History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 93

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

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* Since deceased.

+ See Manor.

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SOUTH BUFFALO TOWNSHIP.

testamentary trustees conveyed their interests in these tracts or lots, October 29, 1814, to Randall Hutchinson, to the intent that he should, by seven separate deeds of even date with theirs to him, grant to them their several shares and allotments accord- ing to that partition, which was accordingly done. The two westernmost ones, " Preston," 2843 acres in Butler county, and " Kirkham," 2073 acres adjoin- ing the Armstrong and Butler county line on the west, were conveyed by Hutchinson to these testa- mentary trustees in trust for the use and benefit of William and Catherine Bache and their children. Their daughter Sarah and her husband, Rev. Charles Hodge, D.D., one of the eminent pro- fessors in the Presbyterian theological seminary, at Princeton, New Jersey, conveyed her interest in these two lots to William J. Duane, April 29, 1829, for $166.67. The other children of William and Catherine Bache also conveyed their interests in these two lots to Duane: Benjamin F. Bache, absent in the service of the United States at Pen- sacola, Florida, April 26, 1831, for $166.67 ; Cath- erine W. Bache to Duane, August 13, 1829, for $166.67. Duane conveyed his interest in " Kirk- ham" to John McLean, May 18, 1832, for $1,200, who conveyed it as containing 214 acres and 56 perches to Thomas King, October 7, 1853, for $6,340.

Hutchinson conveyed " Walton," No. 63, adjoin- ing " Kirkham " on the east, 207₺ acres, and " Poul- ton," No. 64, adjoining " Walton " on the east, 2073 acres, to those trustees in trust for the use and benefit of Mrs. Elizabeth Franklin Harwood, whose interest having become vested in A. A. Harwood, he and his wife conveyed the same to Duane, April 10, 1829, for $500. Duane conveyed 100 acres of " Walton " to Charles Gregory, March 10, 1830, for $400. Gregory, while a lad, had the good fortune to meet Capt. Hart while he was building one of his boats at Freeport, who, ascer- taining that the lad wanted employment, and lik- ing the disposition which he evinced, hired him. The money which he thus earned enabled him to make a start in his reasonably prosperous career through life. He erected a distillery on that parcel of land with which he was assessed from 1821 until 1823. Duane conveyed " Poulton " to George Grinder, April 23, 1833, for $1,100, who conveyed 103 acres and 123 perches of it to James Law, May 10, for $550.

Hutchinson conveyed "Wigan," No. 65, 2073 acres, adjoining ".Poulton " on the east, and "Bol- ton," No. 84, adjoining "Wigan " on the east, 2073 acres to Richard Bache, who conveyed them to Duane, October 31, 1814, for $1,600, who conveyed

"Wigan " to Andrew Stader, April 18, 1929, for $950, on which is the church edifice of Srader Grove Presbyterian church, members, 40; Sunday- school scholars, 70; and "Bolton " to John Baker, May 1, for $900.

Hutchinson conveyed " Garstang," No. 85, 1813 acres, adjoining Bolton on the east, and "Clif- ton," No. 86, 21576 acres, adjoining " Garstang " on the east, to Louis Bache, who conveyed them to Duane, July 27, 1818, for $1,600.10; who conveyed " Garstang " to Abraham Boyd and Joseph Shields May 1, 1832, for $800,-Boyd was assessed with a tanyard from 1840 until 1846-and "Clifton " to Patrick Duffy, December 20, for $1,000, one-half of which the latter conveyed to John Duffy, March 13, 1833, for $500.

