History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 50

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1340

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CHAPTER XXXIX. OVERTON TOWNSHIP.

T HIS township was named in honor of Hon. Edward Overton, and is separated from Barclay by the Schræder branch of Towanda creek. This stream with its small tributaries is the chief drainage. The north portion of the township is mountainous. The settlers are mostly of German and Irish descent, noted for their industry and frugality, and their farms, once covered with trees, stumps and stones, are now smooth and well-cultivated fields. Much lumbering is carried on in the northeastern part, where were built the Means and Mercur extensive sawmills. Immense quantities of tanning bark are still shipped to market. In point of territory this is the largest township in the county. It was formed in 1853, taken from Monroe, Albany and Franklin.

One of the first and most prominent families to settle here was that of Daniel Heverly, who came in 1806, and spent here the remainder of his life. He was born in 1764, and married Catharine Ott ; both were Pennsylvania-Germans. Mr. Heverly came here through the solicitation of a man named Minch, who lived above Towanda. He had informed Heverly that here was a beautiful valley, more than ten miles wide, that none of the settlers had yet found. After a toilsome trip, he reached the point of destination, looked upon it and returned to Greenwood, and contracted to work on his farm. In 1810, in consequence of the work on the turnpike, Mr. Heverly took up 640 acres of land, and cleared 65 acres, which farm has passed down to his descendants to the present time. A stone- cutter, named Kissell, came to Mr. Heverly's in 1810, and made an improvement on the Widow McCann farm. He was a soldier in the War of 1812.

The next person that came to the township was Leonard Streevy, who married one of Mr. Heverly's daughters. . Henry Sherman,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

a native of Mifflin, Pa., came into the township in 1824. . Jacob Hottenstein arrived in the town in 1829.

The first attempt for a gristmill was that of Daniel Heverly, Sr., on the Henry Sherman farm; but depression of money matters, caused by the War of 1812, compelled him to abandon his work before its com- pletion. . The first sawmill was built in 1820, on Black creek, by Daniel Heverly, Jr. It was afterward destroyed by fire. . The first store was opened in 1856, by William Waltman. .

The first school-house was built in the town in 1827. . The first teacher was Anna Kellogg, of Monroe. . The first church built in the town was the Roman Catholic, by Edward McGovern, in 1844. The Methodist Episcopal church was built in 1873. The Reformed and Lutheran church was built in 1855.

Overton village was platted, in 1856, by Henry Sherman, and black- smith Joseph Mosbacker purchased the first lot. The place is pleas- antly situated in the southeastern corner of the township, and has three general stores, three blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, two mil- liner shops and a hotel.

CHAPTER XL.

PIKE TOWNSHIP-LE RAYSVILLE BOROUGH.

THIS township was named in honor of Gen. Pike. Its principal stream is Wyalusing creek, and the smaller creeks are the Ross and Rockwell creeks which empty into the Wyalusing. About LeRays- ville is high table land while other portions are rough and hilly, except along Wyalusing creek, where there is a fertile soil. The chief prod- ucts .at present are potatoes, cattle and butter. There are many large sugar orchards in this township.

Long before the coming of the whites, an Indian trail, from Wya- lusing town to the present city of Binghampton, passed up along Wyalusing creek. The Connecticut settlers enlarged this trail and used it as a bridle path.

The Bosworths were of the first settlers in Pike township. Josiah came in 1798. He was a son of Joseph Bosworth ; settled in the deep forest about three miles south of where is Le Raysville, and in a few years his cabin became the noted "Half-Way House" on the road from Towanda to Montrose ; then the place was called Newtown. In 1817 Mr. Bosworth built his tavern, and kept it many years. He raised a company for the War of 1812 and proceeded as far as Dan- ville, Pa., where they met the news of peace declared, and returned. Josiah was a native of Litchfield, Conn., born November 25, 1779 ; died September 22, 1858. He was one of Joseph Bosworth's eleven children, and to him were born thirteen children ; one of his grand- sons now occupies the old homestead. Josiah Bosworth was one day

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

returning from church, and discovered a bear and treed it; took off his shirt, tied it around the foot of the tree, and thus kept the bear on his perch until he returned with his gun and shot it.

