History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 98

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

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462

HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

erected in 1861. Members in 1876, -; Sabbath- school scholars, 35.

Schoolhouse No. 3 is on the public road, nearly forty rods southeast of the crossroads, in its im- mediate vicinity.

Chambers T. Bowser was first assessed here as a blacksmith in 1871, and J. F. Crookshanks as a merchant in 1872.

Adjoining the " Center Hill" tract on the south was depreciation lot No. 285, 22016 acres, for which a patent was granted to William Findley, November 20, 1786, and which he agreed in his lifetime to sell to Charles Bonner, who had settled on it be- fore 1805, and who had paid Findley part of the purchase-money before the latter's death. Bon- ner's death occurred after Findley's. The latter's executors, in pursuance of that ante mortem agree- ment, conveyed this tract to Charles Bonner, in trust for the heirs of Charles Bonner, deceased, November 29, 1836, for $587, including the por- tion paid before their testator's death, nearly the whole of which is now owned and occupied by the last-mentioned Charles Bonner, who conveyed 1 acre and 6 perches of it to David G. Claypoole, March 27, 1874, for $103.75, and the same day, 1 acre to J. F. Crookshanks, for $100, and another parcel, 1 acre and 75 perches, March 7, 1876, for $884.

Adjoining " Center Hill" on the west was depre- ciation lot No. 275, 27613 acres, called "Antrim," for which a patent was granted to William Find- ley November 20, 1786, which he conveyed to Adam Bowser, June 21, 1815, for $736, the north- ern part of it being in East Franklin. The records show that 101 acres and 117 perches of " Antrim " became vested in Bowser's grandchildren, Francis and Jeremiah Donze, who made an amicable parti- tion and mutually released to each other, May 9, 1866, thus : Francis to have 56 acres and 57 perches, then adjoining James Robinson on the north, Joseph Bowser on the east, and Mrs. Sarah Long on the south ; Jeremiah to have 45 acres and 60 perches adjoining the public road extending through the middle of the tract, John Summerville on the north, Jacob Bowser on the west, and Mrs. Sarah Long on the south. Jeremiah conveyed 30 acres and 60 perches of his purpart to Lydia McCollum, April 1, 1868, for $1,500.

Adjoining "Antrim " on the south was deprecia- ciation lot No. 274, 27676 acres, called "First Choice," the patent for which was granted to to Findley November 20, 1786, which he conveyed to Joseph and Samuel Bowser, one-half to each, June 21, 1815, for $225 for each half. Joseph conveyed 125 acres to David Sturgeon, April

19, 1866, for $4,000. Samuel conveyed 120 acres to Alexander Colwell, November 26, 1844, for $600.

Adjoining the two last-mentioned Findley-Bow- ser and Findley-Bowser-Sturgeon tracts, was a hexagonal one of 4193 acres, surveyed by Stephen Gapen to William Cain, on which William Jack made an improvement and settlement, August 9, 1799, of which 316 acres and 74 perches were sur- veyed to him by George Ross, September 12, 1801, for which a warrant was issued to Jack, March 16, 1807, who conveyed this tract to Jacob Weaver, June 3, for $282, to whom the patent was granted, January 16, 1809, to whom Thomas Jack conveyed whatever interest he had in it, October 14, 1817, for $10. Weaver conveyed this tract as containing 330 acres and 75 perches to Benjamin F. Weaver, January 31, 1831, for $1,000, who conveyed 316 acres and 75 perches of it to James Milligan, Feb- ruary 21, 1840, for $1,583.123, having conveyed 14 acres and 136 perches to John Boney, August 15, 1836, for $100. Milligan conveyed 80 acres and 120 perches to William McCune, February 21, 1840; McCune conveyed the same quantity to William Clark, September 26, 1848, for $731, and he to Joseph Claypoole, 29 acres, May 2, 1856, for $300. Milligan conveyed 40 acres and 150 perches to Joseph Bowser, August 4, 1845, for $122, and 95 acres to William F. Coyle, December 8, 1845, for $760; Coyle to John Barnett, the same quantity, March 27, 1850, for $765. Milligan also conveyed 100 acres to Samnel Ashbangh, February 4, 1846, for $900, which the latter conveyed to William Huston, April 2, 1850, for $1,300.