Passing to the Allegheny river, about 60 rods above Stewart's run, is the western line of " Broughton," No. 81, 20976 acres, which Hutchin - son conveyed to those testamentary trustees for the use of the children of Benjamin F. Bache, de- ceased, which they conveyed to Duane June 3, 1829, for $100, and which he conveyed to Walter M. Skelton, formerly of Fayette county, January 24, 1840, for $4,180, and the same day "Settle," No. 82, 200 (6 acres, adjoining " Broughton " on the east, for $4,000. Skelton gave mortgages on both tracts, on which there would have been due a balance of $1,882.50 on July 15, 1843, with inter est from April, 1840. Duane, for reasons stated in a letter from Skelton to him, authorized Judge Buffington, by letter of attorney, June 9, 1842, to accept $1,200 in full satisfaction.

Hutchinson conveyed "Chorley," No. 83, 204 acres, adjoining "Settle " and "Stephen's Green" on the east, and skirted by the Allegheny river on the east and southeast, to those testamentary trus- tees for the use of Mrs. Sarah Sergeant, who con- veyed it to Duane August 31, 1827, for $500, and which he conveyed to Enos McBride June 10, 1830, for $1,100. McBride laid out the town of Clinton on that part of "Chorley " in the deep southeastern bend of the river, consisting of 71 in-lots, most of which are 70×155 feet, and 4 out-lots, 2 of which are 2803×155 feet, and the other 2 respectively 155×210} and 155×370 feet and a fraction more, which were surveyed in July, 1830. Water street, about 80 feet wide, extends the whole length of the town along the river. Washington, Franklin, Jack- son, Olinda and Liberty streets, whose courses are from east to west, are intersected at right angles by First, Second and Third streets,-whose bearing is north 34 degrees west,-each 60 feet wide. The 24 upper lots appear like a separate plat, and are traversed by Fourth and Fifth streets, whose bear-

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

ing is north 52 degrees west, which are intersected by two unnamed streets, whose bearing is north 38 degrees east, each 40 feet wide. The lots and streets cover an area of about 29 acres.

McBride sold most if not all of his lots, though deeds for but few of them are on record. The first separate assessment list was in 1834, which includes lots from No. 1 to 60 inclusive, assessed to almost as many persons, and all but eleven are noted as unseated. The following sales show the prices of the lots in various parts of the town: On June 27, 1832, McBride conveyed to James Stewart, lot No. 9, fronting on Washington, Frank- lin, Second streets, for $60; to Jonathan Porter, No. 28, fronting on Jackson and Olinda streets, be- tween Second and Third, for $15; to Patrick Sherry, Nos. 35 and 37, fronting on Olinda and Lib- erty, between First and Second streets, for $11 and $10. On the 29th to Joseph Kenniston, No. 49, fronting on Water, Fourth and one of the un- named streets, for $16. On the 14th of July to William W. Gibson No. 4, fronting on Water and Washington, between First and Second streets, for $20; on January 23, 1838, to Samnel Walker, No. 18, fronting on Franklin, Jackson and Second streets, for $24.

In 1843, this town contained five taxables, with the corresponding population, including three me- chanics, viz .: Robert Graham, carpenter; Samuel Patterson, wagonmaker, and David Whitehead, cooper, and twelve seated lots. There appear to have been about twenty-eight taxables here in 1858, including three carpenters, one cooper, one shoemaker, and one stonemason. The people of Clinton then cherished a laudable ambition to im- prove their town, and a high appreciation of its eligible location. For the writer was informed by Samuel Murphy, whose business on the river made him cognizant of what transpired here during that year -. he was afterward county superintendent --- that shortly after the burning of the court-honse at Kittanning, the people of Clinton held a meet- ing and adopted resolutions asserting that this was the proper location for the new county build- ings. These proceedings were not published and the minutes of the meeting, if any were kept, do not seem to have been preserved. The late Will- iam Coyle, shortly before his death, also informed the writer that that meeting was held and those resolutions were adopted. One of the public schoolhouses of South Buffalo township was lo- cated, several years since, at the corner of First and Liberty streets, fronting the east side of the former and the north side of the latter. The Presbyterian church was organized here, with

