USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and its centennial celebration, Volume I > Part 25
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" Thomas Jefferson Esquire Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting:
Know ye that in consideration of military service performed by John West, Jr., in the late war between Great Britain and France, according to the terms of the King of Great Britain's Proclamation of 1763, there is granted by the said Commonwealth unto Robert Rutherford, Esquire, of the county of Berkely, assignees of the said John West, Jr., a certain tract or parcel of land containing 1,300 acres by survey bearing date, the 5th day of April, 1765, situated in the (1765, situated) County of Youghogania, on Mill creek, a branch of the Ohio, and bounded as followeth, to-wit: Beginning at a large white oak on a
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History of Beaver County
number over one thousand, and cover over an area of six hun- dred and thirty-three thousand acres of land. The descriptions of the tracts as they are recorded in the book of entries, and as they are written in the surveys, are quite vague and indefinite, the location usually given being that of a stream, as "on Peter's creek," "on the waters of the Shirtie" (for Chartiers), "on Pigeon creek," "on X-mile creek," "on Raccoon creek," or on the " Ohio," " Monongalia," or "Yough," as the case might be.
On the same ground at the same time the Pennsylvania counties were in existence, and Pennsylvania grants were being made, and there were instances where the same lands were granted to different persons by the authorities of each State.
After prolonged negotiations and wranglings, as we have related, the boundary agreement was reached in 1780. In anticipation of the running and marking of the lines, Pennsyl- vania, on the 28th of March, 1781, erected all her territory south of the Ohio and west of the Monongahela into the county of Washington.' This included all that part of Beaver County which lies south of the Ohio, and which was formerly within the limits of the Virginia county of Yohogania. Subsequent legislation adjusted the difficulties arising from the previous situation, and it has been said that "it is to the honor of the courts of Pennsylvania that in all cases tried before them which involved a conflict between Pennsylvania and Virginia titles,
level, about 160 poles on the east side of the falls of the aforesaid creek; then south 370 poles crossing the branches to a white oak and black oak on a ridge; then south 45 west, 140 poles crossing a branch to a white oak on the north brow of a hill; then south 52 poles to a small young white oak on the south side of a hill, near a drain; then west 56 poles to Mill creek, the same course continued in all 275 poles to a forked Spanish oak and white oak, on the east side of the hill; then 30 poles crossing a drain to a white oak; then west 72 poles to a large white oak and Spanish oak on the west side of a hill; then north 206 poles to a black and white oak; then west 138 poles crossing a drain to three black oaks on a hill; then north 218 poles crossing two drains to a white oak and black oak on a hill; then east 28 poles to a white oak and black oak; then north 45 poles to two black oaks and white oaks on the side of a hill; then east 28 poles to a white oak and black oak; then north 45 poles to two black oaks and white oaks on the side of a hill; then east 308 poles to two large white oaks on a level; then north 72 poles to two black oaks and two white oaks on a hill; then north 47 poles east, 28 poles to a hickory, ash, cherry tree and white oak on the west side of Mill creek opposite a parcel of rocks, and then east 230 poles, crossing the said creek to the beginning, containing 1.300 acres and all appurtenances. To have and hold the said tract or parcel of land with its appurtenances to the said Robert Rutherford, Esquire, and his heirs forever.
In witness whereof the said Thomas Jefferson, Esquire, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, hath hereunto set his hand and caused the seal of the said Commonwealth to be affixed at Williamsburg, on the twenty-third day of December, in the year of our Lord, 1779, and of the Commonwealth, the fourth.
SEAL OF VIRGINIA
THOMAS JEFFERSON."
Sic Semper Tyrannus.
I See Col. Rec., vol. xii., p. 530; Penna. Arch., vol. ix., p. 20; P. L., 1781, p. 400; 1 Dallas's L., p. 874; Casey and Bioren, ii., p. 282, and I Smith's L., p. 517.