Dimon and Benajah Bostwick, brothers, came from Connecticut and took up four hundred acres near what is now Stevensville. Dimon, with his newly married wife, Lois (Olmstead), came in 1796, and Benajah came with his wife and a sister-in-law sometime afterward. Dimon was an admirable surveyor and draughtsman, a fine mathema- tician, a man of wide reading and varied culture. These brothers lived to be old men. Dimon died in 1856, aged eighty-eight years. Benajah died in 1864, aged eighty-eight.

James Rockwell settled a little below Stevensville, in 1790. He raised the first tobacco and established the first brick manufactory in northern Pennsylvania. Seth P. Rockwell came in 1791, and settled on the creek that bears his name. He established the first tan- nery, using wooden troughs for vats, pounding the bark with an axe, and thus made the leather that shod himself and family. He put up a mortar and spring-pole mill that was used by all his neighbors. This man chopped his road to the place where he settled, which he called "Newtown," where for seven years his only and nearest neighbor was Nathan Abbott, on what was known as the Ranson Colbaugh farm. Nathan Abbott and Darius and Elijah Coleman came about the same time as Rockwell.

Eleazer Russell came in 1792 with a pair of oxen and a sled, float- ing down the river to Wyalusing ; he poled the canoe up the creek, driving the cattle along the bank. Mr. Russell located on the Keeney farm. 'He was killed by the falling of a tree he was chopping down.

Ezekiel Brown was the other arrival in 1792, and he settled below Russell on the flats. . Then Ephraim Fairchilds came in 1793, and located on the Aden Stevens place. The same year came Elisha Keeler and family, John Bradshaw and Capt. Isaac Bronson. Mr. Keeler in 1804 established a small store in his house. In company with Guy Welles,he established the first wool-carding machine in the county.

Nathan and Aden Stevens settled where is now Stevensville, in the spring of 1794. They cleared a small spot of ground when Nathan returned to Connecticut for his family. This family report that soon after coming they passed three months without a dust of flour in the house. . Samuel Lucky came in 1793, and cleared a little spot of ground, then returned for his family. He bought his possession of Alva Bosworth, who it is supposed settled there in 1790 or 1791.

Salmon Bosworth, in 1795, settled above Stevensville and built a blacksmith shop. For many years he made scythes and axes for the settlers. The other Bosworths were Josiah, Alva, Reed and Joseph. The latter it is supposed came in 1806. In company with the Bos- worths was Ezekiel Mowrey.

John Ford came in 1792. His brother, Bela Ford, came sometime after ; made a small clearing and in 1805 sold it to James Brink. Thomas Brink came in 1797 ; his brother Nicholas had come at an early day but had been driven off by the Pennamite troubles. James Brink came in 1798, settling near Wyalusing, and in 1805 went to

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Pike and commenced a farm just south of Le Raysville. He bought the possession of Bela Ford, and moved into the cabin. . Jesse and Daniel Ross were sons of Lieut. Perrin Frost, killed at Wyoming; they came to Pike in 1796. . William Johnson came to LeRays- ville in 1798 from Sheshequin, and improved the Zebulon Frisbie farm.

The Welsh Settlement .- The first to come was Joseph Jenkins, in 1824, he having purchased a large body of land of T. Mitchell. In the fall of the same year, Ed. Jones, Sr., came and settled near Jen- kins. In 1825, David Thomas, Sr., and family, and Reese Griffies commenced an improvement on the David Thomas farm. About 1827, David Morris came. . The next year came David Williams. Mr. Williams revisited his native Wales, and on his return brought his mother, two brothers (Philip and John), Rev. Daniel Jones, Samuel Davies and William Evans. Thomas Jones, a brother of Ed. Jones, Sr., settled north of David Morris. . In 1833, Henry James and Thomas Walters, John Morris, Richard Williams, Daniel P. Jones, and John Davies came. In 1834 John Thomas, Mrs. Elizabeth Davies and Samuel Thomas settled at Neath. Same year came Israel Evans, John Jones, David J. Thomas, Jenkins Jones, who also settled near Neath, and David Davies, Thomas J. Thomas, Rodgers Griffies, Thomas Williams, Evan Evans, Dr. William Roberts, David E. Davies, and Henry Davies were all prominent people in the Welsh settlement.

