History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 115

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967

USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 115
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 115
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 115

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

As is elsewhere stated (see. general history), there is authentic testimony that several white men were settled at or near Turkey-Foot in 1768. The names of these pioneers were Henry Abrahams, Ezekiel Dewitt, James Spencer, Ben- jamin Jennings, John Cooper, Ezekiel Hickman, John Enslow, Henry Enslow and Benj. Pursley.

The colony which founded the Jersey Baptist church came from New Jersey to Turkey-Foot about 1774. This colony consisted of fifteen or twenty families, more or less intimately con- nected by ties of relationship and intermarriage. The early settlers, aside from the New Jersey colony, came mainly from Maryland and Vir- ginia, following what was then a well-defined route of travel, the old Turkey-Foot road. This road came down White's creek to the Cassel- man, which it crossed near Harnedsville, crossed the Hog Back where Ursina now is, thence on- ward across Laurel Hill creek where the old stockade stood, and up the Lick river to Stewart's crossing, near Connellsville.

William Rush was born in New Jersey in 1727 ; settled in this township, on the farm now owned by John Minder, in 1773, and died in

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John Mitchell, collector. Total valuation, real and personal, seventy-nine thousand three hundred and sixty-six dollars. Amount of tax collected, three hun- dred and ninety-six dollars and eighty-three cents.

Peter Helmick,

Henry Nail,

Hugh Nicholson,

Robert Nicholson,

Jonathan Woodsides, John Wright,

Frederick Younkin,

The following persons, named on the Turkey- Foot tax-list for 1798, pursued other occupations than farming :

John Holget,

George Isminger, Benjamin Jennings,

Amos Johnston, William Johnston,

Henry Rush,

Michael Rawway,

William Kamp, Jacob Knave,

Conrad Silbaugh,

Isaiah Strawn, James Spencer, John Skinner, John Smith,

Nathaniel Skinner, Jacob Storm, Jesse Spencer,

Coal Samuel Stringer, Jonathan Smith,

William Smith,

Benjamin Shoemaker, John Shee,

William Sterling,

Samuel Skinner,

William Spencer,

Samuel Rugg,

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HISTORY OF SOMERSET COUNTY.

1800. Among his children were Benjamin, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob was born in New Jer- sey in 1755, and at the age of eighteen came to the wilds of Turkey-Foot with his father. He took up a tomahawk claim, by deadening three trees, which entitled him to sixty acres of land. He served in the revolutionary war and died in 1850. He married Mary Skinner, and was the father of eight children, all of whom are dead : Reuben, Highley (King), William, John, Sarah (White), Amos, Jacob and Mary (McMillen). William was born in 1784, and died in 1870. He was the father of twelve children, all living but three. Jehu Rush, his son, resides in this town- ship. In 1849 he purchased of Jackson Colborn the farm on which he now lives. Mr. Rush has been school director.

William Brook, an early pioneer, came from the east and settled on Laurel Hill creek. He was a blacksmith, but devoted most of his time to fishing and hunting.

A man named Tissue, who probably came from New Jersey, and was the first settler on the land where Confluence now is, paid a con- vict's passage from Baltimore, having employed him to work on his farm. One day, when Tissue was away from home, the man took advantage of his absence, shut Tissue's two little boys up in a stable, murdered their mother, and robbed the house of a watch and other valuables. Then piling flax on the body of the murdered woman, he set fire to it and fled. He was fol- lowed by armed men, overtaken and shot. The shot took effect in his foot, partially cutting off his toes. The murderer then set his uninjured foot upon the wounded toes and wrenched them off. He tried to escape, but - was captured and died in prison. Tissue afterward .married Huldah Rush, daughter of William Rush.

The Tissue family was among the first in this township, and owned the land on which the town of Confluence now is. Jacob Tissue, who was born on this farm, was the owner of the property, inheriting it from his father. His son Isaac, born in 1793, was the next owner. Isaac Tissue died in 1871. He married Mary Lenhart, and was the father of nine children : William (deceased), John, Peter, Hiram (de- ceased), Ross, Alfred N., Sophia (Huff), Rachel (Chapman) and Betsey (Wilhelm). A. Newton Tissue bought the homestead, but in 1869 sold it to the company which laid out the town of Confluence. In 1870 he purchased the farm he

now occupies. Mr. Tissue is the owner of about four hundred and fifty-four acres. He served in the late war in Co. K, 11th Penn. Vols., from October, 1864, to June, 1865.

