791. Lowery on the one part, and Thomas Taylor and Alexander Blair on the other part, entered into an agreement for the sale and purchase of this entire tract, March 19, 1816, at $6 per acre. Blair, three days afterward, released all his interest therein to Taylor. The latter by sev- eral articles of agreement, dated, respectively, March 29 and April 17, 1816, and January 10, 1818, agreed to convey three parcels, aggregating 317 acres and 30} perches to David Reynolds for $2,227.153, and, March 25, 1826, authorized the deed therefor to be made by Lowery to Reynolds. Lowery conveyed 208 acres to Taylor, March 1, 1828, for $4,132.89, so that Lowery seemingly re- ceived $3,172.54 more than the price agreed upon between him and Taylor and Blair, while the quantity of land ultimately conveyed by him to Reynolds and Taylor was 14 acres and 92 perches less than the patent calls for. Taylor conveyed 6 acres and 142 perches to Thomas Hamilton, March 7, 1829, for $165.30. He agreed, January 2, 1833, to sell 103 acres on the south side of the Cowan- shannock to his son John, but having died in- testate, without executing a deed, a specific

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

performance of his agreement by his administrator was subsequently decreed by the proper court. John Taylor conveyed this parcel to Thomas and Matthew Montgomery, March 26, 1857, for $2,000, on which the manufacture of grain-cradles was car- ried on for nine years. They conveyed this parcel to George W. Nulton, the present owner, July 21, 1863, for $2,800, at the forks of the roads, on which he recently erected a two-story frame house for a hotel. The rest of "Roan," which Thomas Taylor, Sr., purchased from Lowery, became vested by pro- ceedings in partition in his daughters, Esther and Martha Taylor, and Isabella Merganthaler, the last- named now owning the whole purpart.

A large, pleasant grove, now called Mergantha- ler's, remains on this last-mentioned parcel, be- tween the Cowanshannock and the Kittanning and Clearfield turnpike, in which a Methodist camp- meeting was held about the middle of June, 1833, the Sabbath day exercises of which were somewhat interrupted by a swarm of bees alighting on one of the trees, which Thomas Taylor, Sr., persisted in capturing. The Grangers have erected one of their halls in this grove.

The portion of "Roan " purchased by David Reynolds has been disposed of since his death by his executors : To Alexander Colwell 93 acres and 109 perches, south of the Cowanshannock, February 25, 1856, which he conveyed to Dr. T. K. Allison, the present owner, April 7, 1863, for $3,000, and 129 acres and 77 perches to John and John H. Burleigh, March 23, 1857, for $2,530, which the latter, after his father's death, and after having erected a two-story frame dwelling-house and made other improvements, conveyed to Judge Buffing- ton, January 18, 1869, for $8,000.

Next east of " Roan " was " Williamsburgh," 307 acres, on both sides of the Cowanshannock, and adjoining the purchase line on the south, "in line of districts Nos. 1 and 2 in the late purchase." The warrant was granted to William Amberson. He was appointed commissary of purchases for Westmoreland county early in the summer of 1780. President Reed wrote to him August 5, among other things : "Having already quota'd the coun- ties within the state, we must do the same by yours, and do therefore direct you to supply the garrison" (at Pittsburgh) " with 50 barrels of flour, 500 bushels of Indian corn and 100 gallons of whisky per month. After the plentiful harvest which has been gathered in that county, as we are informed, we hope no difficulty will occur to prevent you getting this supply ; but if there does, you must impress it. We have no other means of effecting it, and we trust we shall stand both excused and

justified in taking this measure, if indolence and avarice interpose their baneful influence."

Amberson conveyed his interest in "Williams- burgh " to William Turnbull, to whom the patent issued, July 17, 1793. He conveyed this entire tract and " Pine Grove "* to Wm. Peart, Septem- ber 7, 1806, for $4,000, who thereafter occupied it for a number of years. Dr. Abner Bainbridge, who, after Peart's death, married his widow, re- sided on it in 1814-15-16. Peart conveyed it, in pursuance of an article of agreement, to Philip Mechling and Simon Torney, September 19, 1826, for 83,944. George Wilt was assessed with it from 1829 till 1832. Torney having released his interest to Mechling, November 11, 1830, the latter conveyed 201 acres and 19 perches to William Cunningham, June 7, 1836, for $2,900, which the latter's executors subsequently conveyed to James K. Tittle, the present owner. Mechling conveyed the residue of " Williamsburgh," 136 acres, to John Hood, April 14, 1837, for $1,500.