The Welsh Congregational Church, Neath, was organized in 1831, when several persons who were members of the same church in Wales came to Neath, bringing their minister, Rev. Daniel Jones, with them. Soon the congregation increased, making the membership twenty, and they held their first meetings in log houses and barns. The first church and school-house combined was built in 1833, another, which is still standing, in 1848, and the present neat and beautiful country church in 1872. There are now ninety members. Rev. Jones was pastor from 1831 until 1849; Rev. Samuel A. Williams from 1849 to 1869; Rev. E. J. Morris, from 1869 until 1885, and Rev. John D. Jones, present incumbent, from 1885.

Alva Bosworth built a sawmill at Stevensville in 1815. He and his brother Salmon built the gristmill in 1819, in which was the first buhr-stones used in the county. The first school-house was erected in 1806, a log building where the Congregational church now stands. Patty Sill taught the first school; Zernah Northrup taught the second ; Polly Canfield then taught a school in the old sawmill near Van Guilder's.

Stevensville was named in honor of Col. Abram Stevens. He raised a regiment for the War of 1812-15, and was elected colonel thereof. On their way to the seat of war they were met by the announcement of peace, and returned without seeing any active ser- vice in the front. The place has two general stores, the gristmill of William H. Jones, and Eastabrook & Stevens' sawmill.

The Phalanx, in Pike township, was a remarkable institution. There came, in. 1844, about fifty people who purchased 600 acres of land, a part of which is now the farm of George M. Brink, on the

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Owego road. Their temporary buildings were soon replaced by large solid stone structures, dwellings for all the members, store rooms, a school-room and chapel. Everything was in common, men working in the field, and women in the house, and they had a large dancing hall. The career of the affair was ended in four short years, when the founder left the country. A part of their old buildings are now dwell- ings and barns. They started a publication called the North American Phalanx.

LE RAYSVILLE BOROUGH.

This borough was incorporated May 16, 1863. It was named in honor of Le Ray de Chamont. The first officers were : Burgess, M. B. Porter ; council, George H. Little, Nelson Ross, Trumball Benham, Daniel Bailey, Stephen Brink ; C. P. Hodge, Sec .; Benjamin Pierce, Treas. Present officers : Burgess, Samuel H. Davies; clerk, G. W. Brink; council, George N. Johnson, Le Ray Coleman, L. P. Black- man, O. G. Canfield. G. W. Brink has been clerk of the borough ever since it was incorporated, thirty-two years ago.

Le Raysville has the following business concerns : E. M. Bailey & Son's foundry (first built nearly opposite the hotel by Daniel Lewis ; was first run by horse-power. This was established during the "fifties." After five years it was moved to where it now stands. They manu- facture plows), two drug stores, two cigar factories, two wagon shops, one boot and shoe store, two blacksmith shops, one grocery store, one furniture store, two hardware stores.

[CHAPTER XLI.

RIDGEBURY TOWNSHIP.

THIS township, which lies on the north line of the county, was organ- T ized in 1818, and was taken from Athens and Wells. A large number of the inhabitants were foreign born. Isaac Fuller and Joel Campbell were the first settlers, in 1805, on Bentley creek near the State line. It is said that Adam Ridenbar was living here when the two above mentioned families came. . Samuel Bennett came in 1807, and gave the name to the township. He was a prominent man, the first tailor in the township ; the place where he settled is known as Durkee Hill. Vine Baldwin came in 1808 with his family.

Griswold Owen came in 1809, and settled on the upper part of the creek near the town. His father-in-law, Rowsold Goff, came in 1812 and settled the John Thompson farm. . Capt. Calvin West came in 1813 and settled about one-half mile below Centreville.