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History of Beaver County
the compact between the States was held to be inviolate," and that "to-day, within the territory so long a matter of conten- tion, land titles are so well settled that there is probably no section of the State, unless in the three original and a few others of the older counties, in which there is less land litigation than in the counties formed out of the disputed district." I But we have obtained this liberty at a great price, as the history of the controversies which we have sketched has shown, and each of those controversies has left its mark, as will appear in the fol- lowing quotation from Hon. Daniel Agnew's Settlement and Land Titles (p. 182), with which we may fittingly close this chapter :
The variety of the original land titles in Beaver County exceeds that of any other county in the State. On the south side of the Ohio we have all the various titles, underwarrants, improvements and licenses both of the proprietary and the State governments, applicable to the purchase under the treaty of 1768; to which may be added Virginia entries by settlement under the "corn" law of that State of 1778, and by special grants, recog- nized by Pennsylvania in her settlement of boundaries with Virginia. On the north side of the Ohio we have the titles under the Donation and Depreciation surveys, with some marked peculiarities, and titles under the Act of 1792, by warrant and survey, and actual settlement and survey, involving characteristics still more marked, including the doctrines of abandonment and vacating warrants. These varying elements have also given characteristics to the tax titles of this county differing in some re- spects from those in other parts of the State. The difference in the kind of warrants on the north and south sides of the Ohio and in the modes of survey on both sides, often conflicting with each other, made the land titles of the county intricate and difficult. By compromises, by trials, and by the operation of the Statute of Limitations, under a change of judicial interpretation, the titles of this county became settled and an era of improvement began.
1 Report of Secretary of Internal Affairs, 1895, Section A, pp. 208, 212. Valuable articles, which have aided us in the preparation of the foregoing matter, will be found in the Reports of the Secretary of Internal Affairs of Pennsylvania as follows:
Depreciation Lands, Report for 1892, A, pp. 22-31.
Donation
1893, 19-41.
Early Land Titles ( in Penna.
" 1894, 15-41.
Disputed Territory between Penna. and Virginia, etc., Report for 1895, A, pp. 197-214. Lands within the Purchase of 1784, Report for 1896, A, pp. 15-32.
CHAPTER VI
ERECTION AND ORGANIZATION
Need of New Counties-Eight Counties Formed-Boundaries of Beaver County Defined-Commissioners Named-Personal Sketches of First Commissioners-Organization of Courts-Admission of First At- torneys-First County Officers-First Grand Jury-Constables Ap- pointed-Licenses Granted-Justices' Districts-First Deed and Will -Commissioner's Report, 1806-Erection of County Buildings- Civil List-Personal Sketches of United States Senators, Members of Congress and of the State Senate.
Look now abroad-another race has filled These populous borders-wide the wood recedes, And towns shoot up, and fertile realms are tilled; New colonies rise, that toward the western seas Spread like a rapid flame among the autumnal trees. BRYANT, The Ages.
WE have seen that at the close of the eighteenth century the distracted settlements of western Pennsylvania were pass- ing from storm to calm; wars and rumors of wars had ceased, and the way was clear for emigration into what was previously forbidden land. After the pacification of the frontier by Wayne's victory and the treaty of Greenville (August 3, 1795) these districts became so thickly settled that it was evident to all that some relief should be given to the inhabitants thereof by the erection of additional counties, thus saving the people the inconvenience and expense they were under in having to travel long distances to reach their courts of justice. Much contro- versy had arisen under the operation of the Land Law of 1792, and lawsuits were numerous. The people had need of more accessible courts. Accordingly there was passed by the Legis- lature of the State, March 12, 1800,1 an Act entitled "An Act to
1 See Bioren, vol. iii., p. 421 ; 3 Smith's L., 26 p. 190, 429.
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History of Beaver County
erect certain parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland, Washington, and Lycoming counties, into separate counties," and by this Act political being was given to the eight counties of BEAVER, Butler, Mercer, Crawford, Erie, Warren, Venango, and Arm- strong.1
BOUNDARIES DEFINED
The first section of this Act defined the limits of Beaver County as follows:
That those parts of the counties of Allegheny and Washington in- cluded within the following boundaries, viz., Beginning at the mouth of Big Sewickley creek on the Ohio river; thence up the said creek to the
1 The necessity of dividing the large stretch of territory north of the Ohio into new counties was apparent to the authorities at least as early as 1796, and the intention to do so is foreshadowed in the correspondence of several eminent men of affairs of that day. In- teresting evidence of this is given in the letters written to Governor Mifflin by Hon. Alex- ander Addison, one of the most learned jurists of the State, and at that date president judge of the Fifth Judicial District, composed of the counties of Allegheny, Fayette, Wash- ington, and Westmoreland. Writing to the Governor from Washington, Pa., under date of February 3, 1796, concerning the preservation of the property of the State and the sale of the lots on the reserve tract at the mouth of the Beaver, he says:
"Many will settle there next summer. Before a sale the future seat of justice ought to be established there-the county to take place as soon as a certain number, say 300 or 500 families live on the N. W. side of the Ohio, within 15 or 20 miles of the town. This being certified to you on certain proof made, the lines of the county on both sides of the Ohio to be ascertained by Commissioners, and declared by proclamation; but no court to be held there until the County Commissioners have built a sufficient Court house and jail, which they should be enabled to do without limitation of price. These sales ought to be made on the grounds, I mean at the town itself. And profits ought to be applied to an academy.