Among the early settlers of Turkey-Foot were the Hannas, who located where Harnedsville now is. The last of the old stock, Maj. Alex- ander Hanna, died in 1881, aged seventy-nine. He was a noted character in his day. Of a bright intellect and remarkable physical strength, he performed deeds of almost super- human power. He was a noted wrestler, and, though never aggressive, was a dangerous antagonist when excited. It is related of him that he once had a feud of many years' standing with a family in Addison township. One day the young men of the family, five in number, attacked him at a muster in 1828, and provoked a fight. The major handled the young men as though they were sticks. After one of them had cut him so badly that his entrails protruded, the wrangle was brought to a conclusion by some of the witnesses. At another time, when the National pike was building, some young men, who were jealous of the major's reputation and wished to test his courage, fastened a bear in a dark pen and dared Hanna to enter. He went in, and when the bear attacked him, struck the animal with his fist and broke its jaw. Hanna served many years as justice of the peace, and was also major of militia and brigade inspector. Maj. Hanna weighed two hundred and forty pounds when eighteen years of age. . Among other well-attested feats which he performed was the lifting of a casting weighing fourteen hundred pounds.

Alexander Hanna, Sr., grandfather of the major, was born in Ireland in 1737, and died in Somerset county in 1809. His son James, born in Ireland in - 1770, came to America when young, and died in Somerset county in 1819. James served as representative to the legislature and state senator; he was also brigade inspector for three counties. . He married Ann Leech, and was the father of John, Mary, Thomas, James, Alexander, William, Phila, Jane, Martha and Anna. John, the eldest son, was a member of the legislature, and held other responsible offices.

Capt. Andrew Friend, a native of the Potomac valley, in Virginia, a skilled Indian hunter and backwoodsman, moved to the Turkey-Foot region while Indians were still numerous here. He

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Noch Scott

mas. woah Scott

NOAH SCOTT.

Noah Scott was born September 25, 1836, near Bakersville, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of George Scott, a farmer, with whom he lived and worked on the farm until eighteen years of age. He attended the district school from two to four months each winter during that time; after which he attended a normal school for three terms, taught by Joseph J. Stutzmann, the first county superintendent of public schools in Somerset county. He afterward taught three terms of four months each in his native county and one term at Mann's Choice, Bedford county, Pennsylvania. In April, 1858, he went west and loca- ted in Warren county, Illinois, where he taught school for two years, after which he traveled over most of the western states, and finally returned to Ohio and entered Vermilion College, where he remained as a student for about fifteen months, and after that entered the McNeely normal school, in Hopedale, Ohio, for the purpose of completing the scientific course, but after pursuing his studies for about twelve months, and being in the last term to complete the course, he, in company with eighteen of his fellow- students and classmates, enlisted in the army (in company with Prof. Edwin Regal, of the same school, who volunteered at the same time and acted as cap- tain of the company which was principally composed of students and young men of the immediate neigh- borhood of Hopedale). After returning . from the army he taught school for two terms of six months each at Rose Mount, in Jefferson county, Ohio. Jan- uary 8, 1866, he married Miss Margaret Ferguson, daughter of James Ferguson, of Jefferson county, Ohio, whose father, William Ferguson, was one of the

pioneers of Eastern Ohio, and whose grandfather was one of the first settlers of Washington county, Penn- sylvania. She has but one sister and two brothers living; her brothers, Capt. John Ferguson and Will- iam, having died in the army. In April, 1866, he moved to Beaver, Pennsylvania, where he followed the oil business as a producer till December, 1868, when he, in company with Col. E. D. Yutzey, went to Ursina, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where they engaged in a contract for grading two miles of work on the Pittsburgh division of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, which they soon completed and were after- ward awarded six sections more, or about seven miles of work, on the same road, after which they graded the Buffalo Valley branch of eight and a quarter miles in eighty days, and built the Ursina and North Fork branch of four miles-three miles of the Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston railroad, and did all the sloping and ditching on the Pitts- burgh division of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, from Connellsville to Mount Savage Junction, after the track was laid. In 1876 they bought the roadbed and fran- chises of the Salisbury Branch railroad at assignee's sale for seventy-five thousand dollars, and after com- pleting the grading and laying the iron they sold to Messrs. Baldwin, Jackson, Hyndman & Co. In April, 1873, Noah Scott purchased the farm where he now lives, and located within a mile of Ursina. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are the parents of six children, viz .: Blair F., Ida B., James F., Frank H., Edward S. and Maud E. His mother still lives and is eighty-three years of age. He has two brothers living, viz .: J. B. Scott, of Markleyville, State of California, and Matthias, of Rockwood ; two sisters living, viz .: Mrs. E. D. Yutzey and Miss Mary Scott, both of Ursina.

