USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 41
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 41
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 41
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SPRING HILL was organized during April ses- sions, 1771. Originally it included the whole of the present county of Greene, part of Wash-
* These data were furnished by Hon. J. Simpson, Africa.
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COUNTY BUILDINGS-TOWNSHIPS AND BOROUGHS.
ington, and nearly the whole of Fayette. The name still exists in Greene and Fayette counties. , Ross STRAVER, organized at April sessions, 1771, then embraced parts of the present coun- ties of Allegheny and Westmoreland. The name is still maintained in the latter county, though now written Rostraver.
ARMSTRONG was also organized at April ses- sions, 1771. Within its original limits were embraced portions of the present counties of Cambria, Westmoreland, Armstrong, Indiana and Clearfield. The name has been perpetuated in Indiana county.
TULLILEAGUE, the last township organized at April sessions, in 1771, embraced parts of the divisions now known as Blair, Centre, Clearfield and Cambria counties. The name, though un- usual and rather musical, has not been preserved in these counties or in any other part of the state.
The foregoing were the sixteen townships with which the grand old county of Bedford began its existence in 1771. Their boundaries are fully described in the ninth chapter of this work. Since 1771 townships and boroughs have been organized as indicated below. The reader must bear in mind, however, that part of North- umberland, in 1772, Westmoreland (including Fayette, Washington and Greene, and part of Allegheny, Armstrong, Indiana and Cambria), in 1773, Huntingdon (including the major part of Blair and parts of Cambria, Centre and Clear- field), in 1787, Somerset, in 1795, part of Cam- bria, in 1804, the southern part of Blair, in 1846, and the whole of Fulton, in 1850, were all carved from the magnificent domain once known as the county of Bedford.
BETHEL, erected in January, 1773, is now a township in Fulton county.
TURKEY-FOOT, now part of Somerset county, was erected from Brother's Valley during July session, 1773. Its original boundaries were as follows : " Beginning where the chestnut ridge crosses the line, dividing this province from Maryland, thence along the summit of the said chestnut ridge to where it crosses the great road leading from Bedford to Fort Pitt, thence along the said road to where it crosses the Que- mahoning creek, thence down the said creek to its junction with Stoney creek, thence down Stoney creek to the mouth of Little Conemaugh, thence down Conemaugh to where the line dividing Bedford county from Westmoreland
crosses it, thence along the said line to the provincial line, and thence along the provin- cial line to the place of beginning." James Spencer was the constable appointed in 1773.
HOPEWELL, now forming part of Bedford county, was organized from Barree township during the October sessions in 1773. Originally it included "all the waters that empty into the Raystown branch of the Juniata, below the mouth of Yellow creek, and up that creek to Tussey's Mountain."
QUEMAHONING, now part of Somerset county, was organized from Brother's Valley township during the April sessions of court in 1775. Originally its boundary lines ran as follows : " Beginning where the Great road, which is laid out through the Glades, crosses the Allegheny mountain near Burd's gap, and along the said road to where it crosses the Laurel Hill at Matthias Ditch's gap, then along the Laurel Hill by the line of Westmoreland county, to the head of Little Conemaugh, and from thence along the dividing ridge between the waters of the Susquehannah and Little Conemaugh to the Allegheny mountain, and by the same mountain to the place of beginning."
FRANKSTOWN, now part of Blair county, was formed from portions of Bedford and Barree townships during April sessions in 1775.
PROVIDENCE, now divided into East and West Providence in Bedford county, was organized as early as 1780, but the court records do not show the precise date, nor its original ex- tent.
HUNTINGDON and SHIRLEY, now in Hunting- don county, and MILFORD, now part of Somerset county, were also organized about the year 1780, but the records fail to show anything definite.
ELK LICK, now part of Somerset ; LONDON- DERRY, now part of Bedford ; BELFAST, now part of Fulton, and WOODBERRY, now lying partly in Bedford and partly in Blair counties, were organized about the year 1785, but (as with many other townships organized in Bed- ford and Somerset counties) the records are defective and fail to show date of formation or boundaries.
TYRONE, now part of Blair county, was formed about 1786.
DUBLIN, now part of Fulton county, was or- ganized about 1790. ,
STONEY CREEK, now part of Somerset county, was erected about 1792.
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HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY.
ST CLAIR, now divided into East and West St. Clair, Bedford county, was formed about 1794.
BEDFORD borough was incorporated in 1795.