eleven members; by a committee of the Presbytery of Allegheny - now Butler-June 7, 1852. It was statedly supplied by the late Rev. George Carns, from 1853 until 1856. There were occa- sional supplies until 1864, and from then until 1866 Rev. D. W. Townsend was its stated supply, who was followed by Rev. David H. Sloan, as supply until 1869, when the Rev. J. H. Aughey was installed as pastor and continued until 1870. It was supplied by Rev. John J. Francis in 1871. The present pastor, Rev. David H. Sloan, after preaching statedly for a year, was installed in April, 1873. The present membership is sixty; Sabbath-school scholars, - The first church edifice was erected, in 1850, jointly by the Presby- terians and Lutherans, each denomination having a half-interest and occupying it half the time for the following eight years. The corner-stone was laid, July 4, 1850, by Rev. David Earhart. The Lutheran church was organized by Rev. David Earhart, Angust 13, 1851, and had only occasional services after 1860, until the members connected themselves with other churches. The present church edifice is a neat frame structure 36×56 feet including a vestibule 9 feet wide.

It was begun in the fall of 1875 and completed in the spring of 1876, and is tastefully finished and furnished. The house and furniture cost about $2,500.

According to the assessment list for 1876, the number of taxables appears to be forty-four : La- borers, 19; boatmen, 2; old man, 1; farmer, 1; storekeeper, 1; stonemason, 1.

Owners of other parts of "Chorley " are Will- iam and Thomas Coyle and H. Sheridan. In the northeastern part of it is a stone-quarry.

Another purchaser of numerons lots and tracts of land in this and most of the other townships on this side of the Allegheny river, in this county, was Archibald McCall, of Philadelphia. Says Townsend Ward, in his "Second Street and its Associations : " " In 1762-3 Archibald McCall, the India merchant, built a house, still standing at the northeast corner of Second and Union streets. Its garden extended a considerable distance down the latter street, and was well stocked with various animals brought by his supercargoes from foreign parts, so that it was, in a manner, our first Zoologi- cal Garden." McCall purchased immense quanti- ties of land in various parts of this state, and having become embarrassed, he executed a deed of assignment for the benefit of his creditors, of all those lands to William Reed and Victor Du Pont, July 2, 1817, which were subsequently reconveyed to him. So discouraged was he at one time during

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SOUTH BUFFALO TOWNSHIP.

his embarrassment that he suggested the sale of his ' John McDonald and James Ross, to sell it. Ross, coal lands in the anthracite region for a trifling amount. His agent, however, urged him to retain them another year, which he did, and realized an independent fortune from the great and rapid increase in their value. His real estate transac- tions, on this side of the Allegheny in this county, were numerous and extensive until his death, as will be seen in the progress of this work through the townships in which his lands were situated. After his death his heirs conveyed forty-two par- cels of them to the late William F. Johnston, April 13, 1846, for $30,000, and his other parcels to George A. McCall, U. S. Army, July 10, 1847, for $4,500, who purchased for James E. Brown and the late Dr. John Gilpin, as well as for himself. Though the legal title was conveyed to him, the equitable title was two-thirds in them, i. e. those three were equal owners.

One of those parcels was depreciation lot No. 80, called "Mulberry Lane," 23916 acres, adjoining " Broughton " on the west and the Allegheny river on the south, the patent for which was granted to Joshua Elder, April 25, 1787, who conveyed to McCall and Alexander McDowell, March 17, 1797, and which Johnston had agreed, October 13, 1848, to sell to William R. Watson, who paid a part of the purchase money in his lifetime. By proceed- ings in partition, after his death, this land was divided into two purparts, which were taken by his son, Israel Watson, to whom the tract was con- veyed by Johnston, September 30, 1863, for $1,400. The western part of this lot is traversed by a small stream, now called Stewart's run. South Buffalo public schoolhouse No. 7 was situated among bowlders near the river bank on this tract before the site was changed to Clinton.