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LOWER TURKEY FOOT T.P. SOMERSET CO. PA.

RESIDENCE OF NOAH SCOTT

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LOWER TURKEY-FOOT.

died in Somerset county, aged one hundred and one years. One of Friend's daughters married a Hyatt, a member of one of the early Turkey- Foot families.

John McNair, a revolutionary soldier, was a native of Scotland. After the war he settled near Harnedsville, where he died. Edward Harned married Ann, daughter of John McNair, for his second wife.

John Hyatt, one of the early settlers, was a native of Maryland. He came with several others, accompanied by a number of slaves, to Turkey-Foot soon after the settlement began. While crossing the Negro mountain, a party of Indians fired upon them and mortally wounded one of the negroes, the strongest man in the company. A piece of a hollow log was found and placed over the negro to shelter him. Throwing it off, he said, " Save yourselves and never mind me; I shall die soon." It is said that the Negro mountain took its name from this circumstance.

John Hyatt died about 1840. He married Susan Friend, and their children were John, Andrew, Charles, Jemima (Heinebaugh), Keziah (Heinebaugh), Sally (Tissue), Diana (Colborn) and Polly (Moon). John was born in 1791 and died in 1850. He was the father of A. S. Hyatt, of this township. A. S. has served as school director and auditor of the township.

Christopher King, an early settler, died in 1811. He lived on the farm known as the Stone House property. He married Elizabeth Hanna and reared a large family. John C. and Thomas were his sons. Thomas King was a state senator and held other public offices. From this county he removed to Ohio, where he was afterward elected judge.

Adam Snyder was a German and settled in this township in an early day. His eldest son, Adam, was born in Turkey-Foot in 1784; he removed to Brother's Valley, where he died.

Moses Collins was an early resident of this township. He lived on the place since known as the Jennings farm. He sold out to two brothers of the name of Skinner, and moved west of Laurel Hill, where he was one of the pioneers of Fayette county and built the first cabin in the Indian Creek settlement. His son Henry, a millwright and bridge-builder, learned his trade in Connellsville and worked at it in various parts of Somerset county. He built several bridges and mills, and built the first

carding-mill in the county, at Ankeny's mill, Milford township. His son, Dr. William Col- lins, at present associate judge of Somerset county, came to Somerset from Fayette county in 1841, and has since resided here. He is the only lineal descendant of the original family now living in Somerset county. In 1840 he commenced a superficial geological survey of the eastern portion of the county, to determine its mineral value. He located and developed some of the first coal mines in the Meyersdale basin. He was also the first discoverer of lime- stone in this region, and was the first to urge its value for agricultural purposes. For seven or eight years he burned lime for use as a fer- tilizer, and by his efforts in this direction did much to enhance the value of farming lands in this section, and to him the farmers of the county are largely indebted for this valuable fertilizer.

Previous to his investigations and operations in limestone, the soil in the greater portion of the county had become so impoverished by con- tinued cropping and the consequent exhaustion of this necessary ingredient, that wheat and corn, especially the former, were not produced in sufficient quantities for home consumption. The farmers were at first slow to avail them- selves of this valuable aid in the restoration of their lands, but being convinced of its great value, its use became general. In its introduc- tion the doctor suffered serious pecuniary loss, and it is stated that the citizens of the county, recognizing the valuable service rendered by him in this direction, and desiring to show their appreciation of his efforts, elected him to the honorable position he now occupies.

In his operations in the burning of lime he found it necessary to construct an inclined rail- way from the quarry to the kiln. He made the patterns for the wheels, built the cars and put the railway in successful operation. This was the first inclined railway in the county, and for some time was an object of great curiosity. The doctor has for the last twenty-two years been engaged in the practice of his profession, that of dentistry, in the village of Somerset, and is still doing a large and successful busi- ness.

John Collins, a brother of Moses, also resided in Somerset county very early. He moved to the vicinity of Uniontown. His son Thomas was afterward sheriff of Fayette county.

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560

HISTORY OF SOMERSET COUNTY.

Edward Harned was the first of the name in this county. His son Samuel, who laid out the village of Harnedsville, was a man of business activity, and at one time owned considerable property.