"Indeed, I should think that in all the unsettled parts boundaries of counties and scites of the county towns ought to be ascertained beforehand and purchases made of 600 or 1,000 acres to be laid out in lots and out lots, and the profits to be applied to academies. The county to be declared by proclamation entitled to a separate representation as soon as the ratio of one member shall be complete, and to a separate judicature as soon as a Court house and jail proper for the purpose shall be finished. This plan would prevent much intrigue and partiality, and would throw the profits into a better channel than they are now in. At present county towns are only means of gain without merit to the owners of the land, who may impose what terms they please on the purchasers."-Penna. Arch., 2d Series, vol. iv., p. 650.
In another letter, dated Pittsburg, March 11, 1796, he says:
"The idea of a new county ought to be fixed and prosecuted as soon as possible. I dread the consequences of the flood of mad people who have gone over the Allegheny and Ohio to make settlements: their number is inconceivable and they will, perhaps, be danger- ous, unless law can be brought in among them. The establishment of a new county and seat of justice there, with the additional number of officers that would be occasioned by that, would awaken and keep up a sense of submission, and have a good influence on characters and tempers, which otherwise may give rise to some apprehensions."-Penna. Arch., 2d Series, vol. iv., p. 650.
To the same effect is a letter written by General Josiah Harmar to Governor Mifflin, dated from "Harmar's Retreat" (on the east bank of the Schuykill near Gray's Ferry), December 27, 1796, and reading as follows:
"DEAR GOVERNOR :- Be pleased to receive the enclosed letter from Captain Denny. He informs me that there is reason to expect several new counties will be laid off to the westward of Pittsburgh, this winter, in which case he has solicited my influence to interest myself with you in his behalf. The commission of prothonotary, with the recorder's office attached, would answer his wishes. If those new counties should be laid off, I beg leave, in a particular manner, to recommend Captain Denny, as a man of honor and probity, and capable of filling such an office."-Military Journal of Major Ebenezer Denny, Lippincott & Co., 1859, p. 269.
VOL. 1. 13.
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History of Beaver County
west line of Alexander's district of depreciation lands; thence northerly along the said line and continuing the same course to the north line of the first donation district; thence westerly along the said line to the western boundary of the State; thence southerly along the said boundary across the Ohio river to a point in the said boundary, from which a line to be run at a right angle easterly will strike White's mill on Raccoon creek, and from such point along the said easterly line to the said mill, leaving the said mill in the county of Beaver; thence on a straight line to the mouth of Big Sewickley creek, the place of beginning; be, and the same is hereby erected into a separate county to be henceforth called Beaver County; and the place of holding the courts of justice shall be at Beaver- town, in the said county.
The commissioners to be appointed by the Governor (three, any two of whom could act) were required to run and mark the boundaries of the county by the fifteenth day of June fol- lowing, and were to appoint assistants to take the enumeration of the taxable inhabitants. Until such enumeration could be made Beaver County (also Butler) was to remain with Allegheny County and under the jurisdiction of its courts. The Act also names Jonathan Coulter, Joseph Hemphill, and Denny McClure as trustees for the county to erect the court-house, jail, and public offices for preserving the records.'
1 Jonathan Coulter came to what is now Beaver County in 1798 or 1799, and made a settlement on 185 acres of land up Two Mile Run. His settlement was confirmed by war- rant and survey in 1804. This tract of land was bounded on the south by the line of the Reserve tract, on the west by tract No. 39 in McClean's district, later the farm of James Lyon, and later still known as the Marks farm; on the north by the farm of John Small, after- wards owned by Henry Small; on the east by the plantation of John Bean, and in a later day by the land of Thomas English, Joseph Hemphill, and John Small, who owned part of the Bean tract. In 1802 Coulter was living on in-lot No. 27, in the town of Beaver. He was an innkeeper and a justice of the peace. He was twice sheriff of Beaver County, from 1806-'09, and again 1812-'15. In 1807 he was elected a Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia, and while sheriff he was a candidate for the State Senate in 1808. The district was com- posed of the counties of Allegheny, Beaver and Butler. The vote was as follows:
Allegheny
Beaver
Butler
Total
Abner Lacock.