After the erection of Somerset county in 1795, the twelve townships remaining in Bedford county were Ayr, Bedford, Bethel, Belfast, Colerain, Cumberland Valley, Dublin, Hope- well, Londonderry, Providence, St. Clair and Woodberry. In 1797, the total amount of taxes levied upon the owners of property in these townships was as follows : Ayr, $304.96 ; Bedford, including the town of Bedford, $671.15; Bethel, $235.46 ; Belfast, $165.90 ; Colerain, $271.55 ; Cumberland Valley, $210.20; Dublin, $187.05 ; Hopewell, $197.09 ; London- derry, 8211.07 ; Providence, $406.41 ; St. Clair, $415.89 ; Woodberry, $489.16.
GREENFIELD, now a township in Blair county, was formed from Woodberry and St. Clair townships during the November sessions in 1798. The following is a description of its original boundaries : "Beginning in the road leading from Bedford to Frankstown on the ridge which divides the waters of Dunning's creek and the Three Springs branch, at the place where the division line between Col. Boquet's two tracts of land crosses said road. Thence north fifty-five degrees west, such a distance as to intersect an east line run from the top of the Allegheny mountain, dividing eight tracts of land, namely, Henry Flip and John Deverin, John Dunbar and Charles Young, John Simp- son and William Dunning, and James Dunlap and Hugh Doyle, thence by the said line west to the line of Somerset county on top of the Allegheny, thence by Somerset county or sum- mit of the said Allegheny mountain to the line of Huntingdon county, thence by the same to the middle of the Frankstown gap of Morris' cove, thence by the summit of Dunning's moun- tain so far southwardly as to extend a line from thence south fifty five degrees west to strike the place of beginning."
SOUTHAMPTON, now part of Bedford county, was erected by order of the court of quarter sessions during the April term in 1799. Its boundaries were then described as follows : " Beginning at the province line near the house of Joshua Lewman, thence along the top of Evitt's mountain to the dividing ridge between the waters of Flintstone and the Cove creek about nine miles, thence along the top of said
ridge to Terrace mountain about two miles, thence along the top of said mountain to the dividing ridge between the waters of Town creek and Sideling hill creek and the waters of Juniata about six miles, thence along the top of said ridge to the top of Town hill about ten miles, thence along the top of said hill to the province line about ten miles, thence by said line to place of beginning."
NAPIER was organized about the year 1811.
McCONNELLSBURG, the county seat of Fulton county, was incorporated as a borough about 1816. MARTINSBURG, a town in the present county of Blair, was incorporated about 1830.
UNION township was erected about 1834.
LICKING CREEK, & township in the present county of Fulton, was also formed about the year 1834.
BROAD TOP was organized about 1835.
NORTH WOODBERRY, now a township in Blair county, was erected from Woodberry, about the year 1838.
SOUTH WOODBERRY, of Bedford county, was also formed from Woodberry about 1838. The term Woodberry then becoming obsolete.
SCHELLSBURG borough was incorporated March 19, 1838.
HARRISON township was organized during the days of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too"-about 1840.
MONROE, erected from parts of Providence and Southampton, was also organized about the year 1840.
MIDDLE WOODBERRY, now known as Wood- berry, in the county of Bedford, was formed from portions of North and South Woodberry, about 1843.
EAST and WEST PROVIDENCE were organized from the old township of Providence, about 1844, when the latter term was dropped.
LIBERTY was erected about 1845.
THOMSON (named after Judge Thomson), now forming part of Fulton county, was organ- ized about the year 1847.
TAYLOR, TOD (named after Judge John Tod) and WELLS townships, in Fulton county, were erected with that county in 1850, but during the year last mentioned were assessed as townships in Bedford county.
Thus we find that after Bedford county was shorn down to its present proportions by the organization of Fulton county in 1850, the seventeen townships and two boroughs remain- ing in the old county were as follows : Bedford,
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Nr Maday Hall
HON. WILLIAM MACLAY HALL.