Andrew Ream ( the name was originally spelled Rihm) is believed to have come to the Turkey-Foot region in 1763. He was born in 1737, and died in 1818. His farm was the land on which the town of Ursina now is. Samuel, the last survivor of the family, died several years ago. The grandfather of Andrew Ream came to Philadelphia with William Penn in 1663, and built fourteen houses in the town.

John Ream was probably born in Loudoun county, Virginia, about 1759. Early in life he came to Turkey-Foot and lived upon the Ream farm, where Ursina now is. He died in 1839. He was married three times. His first wife died in 1792. The following is a translation of the German inscription upon the stone erected to her memory in the old graveyard below Ursina : "Here lies buried Anna Rosina Ream, wife of John Ream and daughter of Frederick Weitzel. In her married life of eight years and six months she bore four sons and two daughters. She died July 15, 1792. Her death was caused by the bite of a snake; in twenty-four hours she was dead." Of the children of John Ream, Thomas, Samuel, Catharine (Jennings) and Mary (Wey- ant) reached mature years. Thomas was a miller, and ran the old gristmill at Draketown. He was killed by the falling of a tree one stormy night while returning from a visit to a sick girl. He married Barbara Haines, and was the father of Jacob, John, Moses, Thomas, Christina (Jen- nings) and Mary (Flanagan). Thomas is the only survivor. He has lived at Draketown since his fourth year, farming and milling. He has been justice of the peace twenty years, and was recruiting officer of this township during the late war.

Benjamin Jennings was an early settler of Turkey-Foot, and located on a farm between Ursina and Confluence. He served throughout the revolutionary war, holding the rank of cap- tain. He died upon the farm which afterward passed to his son Thomas. Capt. Jennings mar- ried Rhoda Spencer, and was the father of twelve children: Benjamin, James, Jesse, David, Israel, William, Thomas, Rhoda, Rebecca (Hein- baugh), Olly, Margaret (Nicola) and Mary (Nicola). Only Mary is living. Thomas was

born in 1805, and died in 1872. He married Christina Ream, and was the father of John R., J. B. and Sarah (Buckman). The father of Capt. Jennings settled in the Turkey-Foot region before the revolutionary war. Benjamin entered the army at the age of eighteen. During the period of Indian depredations, the Turkey-Foot settlers, under Capt. Jennings, resolved to fol- low and punish a band of Indians which had been plundering the neighborhood. In the hurry and excitement of preparing for the march across the Laurel Hill, Capt. Jennings forgot his rifle, which he had left standing against a tree near where Gus. Sellers now lives. The com- pany marched all day, and halted at what is now called Davistown, where they camped. Jen- nings returned on foot across the mountain, and, securing his rifle, was back among his men be- fore they were aware of his absence. He was a large man and of great physical endurance.

The following is a list of revolutionary sol- diers who settled and died in the Turkey-Foot region : Jacob Rush, Sr., Capt. Benj. Jennings, Oliver Drake, Obadiah Reed, James Moon, George Beeler, - Colborn, John McNair, Oliver Friend. All are buried in the Jersey cemetery except the following : Jennings, old cemetery at Ursina ; McNair, at Six Poplars; Friend, near Confluence.

The farm now owned by Jacob Sterner, situated at Confluence, was once the site of an Indian village. Mr. Sterner has unearthed a number of Indian skeletons in plowing, also ashes and traces of campfires. In 1878, as John S. Stanton and John H. Glisan were plowing on this farm, they turned up a flat stone, under which they found an earthen pot, of about a a quart's capacity, in shape and color like a cocoanut. Underneath this was found a human skull. The plowmen thought they had discov- ered a pot of gold, and were greatly disap- pointed when they found that such was not the case.

William Tannehill, one of the first settlers, was born in Preston county, West Virginia. About 1768 he came, a young man, to the farm now owned by Dr. Harah, near Draketown. The farm was first purchased by James Tanne- hill, brother of William, for two gallons of rum and a grubbing hoe. William Tannehill was a captain of militia in the war of 1812. For twenty years he served as constable ; he was also a merchant and auctioneer. He died in