2109
1082
862
4053
Nathaniel Irish.
2117
1073
871
4061
Jonathan Coulter.
I241
410
231
I882
James Semple.
1258
394
223
1875
Coulter married a Miss Mary Wilson, sixth child of Thomas Wilson, who was the great- grandfather of Hon. James Sharp Wilson, the present judge of Beaver County. The Wil- sons came from Lewisburg, Union County, Pa., and possibly that was also Coulter's home, though this is not known. Nor is the date or place of his decease now ascertainable.
We have not been able to learn much about Denny McClure. He was an innkeeper in the village of Sharon in 1802. As such he would doubtless have had as his guests the emigrants who came into and passed through the county in that great movement of popula- tion which began after Wayne's treaty with the Indians in 1795. The long trains of Conestoga wagons passing westward would stop at his house, for Sharon was the halting- place for all the teamsters before double-teaming up Brady's hill. On July 27, 1802, Joseph Hemphill laid off ten lots on part of out-lot No. 42, for "Major Denny McClure."
195
History of Beaver County
ORGANIZATION OF COURTS
The county was organized for judicial purposes by Act of April 2, 1803,1 but no court was held until February 6, 1804. A house on Third Street, owned by Abner Lacock, and known later as the Clark Hotel, was the place where the first court sat. At this court the Hon. Jesse Moore presided. He was the president judge of the Sixth Circuit, which was composed of the counties of Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Mercer, and Erie. His associates were Abner Lacock, John H. Reddick, and Joseph Caldwell. Abner Lacock having resigned on his election to the General Assembly, David Drennan was appointed to fill the vacancy and took his seat on the 5th of February, 1805. On the death of Joseph Caldwell, the vacancy on the bench was not filled, the number of associate judges having, in the mean- time, been limited by law to two. John H. Reddick and David Drennan continued together until 1830, when the former died, and Thomas Henry was commissioned May 19, 1830, by Gover- nor Wolf. Judge Drennan died in 1831, and on the 19th of August that year, Joseph Hemphill was commissioned by the Governor. In 1806, Beaver County was transferred from the Sixth to the Fifth Circuit, and Samuel Roberts became presi- dent judge of this county as part of his district. We shall not follow farther in this place the succession of president and asso- ciate judges, as that has been done in the chapter on the legal history of the county (Chap. IX.), where also biographical notices of the judges are given.
At the first court held in this county, February 6, 1804, the following gentlemen, attorneys in the Fifth Circuit, were ad- mitted to practise in Beaver County, viz .:
Alexander Addison, Thomas Collins, Steele Semple, A. W. Foster, John Bannister Gibson, Sampson S. King, Obadiah Jen- nings, William Wilkins, Henry Haslet, James Allison, Jun.,
From his having this title of major, we may suppose McClure had had some military ex- perience, perhaps in the Revolutionary War or in the militia. May 21, 1803, McClure con- veyed to Thomas Evans Nos. 9 and 10 of this plan, consideration, $800. August 16, 1803, McClure conveyed to Jesse Hart Nos. 4 and 5 of the same plan, and Hart sold the same lots to Robert Darragh, June 14, 1807, for $800. These lots adjoined the lot of James Hamilton and both fronted 110 feet on Water Lane. In May, 1803, McClure sold to George Holdship and James Alexander a part of out-lot No. 42, about six acres.
A sketch of Joseph Hemphill will be found in our chapter on the Bench and the Bar of the county.
1 P. L., 637.
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History of Beaver County
John Simonson, David Redick, Parker Campbell, David Hayes, C. S. Sample, Henry Baldwin, Thomas G. Johnston, Isaac Kerr, James Mountain, Robert Moore, and William Ayres.I
From the Attorneys' Register it would appear that two others, William Larwill and William C. Larwell, were admitted at the same time. We might suppose that there is a clerical error here, and that the names, so nearly alike, belong to one and the same person, but for the fact that the Appearance Docket shows that they were separately sworn.
David Johnson, who was the first teacher in the Academy at Canonsburg, Pa. (July, 1791), was the first prothonotary of Beaver County, as well as the first register and recorder, the offices being at that time held by one person. He was a very able officer, and opened the record books of the county in an elegant manner. Mr. Johnson died in 1837 at the advanced age of ninety-five.