William Maclay Hall was born in Lewistown, Penn- sylvania, November 3, 1828. His father was Rev. William Maclay Hall, a Presbyterian minister. Rev. William Maclay Hall was the son of Dr. Henry Hall, of Harrisburg. Dr. Hall married Hester Maclay, daughter of Hon. William Maclay, of Harrisburg, who was a member of the bar of York and Dauphin counties, and a man of wide reputation. He and Robert Morris were the first United States senators from Pennsylvania. William Maclay Hall moved to Bedford with his parents in October, 1844, his father then taking charge of the Bedford congregation of the Presbyterian church. Prior to this, however, he had received a thorough preparatory education, and entered Marshall College. Mercersburg. Pennsylvania. He completed his college course and graduated in July, 1846, delivering the valedictory oration-the highest honor of his class. After reading law in Bedford, in the office of William Lyon, Esq., he was admitted to the bar in August, 1849. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession, and soon achieved honorable distinction as a member of the Bedford bar. Judge Hall was appointed judge advo- cate, with the rank of major, by President Lincoln, in January, 1865, and served one year. During this term, as inspector of military prisons and camps; he was engaged, under the special direction of Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, secretary of war, in examining the cases of military prisoners with a view to their being pardoned by the president when it could be done without prejudice to the service or injury to the country. In 1868 Judge Hall served on a commission to revise the statutes of the State of Pennsylvania with Judge Derrickson and Wayne McVeagh. After the death of Judge King, in January, 1871, he was appointed by Gov. Geary president judge of the sixteenth judicial district, then comprising the coun-
ties of Bedford, Somerset, Franklin and Fulton. At the next election, in the fall of 1871, as the candidate of the republican party, he was elected to the same important office, receiving a majority of two hundred and seventy-seven votes in the district. The demno- cratic nominee was Hon. William J. Baer, of Somerset, the present president judge of the district. When Judge Hall came to the bench the legal business of the district was far behind, and a large number of cases awaited the attention of the court. Scarcely had this overplus of work been disposed of when the panic of 1873 came upon the land, causing a large amount of litigation. The building of railroads also added largely to the work of the courts of this district. Throughout the entire term of Judge Hall the business of the district was great, and an unusu- ally large number of cases of importance was adjudi- cated. Justice was administered with wisdom, com- bined with all possible dispatch. After declining to be a candidate for renomination, Judge Hall quitted the bench on the 1st of January, 1882 (the judicial term having been extended one month by the consti- tution of 1874). He is deeply versed in the law, and was well prepared by a long and successful practice at the bar for the important position to which he was called. He is eloquent in expression, concise and. forcible in statement. During his able administration very few reversals of his decisions were made by the supreme court. Since leaving the bench, Judge Hall has not actively engaged in the practice of law, but has devoted himself to literary pursuits. He has resided since the year 1858 in his pleasant rural home on Echovale farm, in Bedford township, adjoining Bedford borough. Judge Hall was married in 1859 to Miss Ellen Rowan Cramer, of Cumberland, Mary- land, and is the father of six children living: Julia Katherine, William Maclay, Jr., George Louis, Emily Rowan, Eleanor Maclay and Richard Cecil.
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
Broad Top, Cumberland Valley, Colerain, East Providence, Harrison, Hopewell, Londonderry, Liberty, Monroe, Middle Woodberry, Napier, St. Clair, Southampton, South Woodberry, Union and West Providence townships, and Bedford and Schellsburg boroughs. Since 1850, the fol- lowing townships and boroughs have been or- ganized or incorporated :
JUNIATA township, which was erected from Napier and Harrison, in 1859.
RAINSBURG borough, incorporated during November term, 1856.
SNAKE SPRING township, formed from Cole- rain and West Providence, in 1857.
BLOODY RUN borough, incorporated during November term, 1860. Name changed to EVER- ETT, its present title, February 13, 1873.
COALDALE borough, incorporated September 9, 1865.
SAXTON borough, incorporated February 14, 1866.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE borough, incorporated Sep- tember 6, 1867.
WOODBERRY borough, incorporated June 23, 1868.
PLEASANTVILLE borough, incorporated March 10, 1871.
EAST and WEST ST. CLAIR townships, which were organized December 18, 1875, from St. Clair.
MANN township, erected December 8, 1876, from Southampton.
KING (named after Judge Alexander King) township, formed from Union, December 8, 1876.
BLOOMFIELD township, formed from Middle Woodberry, December 8, 1876.
NEW BRIDGEPORT borough, incorporated Sep- tember 22, 1877. Name changed to HYNDMAN, its present title, December 8, 1877.
NEW PARIS borough, incorporated September 7, 1882.
At this date (June, 1888) the county contains thirty-four townships and boroughs, which are designated as follows: Bedford, Broad Top, Bloomfield, Cumberland Valley, Colerain, Har- rison, Hopewell, Juniata, King, Liberty, Lon- donderry, Mann, Monroe, Napier, East Provi- dence, West Providence, Snake Spring, South- ampton, East St. Clair, West St. Clair, Union, Woodberry (formerly called Middle Wood- berry) and South Woodberry townships, Bed- ford, Coaldale, Everett, Hyndman, New Paris, Pleasantville, Rainsburg, Schellsburg, St. Clairs- ville, Saxton and Woodberry boroughs.