Next to " Mulberry Lane" on the west was de- preciation lot No. 79, called "Gensing Hill," which the commonwealth conveyed by patent to Joshua Elder, April 25, 1787, and which he conveyed to McCall and MeDowell, March 17, 1797, which, in the settlement of their partnership accounts and division of unsold lands, made by Brown, Gilpin & Johnston, February 1, 1866, was allotted and conveyed to Gilpin.

Next west of " Gensing Hill " was depreciation lot No. 78, called " Les Chamettas," 27175 acres, the patent for which was granted to Joseph Mercier, June 12, 1789, whose administrator, Peter Barrier, conveyed it to John Woods, November 7, 1796, for £253 Os 104d. Woods conveyed one-half of it to Archibald McCall, May 31, 1811, which became vested in the Bank of North America. Woods by his last will authorized his executors, Henry Woods,

by virtue of a letter of attorney from that bank, dated May 20, 1834, and as surviving executor of Woods, conveyed the entire tract to John Hill, July 2, 1834, for $474. It is traversed from the north- west corner nearly southeast by a small stream now called Hill's run. About thirty or thirty-five rods below its mouth is the month of a still smaller run, several rods above which, on the east side, a small clearing is visible from the cars on the Allegheny Valley road, on which Alexander Gordon, an old and experienced surveyor, informed the writer that a white-oak tree was felled in 1839 or 1840, and split, and that inside of it was found a smoothly cut notch, such as surveyors cut in line trees, in the wood that had grown, over which 368 concentric circles were counted, indicating that the notch had been cnt in 1471 or 1472, twenty or twenty-one years before Columbia discovered America. By whom was it cut ? By the Alligewi, or some prehistoric people? Jefferson Hill called the writer's attention to some burnt stones and charcoal which he had found at the depth of about eight feet and fifteen feet or more back from where the river bank was not many years since. These ancient vestiges were developed in digging away the ground on the east side of Hill's run for a gangway from his sawmill. The stones, as he found them, appeared to have been used instead of or for a hearth or fireplace. The charcoal appears to have been made from pine or other soft wood, and readily pulverizes on being pressed between the thumb and finger. About thirty rods above Hill's run were the salt-works, which were first assessed to Hiram Hill, in 1837, and which continned to be operated by him, and some of the time by his brother Daniel, until 1872-3.

Contiguous to "Les Chamettas" on the west was depreciation lot No. 77, whose patent name, if it ever had one, has been dropped in the con- veyances after the patent. It was one of the Joseph Mercier lots, which, like "Les Chamet- tas," became vested in the Bank of North America and John Woods, the northern part of which, 125 acres, was conveyed by that bank's attorney and Woods' executors, to John Isaman, April 21, 1836, for $400. Its southern part has had a greater va- riety of owners. It was conveyed as containing 15816 acres, by the same attorney and executor, to Benjamin Willis, April 29, 1830, for $750, who conveyed it to Joseph A. Benton, March 25, 1842, for $2,400, who, having become embarrassed, con- veyed it in trust for the benefit of his creditors to his assignee, John Woods, of Freeport, January 21, 1843, who released it to him September 15,

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HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

and which Benton, the next day, conveyed, as con- taining 172 acres, to Richard Renshaw, for $2,500, who conveyed 65 acres adjoining the river to Mrs. Eliza J. Bartholomew, March 2, 1852, for $2,400, 63 acres of which she and her husband conveyed to James Noble, April 13, 1854, for $2,650. Ren- shaw conveyed the other part of his parcel, 964 acres to Charles Saltinore, May 7, 1852, for $1,400.

Adjoining " Les Chamettas " and No. 77 on the north was another Mercier-Woods' lot, No. 87, called " Les Digrettes," which James Ross, as at- torney for the Bank of North America, and surviving executor of Woods, conveyed to Robert Rogers, November 3, 1834, for $700, 45 acres of which he conveyed to William Winterbun, November 19, 1850, for $825.