The first sheriff of the new county was William Henry; the first treasurer, Guion Greer; the first prosecuting attorney, James Allison, Jr .; first coroner, Ezekiel Jones.2
1 Biographical data concerning many of these gentlemen will be found in Chapter IX.
2 William Henry, the first sheriff of Beaver County, was born in County Down, Ireland, in the year 1777. He was the oldest son of William and Jane (Patton) Henry, who emi- grated to America in 1783, and settled near Havre de Grace, Maryland. In 1794, the family removed to Peter's Creek, Washington County, Pa., and were there during the Whisky In- surrection, but took no part in it. In the summer or fall of 1795, William and his brother Thomas, then fourteen years of age, settled in what was later Beaver County and now Wayne township, in Lawrence County, making a small clearing and building a cabin
thereon. They returned to Peter's Creek, and in the following spring (1796) the family removed to their improvement. William and Thomas were both carpenters. They built the first hewed log house between the Conoquenessing Creek and New Brighton, on what is now known as the Whisler farm. In 1798, William and Thomas moved to Beaver, pur- suing their occupation as carpenters. In 1800, William took the first census of Beaver County, and in 1803 he was appointed sheriff by Governor Thomas Mckean to serve three years. In 1809, he removed to where Canton, Ohio, now is, and afterwards laid out the town of Wooster. He was an excellent judge of the qualities of land and became very wealthy. William Henry's bond as sheriff was fixed at $5000, and was signed by David Drennan, John Lawrence, James Alexander, James Moore, and Guion Greer. He died at Wooster shortly after the close of the Civil War.
Of Guion Greer, the first treasurer of Beaver County, we have no data. A few facts concerning him may be found by reference to the general index.
A sketch of James Allison will be found in Chapter IX.
Ezekiel Jones and his wife, Hannah, came from New Jersey to what is now Beaver County, about the year 1800, settling within the bounds of the present township of North Sewickley (previously Sewickley), where they became active in the early social and religious affairs of the county. See account of Providence Baptist Church under the above-named township. Beaver County Warrant Book No. 1, page 17, contains the following reference to Jones:
"Ezekiel Jones enters his warrant for 400 acres of land Dated Feb'y 12, 1803, situate in Sewickley Township & on the road that leads from Allen's mill to Beaver Town where it crosses Conoquenesing creek."
L
-
William Henry. First Sheriff of Beaver County.
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History of Beaver County
The members of the first grand-jury at the February ses- sions of 1804 were: John Lawrence (foreman), David Drennan, Robert White, Samuel Arbuckle, Guion Greer, Thomas Evans, George Holdship, James McDowell, Joseph Mitchell, Joseph Hoopes, Nathan Stockman, John Baird, John Christmas, John Beaver, John Boyd, Esq., John Sharp, Matthew Brooks, David Townsend, and William Orr.
At the same sessions nine constables were appointed, as follows: George Bail, borough of Beaver; Samuel Allison, First Moon township; Thomas Dawson, Second Moon; Archibald Woods, Hanover; Robert Johnson, South Beaver; Conrad Henning, Little Beaver; Thomas Lewis, Big Beaver; Andrew Wilson, North Sewickley, and Richard Waller, New Sewickley. Wilson was excused by the court on account of illness.
At the same sessions the following persons were recom- mended to keep public houses of refreshment in the county: Joseph Hemphill, Beaver; Robert Graham, Moon township; Allen Tucker, Sewickley township; and William Moore and Thomas Porter, Moon. At May sessions, the following were added to the list: John Boies, Hugh Cunningham, and Thomas Ross, South Beaver township; John Bradley, George McClel- land, Nathaniel Blackmore, Isaac Lawrence, and Daniel Weigle, Moon township; John Smur, George Greer, and Jacob Mosser, Little Beaver township; Mattison Hart, New Sewickley; Jona- than Harvut and Jonathan Guthrie, Hanover; and Samuel Johnson, Benjamin Beatty, and Abner Lacock, of the borough of Beaver.
On the 15th of August, 1803, the commissioners, John Mc- Cullough, James Boies, and James Alexander, in compliance with an Act of the General Assembly, laid out the county into Justices' Districts, as follows: The First and Second districts, south of the Ohio River-First, with 246 taxables and David Scott, justice; Second, with 291 taxables and Samuel Glasgow and William Little, justices; the Third District including half of the county west of the Big Beaver Creek and north of the Ohio River, with a taxable population of 433 and John Law- rence and Jonathan Coulter, justices; the Fourth District, the north half of the county west of the Big Beaver-246 taxables, with John Sprott, justice; the Fifth District, north of the Cono- quenessing and east of the Big Beaver-116 taxables, with
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