CHAPTER XVIII. THE BENCH AND BAR.
The First Court-The Whipping-Post and Pillory - Wood Rangers -Copy of the Commission Issued to Judge George Woods in 1790 -Judges James Riddle, Thomas Cooper, Jonathan Hays Walker, Charles Huston, John Tod, Alexander Thompson, Jeremiah 8. Black, Francis M. Kimmel, James Nill, Alex- ander King, William M. Hall and William J. Baer - List of Bedford County Attorneys from 1771 to 1883-Col. Robert Magaw, the First Attorney - Biographical Sketches of Promi- nent Attorneys.
THE BENCH.
F ROM the organization of the county in April, 1771, until the adoption of the of the state constitution of 1790, the justices of the peace presided over all courts held in the county. Three of them formed a quorum to transact business, yet, quite frequently, there were more than twice that number of their "worships" present during the sessions. The first term of court convened on the 16th day of April, 1771, and there were then present as jus- tices of " our Lord the King to hear and deter- mine divers felonies and misdemeanors" Will- iam Proctor, Robert Cluggage, Robert Hanna, George Wilson, William Lochrey and William McConnell.
The first business to occupy the attention of the court was to divide the county, then em bracing the entire southwest quarter of the prov- ince, into sixteen townships as follows : Air, Bedford, Barree, Cumberland Valley, Dublin, Colerain, Brother's Valley, Fairfield, Mount Pleasant, Hempfield, Pitt, Tyrone, Spring Hill, Ross Straver, Armstrong and Tullileague. After the boundaries of these townships had been de- termined, township officers were appointed.
On motion of Barnard Dougherty, Esq., Rob- ert Magaw was admitted and sworn as an attor- ney, and on motion of Mr. Magaw, Andrew Ross, Philip Pendleton, Robert Galbraith, Dayid Sample and James Wilson, Esquires, were also admitted and enrolled as attorneys of Bedford county courts. John Kirts and Thomas Croyal, " of Bedford county, yeoman, came into court and acknowledged to owe to our Lord the King, viz: John Kirts the sum of one hundred pounds and Thomas Croyal the sum of fifty pounds law- ful money of the Province of Pennsylvania, to be levied upon their Goods and Chattels, Lands and Tenements to His Majesty's use, UPON THIS CONDITION : That if the said John Kirts shall and do personally appear at the next General Quarter Sessions for this county, then and there
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HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY.
to answer such matters as shall be objected against him on his Majesty's Behalf and shall abide by such order as the Court shall award then this Recognizance is to be void." After notifying all persons vending liquors that they must apply for a license at the next court " or prosecution will be ordered," Margaret Fraser, Jean Woods, Frederick Nawgel, George Funk and John Campbell were recommended to the governor of the province as qualified and suit- able persons to keep taverns, etc. The court ad- journed to July of the year first mentioned.
The next term of court convened at Bedford on the 16th of July, 1771, there being present as justices of His Majesty King George the Third, John Fraser, Robert. Hanna, William Lochrey, William Proctor, George Wilson, Robert Cluggage, William McConnell and George Woods, and as grand jurors, Thomas Coulter (foreman), Thomas Kenton, Adam Saam, Samuel Drenning, Richard Wells, Sr., Samuel Barrett, Abraham Cable, Henry Rhodes, Jr., George Milligan, Michael Sill, Edward Rose, Gabriel Rhodes, George Wells, Thomas Croyle, George Sill, Reynard Wolfe and John Hight. At this term David Grier, David Espy and George Brent, Esquires, were admitted as attor- neys, and the first judgment of the court was rendered. We copy from the "Docquet ":
The King VS. Felony. A true bill.
John Mallen.
The prisoner being arraigned, pleads guilty, etc. Judgment. That he restore (or value thereof ) the goods stolen, that he pay a fine of six pounds to the President and Council for the support of Government ; that he receive twenty-two lashes on his bare back, between the hours of nine and eleven tomorrow morn- ing; that he pay the costs of this prosecution, and till this judgment is complied with, to stand committed.
At this term of court, through their fore- man, Thomas Coulter, the grand jury reported to the court that the gaol of the county was "insufficient."