Adjoining the western part of that Jack-Weaver tract on the south was a septangular one of 418 acres and 134 perches, including the southern part of Gapen's survey to Cain, on which John Jack, Jr., had made an improvement and settlement before it was surveyed to him by George Ross, April 26, 1805, one-third of the northwestern part of which was then claimed by William Jack. This tract was conveyed by John and Thomas Jack as containing 400 acres, more or less, to Joseph Mccullough, boat- builder, of Pittsburgh, April 5, 1810, for $600. It and portions of the adjoining Daniel Green-Boney- Ross tract, making an octagonal-shaped tract 407 acres and 95 perches, appear to have been included in a survey, November 14, 1833, to McCall and Mc- Cain, on an order of the board of property of March 29, 1833, for which a patent was granted to McCall November 26, 1833. Partition having been made between him and John Boney, who had purchased from Ross and Green, McCall conveyed to Boney 150 acres "on the waters of Glade run,"

463

NORTH BUFFALO TOWNSHIP.

September 30, 1834, for $1, and 100 acres, August 12, 1837, for $75.

Next south of the Jack-Mccullough tract, on the Lawson & Orr map, are two contiguous ones aggregating 201 acres and 11 perches-Benjamin and William White's-on one of which the former settled in 1812, in which year he was first assessed with 200 acres and 1 horse, at $210. The next year, 100 acres, 1 horse and 1 cow were assessed to Will- iam White, at $103, and 100 acres to Benjamin White; so there must have been a division between them between those two assessments. Benjamin continued to be assessed with his part of the land until 1817, when it is noted on the assessment-list " transferred to Jacob White." Both of those tracts are noted on the next year's assessment-list " transferred to Nathaniel Torbett." The patent for the land included in those two tracts was granted to John Craig February 18, 1815, who transferred it to Jacob White, and the latter con- veyed the 201 acres and 11 perches, which it cov- ered, to Torbett, May 4, 1820, for $600, who, by his will dated April 28, and registered May 23, 1825, devised the same to the children of his deceased brother, Henry Torbett. " By sundry mesne con- veyances, good and sufficient in law," this property became vested in Robert McKnight, who conveyed it, 201 acres, to Thomas Roney, March 12, 1840, for $1,500.50. One of its boundaries is along the "line of Jacob White's old plow."

Adjoining " Antrim " on the west was deprecia- tion lot No. 272, 2034 acres, called " Armagh," the patent for which was granted to Joshua Elder, May 9, 1791, which, and his interest in 25 other tracts in this and other counties, he conveyed to Archibald McCall and Alexander McDowell, March 27, 1795, for $4,760§3. It was assessed as unseated to the latter, in 1805 and 1806, at $812. It bears on its face, on the map of Gapen's surveys, " A. McC. " and " 203.9 " acres. It must have fallen to McCall in the division between him and McDowell, for McCall conveyed the sonthern part of it, 120 acres, to Christian Bowser, December 20, 1835, for $420, who was first assessed with it in 1834. He conveyed this parcel to Joseph Bowser, April .16, 1839, for $360. The northern part of this tract is in the northwestern part of East Franklin town- ship.

Adjoining " Armagh " on the south, on the map of Gapen's surveys, was another of the same size, blank in all respects except the boundary lines, which, like its northern adjoiner, is a square. On the other map of surveys it bears on its face "No. 273," and its quantity of land " 203.9 " acres. It was one of the tracts which Elder sold to McCall