One of the earliest settlers within the limits of South Buffalo township was Stephen Mehaffy, who had been for several years in the military ser- vice in the defense of the frontiers, as a spy or scont from, perhaps, before 1790, at times, until the organization of the three companies for frontier defense, under the act of assembly of Feb- ruary 28, 1794, when he was appointed ensign of the Westmoreland or third company, vice James McComb, who had resigned. He was assigned to the force or detachment under the command of Capt. Eben Denny, for carrying into effect the act for establishing the town of Presqu' Isle. Capt. Denny wrote to Gov. Mifflin, April 25, 1794, from Pittsburgh : Ensign Mehaffy, from Westmore- land, had the direction of the state troops, two sergeants, two corporals and forty-three privates, and the volunteers, consisting of one captain, one' lieutenant, one ensign and thirty men. In Denny's military journal, April 21 : Ensign Mehaffy came in with his quota from Westmoreland. They marched along with Miller's men, each with a ser- geant, corporal and twenty men. They will join the volunteers next morning. Lt. Miller returned- to Washington to recruit. The state troops under Mehaffy, 43; sent with boats, 4; volunteers, 32 ; total in Mehaffy's command, 79. On Denny's ar- rival at LeBœuf, June 24, he entered in his journal : Ensign Mehaffy and his detachment we found fenced in. The quarters of the men who were here before us and the whole place in the most abominable and filthy condition, and one-third of the men ill with the flux. *

* * He noted in his journal July 19 : Ensign Mehaffy with six men started for Pittsburgh with dispatches, and with orders to bring ns on a supply of provisions. July 27 : Ensign Mehaffy with his party, with thirteen head of very small cattle, and a few horse loads of flour and whisky, ten in number. November 17 :

Left Ensign Mehaffy, Quartermaster Mccutcheon and nineteen men, and embarked with the rest of my command in boats for Pitt. After his arrival at Pittsburgh, January 4, 1795 : Ensign Mehaffy and Ensign MeCutcheon, with the men left at LeBœuf, arrived and were discharged the next day.

Mehaffy, after having served as a scout along the Allegheny river, after his discharge from that de- tachment, until danger from hostile Indians was over, settled on a tract, 411} acres, adjoining "Chorley," "Settle" and "Broughton " on the north, June 4, 1801. It had probably attracted his attention while serving as a scout, a patent for which -- 253 acres and 73 perches-is called " Ste- phen's Green," dated April 5, 1811. According to the first survey the whole contained the above- mentioned quantity, but, like all the original tracts, it probably contained a considerable surplus.

Mehaffy conveyed his inchoate interest in 212 acres of the west end of the original survey to William Freeman, December 17, 1800, for £5, which the latter conveyed to John Sloan, May 22, 1806, for the same consideration.

Mehaffy conveyed 37 acres and 42 perches of "Stephen's Green " to John Reamer, October 9, 1810, whose interest therein was sold by Sheriff Robinson to James Monteith on Vend. Ex. No. 49, September term, 1821, for $71.

Mehaffy conveyed 42 acres and 63 perches there- of to Jacob Christman, April 30, 1811, for $150, on that part of which, traversed by Nicholson's run, the latter erected a gristmill which was first as- sessed to him in 1813, to Andrew Brown first in 1817 and last in 1820.

Mehaffy conveyed the residue of "Stephen's Green " to his son Robert, June 12, 1823, for $70, natural affection and the payment of several debts of record, and for the further reason that he had become too infirm to take proper charge of his estate.

During the Indian hostilities, about 1790, a blockhouse was built at the mouth of the stream . afterward called Nicholson's run, which Henry Truby remembers having seen in his boyhood. It was about 20×25 feet, constructed of round logs, with a puncheon door and loft-floor several inches thick, and with port-holes on all sides about six feet above the ground.