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W. S. Hanah

W. S. HARAH, M.D. W. S. Harah, M.D., was born in Elizabeth township, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1821. His father, Samuel Harah, was a hat manufacturer, and in 1826 removed to Uniontown. His father, Charles Harah, was born in 1744, and about 1788 entered land in Elizabeth township, where he died at a good old age. Samuel Harah married Jane Steele ; they reared a large family of children, three of whom are living. Both the Steeles and Harahs were early pioneers in the western part of the state ; they endured many privations and hard- ships and were frequently harassed by Indians, and were obliged to avail themselves of the protection of the blockhouses. They, how- ever, attained ripe ages. Samuel Harah died at the age of seventy-five ; his wife, at the remark- able age of ninety-one years. Dr. Harah ao- quired an academical education and studied medicine in the office of Dr. Smith Fuller, of Uniontown, and graduated with honor from the Jefferson Medical College in 1847. After his graduation he established himself in the practice of his profession at Centerville, Somerset county, Pennsylvania. Here he soon established an en- viable reputation as a physician, and citizen, and in the treatment of diseases, especially that of fever, he was peculiarly successful, and his.prac- tice soon extended over a large territory, and

for many years his ride was exceedingly labori- ous. Here he was married in 1852, to Miss N Y. Fuller, of Connellsville, Pennsylvania. She was an estimable lady and a worthy wife; she died in 1875. . Of their children, four sons and one'daughter are living. In the winter of 1863 the doctor went to Philadelphia to attend leo- tures, but that dreaded disease, cerebro spinal meningitis, breaking out among his patrons, he was called home. In this disease, not well un- derstood by physicians at the time, the doctor adopted a plan of treatment that proved conclu- sively that he well understood the pathology of the disease and his success was remarkable. In 1866 failing health admonished the doctor that he had overtaxed himself and that rest was imperative, and for two years he was out of practice; he then removed to Ursina, where he is now engaged in the practice of his profession, but contemplates removing at an early day to his former field of labor. As a physician Dr. Harah is progressive and is ever ready to avail himself of new discoveries in medical science. He possesses an analytical mind that enables him to diagnose his -cases with accuracy and promptness. He possesses the necessary quali- fications of a physician other than knowledge, and among his professional brethren he holds a prominent position. !

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1825. He married Delilah Hyatt, and was the father of Zachariah, Josiah, William and Nancy (Hyatt). Zachariah was born in 1798, and died in 1871. He was a noted hunter, and captured many deer and bears. On one occasion, having driven an old bear into a den where her cubs were, he took a hickory withe, made a slipnoose of it, and, watching his opportunity, threw it over the bear's head. Despite her struggles, she was drawn out and killed. He then entered the den and took out three young. It was with one of these cubs that Maj. Hanna fought, breaking its jaw with his fist.

Zachariah Tannehill married Mary Lanning, and was the father of eleven children, seven of whom are living. Eli, his eldest son, was killed at the battle of Petersburg. Joseph, the second son, wa also in the war, and at Folly Island, South Carolina. Zachariah L., the youngest son, is a well-known farmer of this township, and has held various township offices. In early life he was a teacher. He was also a soldier in the late war.

Joseph Lanning was one of the early settlers, and came from New Jersey. He lived near the Jersey church. He died from the bite of a rattlesnake.

Robert Colborn, one of the earliest settlers of Turkey-Foot, was the progenitor of the Colborns of Somerset county. He passed his later years in this county, and was buried in the Jersey graveyard. His son Abraham was born in this county in 1788. He was the father of George Colborn, who died at Fortress Monroe in 1864, from disease contracted while serving his country. A. J. and G. W. Colborn are sons of George. G. W. Colborn has been a resident of Harnedsville since 1871, and has been in the mercantile business since 1879.

In 1815 John McCarty advertises in the Somerset Whig that he "continues to carry on the business of fulling and dyeing at Jonathan Drake's mill in Turkey-Foot township, Somerset county, where cloth will be thankfully received, neatly handled and carefully returned on the shortest notice, in case of good drying weather."

John Younkin was one of the early settlers of Upper Turkey-Foot. His son Jacob J., born on the old homestead, settled in Lower Turkey- Foot, on a farm purchased of A. J. Colborn. He married Dorcas Hartzel, and of their ten children five are living : Susanna (Koontz), Tabitha (Grim), Belinda (Grossman), Caldwell

and Balaam. Balaam Younkin has resided in this township since 1868, and on his present farm since 1873.

Joseph Lichty, a native of Fayette county, came to Addison township, Somerset county, when young, and in 1855 settled on his present farm in Lower Turkey-Foot, purchasing two hundred and fifty acres of A. J. Colborn. Mr. Lichty has held numerous township offices.

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History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 115

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 967

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967