During the October sessions of 1771, John Casebold was bound in two hundred pounds, and William Fredrigal and Christopher Miller were bound in sums of one hundred pounds each, "Conditioned that John Casebold be of the Peace to all his Majesty's liege subjects, but particularly to John Cessna, for the term of six months, and also that he, the said John Casebold, be of good Behaviour." The John Mallen before mentioned again occupied the attention of the
court, during the October term, for it was ordered "that John Mallen, an Indented Ser- vant to Joseph Kelly, now in the Custody of the Gaoler, do serve for the term of six years to satisfy the said Joseph Kelly for the time he absented himself from his master's Service, and charges attending the taking up of the said John Mallen."
Much time was occupied in receiving peti- tions for roads, and in appointing commission- ers or viewers, to view, lay out and attend to the opening of the same. During the October sessions of 1772, the following quaint document was presented and made a matter of record :
Upon the Petition of a number of the Inhabitants of the Great Cove, in Air township and places adja- cent, setting forth that they have for many years laboured under great and pressing difficulties, a detail of which would be needless to mention. That they have for some years past been re-enstated in the peaceable possession and enjoyment of our once abandoned habitations, and now not only able to support our formerly distressed families, but also have something considerable to vend. That we have no way of disposing of this overplus to any advantage except by taking it to some seaport Town on the eastern side of our Continent, which lays us under the necessity of crossing the North Mountain, and as a certain Daniel Royer has now almost completed a merchant mill at a place formerly McMean's, in said Cove, which will be of considerable advantage to us, and the only one we can ever expect within our bounds. We therefore humbly pray your Worships to appoint men to view and lay out a wagon road from said Royer's Mill to foot of the well known Stony Batter, where the road from Sideling Hill to Baltimore crosses it. The length of the road will be but about five or six miles, and without it our hopes and prospects will be much frustrated. These Con- siderations we hope will induce your Worships to grant our petition.
Thereupon the court appointed Thomas Paxton, Thomas Stevens, Benjamin Stevens, William Harred, James McKinley and Benja- min McClellan as commissioners to attend to the matter, and the road asked for was estab- lished prior to the October sessions of 1773.
During the January sessions of 1775 Alex- ander Miller and Richard Shee were found guilty of stealing a watch from James Will- iams. The court ordered that they return the watch or value thereof - six pounds ten shil- lings - to pay a fine of the same amount to the governor of the province, and to be publicly whipped at the whipping-post in the town of Bedford, January 20 following, Shee to receive
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Dell. Barclay
SAMUEL M. BARCLAY.
Samuel M. Barclay, the youngest son of Hugh and Hetty Barclay, was born in Bedford, October 17, 1802. Left fatherlees by the death of his father, in 1807, he grew to early manhood under the guidance and care of his mother, & noble and exemplary Christian woman, who died in 1819. He was educated at the Bedford Academy until that institution was tempo- rarily closed, about the time of his mother's death. A fondness for agricultural pursuits then led him to undertake for a time the cultivation of a small farm; but shortly afterward, encouraged and inspired by his sister's influence, he began to devote himself to literary and legal studies in the office of his brother Josiah. He became a successful pleader, and finally reached the head of his profession at the Bedford bar. In 1828 Mr. Barclay was practicing law in partnership with Francis B. Murdoch, Esq. In 1839 he married Miss Anna, daughter of Maj. Morrison, & wealthy citizen of Bedford. Less than a year elapsed before his bride-young, beautiful and devotedly loved-was snatched from the scenes of this earth-a wife and mother and not nineteen years old.
Without following his career through each succes- sive step, we can best present a view of his life and character by a quotation from a biographical sketch written by Richard de Charms:
"From our own knowledge, we can say that Mr. Barclay was a man of ability in his profession. He mingled with men around him, studied their charac- ter in familiar intercourse, felt deeply the secret springs which act upon their rational volitions, touched these with a master hand in his addresses to -
the jury, seized with consummate tact only a few strong points of his case, adroitly shoving all the rest out of sight, and very frequently gained his cause by this wedge-like dialectic concentration of his forces on the central positions of his opponent's diffuse argumentative array. Great urbanity of manner and the utmost accessibility in his free and social inter- course with all the people, but especially his liberality to the poor and gratuitous counsel and defence of the unfortunate made him eminently a popular man. A proof of his popularity was his activity and high influence in political affairs. Against the advice of his brothers, who belonged to the opposite party, he was conscientiously & whig in politics, although he well knew that this precluded him from the greater political advancement which his adhesion to their side would most certainly have secured him. Never- theless, he was once elected to the house of repre- sentatives, and once to the senate, of the Pennsyl- vania legislature, and might, if he had desired, have attained still higher position ; but we well know that he shrunk from all conspicuous and responsible public station, and only took it when constrained by imper- ative sense of duty."
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