and McDowell, and in the division between them fell to the latter, whose heirs mutually and amica- bly agreed, June 26, 1833, that partition of their father's real estate in Armstrong, Butler, Venango and Warren counties, in this state, be made by Andrew Bowman, James Kinnear and Myron Parks. They first met July 22, 1833, and ad- journed until the 30th. After adjusting the claims of two of the heirs, Parker and Thomas McDowell, they valued and allotted the various tracts to the respective heirs, No. 273 to Parker McDowell at $203, which he conveyed to John, Elizabeth and Mary Roudebush, July 15, 1837, and which they soon after divided into two equal parts, one of which was taken by John and the other by Eliza- beth and Mary. That amicable partition was formally ratified by the heirs of John and Mary and by Elizabeth, February 2, 1855, " for the pur- pose of preventing difficulty from hereafter arising in regard to the partition aforesaid." Christian and Elizabeth Roudebush conveyed Elizabeth and Mary's purpart to David Bowser, February 21, 1855, for $544.80, and the heirs of John Roudebush released their respective interests in the other puur- part to William Bowser, March 28, 1855, and May 15, 1858, for $100 to each.

South of that McDowell-Roudebush tract lay the eastern portion of a tract, nearly a rectangular parallelogram, its longest sides extending from east to west, bearing on its face on the map of Gapen's surveys "Joseph Collins, 419.130" acres, but on the other map "Jonathan Moore," and the same number of acres. The patent was granted to McCall and Moore May 6, 1806, in which it is named "Dundee." Those patentees made par- tition between themselves, and on June 18, 1807, McCall released 150 acres of the western part to Moore, and Moore 265 acres and 100 perches of the eastern part to McCall. Moore settled on this tract before 1805, and he was assessed with his purpart until 1809. He was, as before stated, elected an elder of the Slate Lick Presbyterian church in 1808, but " remained within the bounds of the congregation only one year." He then emi- grated to Ohio. His purpart was then assessed to Henry Brough until 1812, and then to his widow, Mary Brough, until 1814.

McCall conveyed 42 acres and 136 perches of his purpart of "Dundee " to Joseph Claypoole, Octo- ber 29, 1832, for $128.55 ; 87 acres and 76 perches to James Earley, June 29, 1846, for $699 ; McCall's heirs to William F. Johnston, 109 acres and 114 perches, April 13, 1846, of which he conveyed 50 acres to Hezekiah Claypoole, August 6, 1852, for $328; 23 acres and 109 perches to Joseph Clay-

464

HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

poole, August 9, 1853, for $153.72, and 35 acres and 87 perches to William Miller, for $231.

Adjoining the eastern or McCall purpart of "Dundee" on the south, on the map of Gapen's surveys, is a tract, a rectangular parallelogram, its longest sides extending from north to south, bear- ing on its face "John Sloan " and " 4193.130," and on the other map "A. McCall and Hezekiah Claypoole," 'and the same number of acres, its southwestern part seeming to lap over on to the Jacob White tract. Claypoole settled here prior to 1805. The patent for it was granted to him and McCall, March 8, 1820. They having made parti- tion between themselves, McCall conveyed to Clay- poole 180 acres of the southern part, July 17, 1835.

Hezekiah Claypoole and divers other early set- tlers in this part of the township were Baptists. As early as 1810 there was occasional preaching by itinerant Baptist clergymen at Jacob White's house at White's eddy, the first of whom was Rev. Speers. Arrangements were made several years later to secure a site for a church edifice, and an agree- ment was entered into by Nathaniel Bowser and Hezekiah Claypoole for that purpose, in pursuance of which the latter gave the former his bond in the penal sum of $300, the condition of which was, that Claypoole should make a good and sufficient deed for one-half an acre of the 120 acres of this tract, which McCall had agreed to sell to Peter Hammer in Angust, 1796, "for the purpose of building a meeting-house of the regular Baptist church, and for a burying-ground." The boundaries of that half-acre as described in the conditions of that bond were : Beginning five rods southwest of the grave of Elizabeth Hammer, the former wife of Peter Hammer; thence around that grave, and thence to to the lower east line of the survey of that 120- acre parcel; "thence the same with that it would be above, and thence to the beginning." It is not manifest from the records that a conveyance of that half-acre was ever made for the above-men- tioned purposes. For many years after that agree- ment was made, religious services were held at private houses, in later years at the house of James H. Claypoole. The present frame edifice, about 30×40 feet, built by David J. Reed, in 1852, and the burying-ground are on that half-acre, opposite the junction of two streams.