Next east of "Williamsburgh " was the tract called "Hickory Grove," 302 acres, covered by war- rant No. 496, to Robert McClenechan, May 17, 1785, to whom the patent issued, August 7, 1787. Peter Richards settled on this tract in 1806, and was first assessed with 150 acres, and two horses and one cow, $150, in 1807. He was commissioned by Gov. Snyder a justice of the peace, March 3, and was sworn April 15, 1809. His district was designated both in his commission and oath as No. 3, and "composed of Kittanning and Middlesex townships." John Davidson, who then resided in the town of Kittanning, was at the same time commissioned and sworn as a justice of the peace for the same district and townships, and William Kirkpatrick, who then lived on the Pickering & Co. tract No. 25, in what is now Cowanshannock township, was commissioned a justice of the peace, and sworn May 10, 1813, and his district was designated as No. 3, "composed of the township of Middlesex." Nowhere else in the records of this connty has the writer seen a mention of that "township of Middlesex."

McClenechan conveyed "Hickory Grove " to Samuel and Michael Mechling, August 17, 1814, for $1,500. The latter's share became vested in his son Philip, who conveyed it-155 acres and 51 perches-to John Hood, April 10, 1837, for $2,040. The former built the two-story brick mansion on the north side of the turnpike opposite the deep southern bend in the Cowanshannock in 18 -. He died intestate, and his share of " Hickory-Grove " was divided into three purparts, one of which, " C,"

* See sketeh of Pine township.

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VALLEY TOWNSHIP.

48 acres and 148 perches, was conveyed by his ad- ministrator to James Douglass, December 9, 1857; "A," 81 acres and 68 perches, was taken at the appraisement, $20 per acre, by decedent's son Sam- uel, and "B," 72 acres and 49 perches, $18 per acre, by decedent's son Daniel, both of whom have since disposed of their interests therein to others.

Hood conveyed 53 acres and 53 perches to Rev. Joseph Painter, November 5, 1851, for $400, and 100 acres and 68 perches to Robert Dougherty, March 13, 1851, for $800 ; Dougherty to Robert McFarland, March 16, for $1,100, and McFarland to John Robinson, March 20, 1854, for $2,000, who made valuable and substantial improvements before his death.

Southeast of "Hickory Grove" was a triangular tract covered by warrant to William Elliott, No. 74, 143 acres and 70 perches, with which Henry Schrecongost was first assessed in 1834-5.

Adjoining that Elliott tract on the east was one occupied by Jacob Bumgardner as early as 1806; he was first assessed with 300 acres in 1807. He agreed, March 10, 1814, to convey his improvement right to 250 acres, which he warranted to be va- cant, to Henry Schrecongost for $300, for which the latter obtained a patent January 17, 1831, and con- veyed 100 acres to Peter Schrecongost, April 1, 1835, for $500.

The Collins lands consisted of nine contiguous tracts, each containing 440 acres, covered by war- rants to Stephen Collins of Philadelphia, some, if not all, of which are dated July 3, 1795. Collins was one of the number of citizens of that city who took the oath of allegiance to Pennsylvania and the United States June 25, 1778. Tract No. 3804 lay between "Monticello" on its southwest and the Sample-Brown tract on its north, fronting along the central part of the eastern bend in the Allegheny river between Cowanshannock and Pine creeks. It became vested in Henry Chapman. John Campbell settled on it in 1824. It was sold by Chambers Orr, sheriff, on a judgment against George Cadwallader, Chapman's administrator de bonis non, and conveyed by him to Thomas Cad- wallader, September 20, 1833, being then occupied by Campbell, with 15 acres cleared and a cabin and stable erected on it. Cadwallader conveyed 125 acres and 129 perches to John Campbell, December 11, 1833, for $251.50; 101 acres and 15 perches to Joseph Campbell, January 5, 1834, for $202.06; to Samuel S. Harrison, Robert Robinson, James E. Brown and Thomas McConnell, 73 acres and 27 perches for $146.30, on which, about 200 rods below Hays' run, two salt-wells were bored by spring-poles about 800 feet deep. Considerable oil

was brought up in the sand-pump from between 700 and 800 feet, as stated by James Campbell, who bored the upper one, which burned nicely on the surface of the water collected in a trough. No salt was made from the upper one until it was tubed. The lower well was bored by William Burns and produced about seven barrels daily for a few years. These " salt works" were first assessed to F. Rohrer & Co. in 1838, and to Robinson & Harrison in 1839. Portions of the machinery used in manufacturing the salt were on the ground long after the wells were abandoned.