James Dougherty settled in this vicinity in 1809, and seems to have acquired titles to about 165 acres, now in the occupancy of his descendant, Joseph Dougherty, and by Joseph Atkinson, who built his sawmill on Dougherty's run. James Dougherty came from Westmoreland county, and brought with him into what is now South Buffalo

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SOUTH BUFFALO TOWNSHIP.

township the first wagon ever owned within this part of its territory. He erected the first wind- mill in this region, which was located west of the blockhouse, was visited by many people on Sun- days, and which was then considered a great curiosity, and he made hatchets and nails from wrought iron, the latter of which were used for saddlers' tacks.

At or below the mouth of the run, now called Nicholson's, an Indian trail crossed the Allegheny river and extended along the ridge northwesterly to a point a short distance north of Penny's Point- so called from James Penny to whom a tract in the western part of what is North Buffalo was surveyed in or about 1794 in the Buffalo creek, and thence across the creek to the upper Allegheny region.

Opposite "Stephen's Green," in the Allegheny river, is an island, for which a warrant was granted to the late George Ross, September 20, 1810, and the patent, May 16, 1816, then containing 26 acres and 5 perches, which Ross conveyed to Andrew Brown, August 6, 1818, for $500, and which Philip Mechling, sheriff, conveyed to "James Pinks & Co., of Kittanning," June 23, 1820, for $126.12}, having sold the same to them on a judgment in favor of Ross against Brown for $100 of debt and $2.47 of costs. The purchasers were James Pinks and James Monteith, his undivided one-half of which the former conveyed to the latter, July 29, 1825, so that this island was included in the latter's devise to his daughters-Mary, afterward inter- married with William F. Johnston, and Nancy, in- termarried with Dr. John Gilpin, to whose estates it still belongs. It and the run and the falls of that name are said to have been so called after one Nicholson who early made a settlement on the run. James Nicholson-spelled Nickelson-was assessed with 200 acres in Buffalo township in 1806, but not before or after.

If the reader could take a glance at the map of original tracts, he would see on it a tract of 414 acres and 133 perches, adjoining "Stephen's Green" on the west and "Mulberry Lane" and " Gensing Hill" on the north, bearing on its face " Abram Leasure or John Truby," with which Leasure ap- pears to have been assessed as a settler at 40 cents an acre prior to 1805 and afterward as an improver at 50 cents an acre until 1809, and thereafter Truby was assessed as an improver with 200 acres at 50 cents an acre, the tax on 100 of which was to he paid by Henry Brough, as noted on the assess- ment list for the year 1810. It was surveyed to Truby, June 27, 1810, by Isaac Moore, deputy sur- veyor-421 acres and 93 perches. Truby continued

to be assessed with 100 acres until 1817, when the list shows this parcel was transferred to Conrad Hollabough, to whom it was assessed for one year.

Truby entered into an agreement, February 10, 1812, to convey 100 acres of this tract, on which he then lived, to Hollabough and George Shearer for $260, including an "improvement known as Henry Brough's." Truby was to give possession on the 1st of the next April, and the vendees were to pay $30 in money before tlie execution of the article of agreement, a certain mare, saddle and bridle, and one heifer, which the vendor was to take from them at the valuation to be placed upon them by two honest and judicious neighbors on or before the 1st of April, and the vendees were to pay the further sum of $20 on the Ist of the next October, and the residue in four equal annual payments, the first of which was to be made on April 1, 1813.

None of those occupants seem to have perfected his title. A patent for it, as containing 423 acres and 87 perches, was granted to Daniel Bush, Sep- tember 5, 1820, who conveyed about 20 acres to Jacob Bush, April 5, 1825, and he to Sebastian Spangler as 21 acres and 79 perches, February 28, 1834, for $64.50, and he to James Arp, the same quantity, April 5, 1850, for $252. David Bush conveyed 100 acres and 47 perches to George Shearer, April 5, 1825, for $550, and 109 acres and 29 perches of his tract to Andrew Bush, December 5, 1825, for $450. John Shearer, as devisee of George Shearer, 200 acres and 47 perches to James H. Reddick, December 15, 1851, for $1,600.

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History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 93

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