The Baptist church was reorganized October 19, 1841, at which time Hezekiah and Lucinda Clay- poole, Archibald and Rachel Moore, Mary Geary, Mary Hazlett and Mary Bowser were among the members, who remained from the original organi- zation. Other members were James H. Claypoole and his wife Isabella, David Campbell and wife,

Joseph Claypoole and wife, Mary Claypoole, James Jack, Mary Ann Jack, Reuben McKenna, Hannah Claypoole, Sarah Jane Price, John Cook. Upon the 18th of April, 1846, twenty members with- drew and formed the Franklin church.

John P. Connor conveyed one acre of the land which he had purchased from Thomas Roney to Andrew J. Bruner and Wallace Claypoole, trustees of the Union Baptist church and their successors, in trust for the church, March 18, 1875, for $80.

Hezekiah Claypoole conveyed 64 acres and 94 perches of his part to Isaac Bowser, July 8,. 1844, for $100.

McCall's heirs conveyed their purpart, 254 acres, to James Claypoole, June 29, 1846, for $889.

Adjoining the last-mentioned tract on the west was one lying parallel with it and containing the same quantity of land -twin tracts, except on the map of Gapen's surveys, the latter has on its face, "John Scott & David Todd," and on the other map, "Leonard White." White gave Archibald Mc- Call a bond, dated August 16, 1796, in the penal sum of $500, in the consideration of which these facts are embodied : Scott and Todd made an im- provement on this tract to whom Gapen surveyed it, and then transferred their interest in it to Me- Call, who had paid the purchase-money to the commonwealth and obtained a warrant of accept- ance, but no patent for it could issue until the im- provement, settlement and residence on it required by the act of April 3, 1792, had been effected. So McCall conveyed to White, the day of the date of that bond, 120 acres of this tract, "to be of good and bad according to the quantity and quality of the whole tract," in consideration whereof White agreed to make the required improvement, settle- ment and residence, and pay McCall 1 penny, and before February 16, 1797, build thereon a house fit for the habitation of a family. It is said, though it is not apparent from the records, that White sold his purpart. He then moved on to McCall's, and persisted in retaining possession. McCall, in order to regain possession of his 299 acres, brought his action of ejectment to No. 61, June term, 1828, in the common pleas of this county, which re- sulted in a verdict for the plaintiff, March 16, 1830, on which judgment was entered on the 21st. By virtue of a second pluries habere facias, No 2, Sep- tember term, 1834, Chambers Orr, sheriff, removed the defendant, who still persisted in " holding the fort," from the premises, and delivered possession to the plaintiff. The sheriff in his discharge of that official duty encountered the opposition of both the defendant and his wife, who continued to occupy their chairs after all their furniture had

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NORTH BUFFALO TOWNSHIP.

been removed, so that he was obliged to carry them off in their chairs by main force. The patent for this tract was granted to McCall for himself, James Kiskadden and James Matthews, March 9, 1820. McCall conveyed 119 acres and 150 perches of it to Samuel and May Hopkins, sole heirs of Andrew Kiskadden, of Highland county, Ohio, October 21, 1831, as their purpart in the partition which had been made- 113 acres to William Boney, March 6, 1841, for $1,130, which Boney conveyed to Joseph Wilson, April 28, 1843, for $1,400, Wilson to John Burford; Burford to L. N. Bartholemew, March 5, 1852, for $-, and Bar- tholomew to Jacob Bowser, June 20, 1853, for $ -; 203 acres and 115 perches of this tract were in- cluded in the Brown-Gilpin-Johnston purchase from McCall's heirs, of which Johnston conveyed, April 15, 1852, 50 acres and 150 perches to William Bowser, for $433.08, and 50 acres and 78 perches to William Walker, for $429.15.