Cadwallader conveyed 25 acres and 39 perches of this tract to William S. Campbell June 4, 1840, for $50, and 37 acres and 23 perches to H. N. Lee, January 30, 1854, for $94. Other portions were occupied by Thomas Irwin, Sr. (weaver), and Thomas Irwin, Jr., from and after 1836-7.

Tract No. 3805, called "Darby," adjoined the preceding one on the south and the Reed tract on the east, on which Alexander Schrecongost settled in 1812-13. Collins having transferred his interest in it and in Nos. 3806 and 3807 to Jeremiah Parker of Philadelphia, the patents for them were granted to the latter July 10, 1799, and subsequently de- vised by him to his son, William Parker, who con- veyed 170 acres off the northern part of "Darby" to Thomas B. Erwin, June 1, 1829, for $405, which he conveyed to Jacob Millison, Sr., April 16, 1846, for $1,600. After the latter's death a portion of it became vested in James Walker, who exchanged it to Joseph Starr for the farm, heretofore men- tioned, over toward the mouth of Pine creek. That devisee conveyed other portions of Darby: To William Burns, May 12, 1830, 62 acres and 139 perches for $156.06; 1294 acres to Thomas Wal- lace, January 31, 1834, for $323.12. Thos. Taylor conveyed 13 acres and 152 perches to Archibald Marshall in trust for Thomas Taylor Marshall, November 21, 1839, for $1 and "natural love and affection."

Adjoining "Darby" on the east was tract No. 3806, of which and of No. 3807, Parker conveyed 202 acres and 35 perches to James Moorehead, August 6, 1829, for $306 ; all but abont 8 acres be- came vested in Samuel Black, who conveyed to John F. Ross, May 29, 1857, for $3,900, and Ross, after making valuable improvements, conveyed the same to Robert Banks, April 4, 1876, for $11,500 ; 141 acres and 78 perches to Archibald Marshall, September 7, 1836, for $350.

No. 3807, called " Chester," lay north and north- east of 3806, which, as above stated, became vested in William Parker, who conveyed portions of it : To David White, Jr., 126 acres and 25 perches,

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

June 1, 1829, for $7,200 ; White to Alexander Col- well, and Colwell to Jacob Millison, October 3, 1846, for $1,200; Parker to Hugh Speace, 136 acres and 133 perches, February 16, 1831, for $429. Three hundred and forty acres were assessed to Anthony Schrecengost in and for a few years after 1815.

No. 3808 lay east of 3804 and north of " Chester," and with 3804 passed by sheriff's sale to Thomas Cadwallader, and was described in the writ on which it was sold as occupied by George Forsyth, with 30 acres cleared, and a cabin, house and stable on it in September, 1833. Forsyth was first assessed with 25 acres, probably of this tract, in 1815. Thomas Cadwallader's executrix, Mary Cadawal- lader, conveyed 109 acres and 65 perches to Robert and William MeCutcheon, October 19, 1846, for $275. Her executor, George Cadwallader, to Dan- iel L. Forsyth, 185 acres and 19 perches, April 11, 1854 ; for $370, 18 acres and 15 perches of which Forsyth conveyed to Joseph Starr, August 31, 1855, for $181. Dr. W. A. Burleigh was assessed with the residue of what Forsyth purchased, from 1859 until 1861, during which time he operated on it a distillery. Forsyth's interest passed by sheriff's sale to Thomas McConnell and Andrew J. Faulk, who conveyed it to James B. Walker the present owner, July 8, 1865, for $2,000. Mrs. Cadwallader's executor to James L. Cunningham, 89 acres and 45 perches, January 8, 1860, for $223.

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History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 82

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