Adjoining the last-mentioned tract on the west is one on the map of Gapen's surveys bearing on its face " James Scott," " 403.48 " acres, traversed from near its northwestern to its southeastern corner by Nicholson's run, and on the other map "Casper Early," " 440 a. 49 p." Earley settled on it probably during the last half of the last decade of the eighteenth century. It was surveyed to him by George Ross, June 16, 1802, "by virtue of act- . ual settlement and improvement." He was assessed with 200 acres of it, a sawmill, 1 horse and 1 cow, as early as 1805, at $136, and he continued to reside on it "during his life as an actual settler." A patent for the whole tract, the southwest corner - of which is in South Buffalo, was granted to Archibald McCall, October 2, 1828, who, in pursu- ance of the partition which had been made, con- veyed 215 acres and 123 perches to him, November 4, 1830. Earley, by his will, dated April 13, and registered May 18, 1829, devised 200 acres to his son, Casper, who was required to maintain his mother during her natural life, or so long as she remained unmarried, and his oldest son, John, dur- ing his natural life, and pay certain bequests to the testator's other children, who were enjoined not to oppress and embarrass their brother Casper in paying them-none of them was to demand more than $25 of his or her share annually. He bequeathed to "Rev. Mr. O'Neil, Roman Catholic priest, $25 for the good of my (his) soul, the greater honor and glory of God and support of his holy church militant on earth."

Nearly all of Casper Earley's purpart of this tract remains in the possession of his descendant, Casper W. Earley. The only portion of it which

he has sold appears from the records to be 1 acre and 893 perches, which he conveyed to the religions society called " the Holy Guardian Angel of the Catholic Church," June 29, 1876, for $1 "and other valuable considerations."

The McCall purpart is included in the Brown- Gilpin-Johnston purchase, and which (295 acres and 96 perches) Johnston conveyed to James H. Clay- poole, April 12, 1853, for $1,884.80, of which Clay- poole conveyed 50 acres and 9 perches to Isaac Steel and William A. Jack in trust for the heirs of James Jack, July 16, 1866, for $700.

Contiguous to the last-mentioned tract on the west on the map of Gapen's surveys is a hexagonal tract, the castern line of which is the western one of the McCall-Earley tract, its bearings and length being 3 degrees west 400 perches, which corresponds to the bearings and lengths of the eastern and western lines of the three last-mentioned tracts. The width of the northern half of it is 200, and that of the southern half is 178 perches. The headwaters or sources of Pine run are in its northwestern and central parts, nearly two-thirds of the southwestern part of its southern half being in what is now South Buffalo township. This tract has on its face on that map "Geo. Smith " and "412.117," but on the other map "Hugh Callen and A. McCall, now Kerscaddan," and figures representing 412 acres and 117 perches. There were, within the memory of James Rayburn, vestiges of an Indian camp in its northwestern part. It was surveyed to McCall and Callen October 29, 1805. The patent for 409 acres and 31 perches, called "Last Night," was granted to McCall and Callen, May 9, 1807, the latter having settled on it in March, 1796. He went, 'some time afterward, to Westmoreland county, to get a wife, and during his absence John Cowan took pos- session of his cabin, of which he was informed by Mrs. Rayburn, at whose house he stopped on his re- turn. He said nothing except to ask for something to eat. Partition having been made, McCall released to him, February 13, 1810, 160 acres of the western side, which then adjoined Enos McBride on the south, and Jacob Young and James Rayburn on the west, which Callen conveyed to "James Cars- kaadan," March 16, for $640, which the latter con- veyed to Samuel Beatty February 7, 1826; Beatty to James Ralston, June 25, 1827; Ralston to Mar- garet Reed, October 14, 1828; she to James Cald- well, Jannary 24, 1829, for $500, and she having married Isaac Allsworth, they both released to Caldwell, March 8, 1833; 50 acres of which Cald- well conveyed to John Boyd, May 18, 1833, for $200.

McCall's purpart, 249 acres and 37 perches, partly

466

HISTORY OF ARMSTRONG COUNTY.

in South Buffalo township, was included in his as- signment to Du Pont, who, by the late Judge White, his attorney, agreed, December 15, 1832, to sell it to George B. Sloan, and for which the latter agreed to pay $312. That agreement was subse- quently consummated by deed from George A. McCall by his attorney, A. McCall, June 22, 1838. Sloan conveyed 50 acres to John Boyd, July 6, 1839, for $137.

Adjoining " Last Night" and the McCall-Earley tract on the north were two depreciation lots, Nos. 222 and 223, and adjoining No. 222 on the north, No. 221, both lying north of "Last Night " and No. 223 north of and adjoining the McCall-Earley tract. All is blank on the map of the Gapen sur- veys, except their boundary lines and numbers, and so on the other map except their respective quan- tities are noted, No. 221, with other land attached, " 310ª," and bearing the name of "John Gal- braith," No. 222, " 200ª.6," and No. 223, "220ª.2." The earliest assessment lists of unseated land in Armstrong county show that at least one of them, No. 221, once belonged to Andrew Kennedy. The patents for Nos. 221 and 222 were granted to An- thony and John Kennedy, of Berks county, Penn- sylvania, September 11, and No. 223 September 13, 1819. John having conveyed his entire interest in them to Anthony, the latter devised them to his executors during the natural life of his niece, Re- becca Joice, and after her death to her children, except Anthony Joice. In the course of human events the wife of Samuel H. Harrison and her brother, Andrew R. Joice, became the devisees. Mrs. Harrison and her husband and Andrew R. Joice and his trustee conveyed these three tracts to James E. Brown, March 19, 1849, for $4,000, who conveyed Nos. 222 and 223 to Peter Groff, April 8, 1858, for $5,379.25, of which the latter, as the records show, conveyed 102 acres and 100 perches to Robert Boyd, November 22, 1865, and he to William C. Barnett, April 10, 1867, for $3,489.25, and April 17, 1874, 14 acres and 2 perches to Samuel Dumm, for $460.50, and 83 acres and 28 perches to John Dumm, for $1,016, both of those parcels being parts of Nos. 222 and 223. Brown conveyed 100 acres of No. 221 to James C. Galbraith, November 21, 1859, for $800, and 16 acres and 24 perches to George MeCracken, Sep- tember 29, 1866, for $323. Nos. 191 and 192 were assessed to Andrew Kennedy on the list for Buffalo township until 1815, when it was discovered they were not in this county. No. 221 was noted on the assessment list for 1815 as seated, but by whom it was not indicated. Nos. 222 and 223 do not appear to have been on the unseated list after 1807,

but the latter and No. 221 were assessed to Andrew Kennedy at $82.80 and $88.80, respectively, in 1805 and 1806.

East of No. 221, north of No. 223 and the west- ern portion of "Dundee," on the map of the Gapen surveys, is a septangular tract, " 425" acres, which Gapen surveyed to " Wm. Crawford," but on the other map "A. McCall and Andrew Earley." The patent for 422 acres and 92 perches, called "Copen- hagen," was granted to them, February 13, 1809, in the southern part of which, near the northwest corner of "Dundee," are the forks of Nedulvis run. There was probably a partition between them, though the records do not show it, for Earley continued to possess 200 acres of it. McCall's purpart was included in his assignment to DuPont of June 23, 1817, and which, 259 acres, was in- cluded in the sale by McCall's heirs to Brown, Gilpin and Johnston, of which Johnston conveyed 107 acres to James Earley, October 21, 1853, for $751; 50 acres and 19 perches to Joseph Earley, August 21, 1854, for $338; 97 acres and 133 perches to John Leister, June 24, 1859, for $684.81.

Public schoolhouse No. 2 is situated on the Earley purpart of "Copenhagen." The predecessor of the present one was burned on the night of the 5th or 6th of December, 1865-the work of an incendiary, as all the books in the house were removed to a safe place before the conflagration.

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History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Part 98

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