Jonathan Kent came in 1813 and settled at a place known as Bentley Creek, sometimes called " Pennyville," because there was once a small grocery there. . James Covell came in 1812 and bought out

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Silas Campbell, where his posterity are still living. . Maj. Alpheus Gillett, a Revolutionary soldier, came in 1826, and settled about one mile and a half from Pennyville, and with him came his son- in-law, Aaron Marcellus. The latter made the improvement afterward owned by Vincent Owen. Henry Wells built a house for a tavern.

John Buek came in 1826, and his land includes the D. H. Burnham place. He was many years postmaster. . Sturgis Squires came in 1827; his brother Peter had been here twelve or thirteen years.

Among other early settlers was Joseph Batterson, on the hill where is the Lawrence Amy farm. . A man named Pierce im- proved the Widow Griswold farm.

John L. Webb was an early and prominent settler, was elected sheriff of the county. . Job Stiles, a Revolutionary soldier, settled the William Dickison farm. . Green Bentley was the first settler on the creek that bears his name. . Samuel Green settled on the hill east of Centreville. He was nicknamed "Durkee, " and from that the hill took its name. . Peter Evans came in 1842. The Irish settle- ment is in Ridgebury, extending over into Athens and Smithfield. This settlement was commenced by Cornelius O'Driscoll, who came in 1840, followed by Richard O'Connor and his two sons; then James White came in 1841 and bought out John Downs, one mile south of the Catholic church. George O'Leary was the fourth settler with his large family of sons, in 1842. To these families were added those of Daniel Desmond, with his sons John and Timothy, and Richard Hurley, John Mahoney, Patrick Butler, Daniel Chambers, George Chambers, Thomas Chambers, Daniel Kane and James Crowley.

Vine Baldwin built the first frame house. . Abial Fuller built the first sawmill, in 1826, on the W. J. Fuller farm. . Calvin T. Covel built a sawmill at McAfee's, which was burned, and he replaced it with a gristmill. . David Buck cut the first road through to Smithfield. The old Berwick turnpike road was built through the township in 1820-21, and was the first good road the people ever had. Centreville is a postoffice and village on Bentley creek; postoffice name is Ridgebury; the place has two stores and a Methodist church. Bentley Creek, a postoffice and village above Centreville on the same creek, has a store, a Baptist church, a school-house and a hotel. Middletown, a hamlet still further up the creek, has a grist and sawmill and a store.

CHAPTER XLII. ROME TOWNSHIP-ROME BOROUGH.

R OME TOWNSHIP takes its name from the "Eternal City," because it is situated on the same parallel of latitude. It is well watered by the Wysox creek and its smaller streams, Bullard, John- son, Park, Hicks and Bar creeks. The surface is divided by hill,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

table-land, and valley. The largest valley noted for its fertility is along the Wysox creek.

It is supposed that Nathaniel Peasly Moody was the first settler, in the year 1795, coming with his ox-sleds, in which were conveyed his wife and three children, all the way from Massachusetts. Moody, assisted by Levi Thayer cut a road from Sheshequin to the head waters of Wysox creek, that passed through the borough of Rome. Moody had purchased a piece of land of Thayer near the confluence of Bullard creek with the Wysox. Just below them were Henry Tal- lady, Peter Florence, Mathias Fenceler, " the Hermit," and Mr. Hath- away, whom they found camped while on a hunting expedition. These were about four miles below where Moody settled. . In 1798 Godfrey Vought, Henry Lent, and Fredrick Eiklor came with their families; Vought and Lent located near the present north line of Rome borough, and Eiklor about half way between Vought and Moody on the John Passmore place. About 1800 it was discovered that the title to all these lands belonged to Pennsylvania. In 1801 John Parks made his improvement on the D. C. Wattles farm. The first settlement on Towner hill was made by Elijah Towner in 1806. Mr. Towner had purchased 400 acres of Mr. Thayer. The title prov- ing worthless, he moved to Oak hill, cleared 100 acres and built a dis- tillery ; afterward, in 1806, he traded his improvements for what is now Towner Hill, where he spent the remainder of his days. His eldest son, Elijah Towner, married a daughter of Leonard Westbrook, who came at an early day with George Murphy. John Hicks settled in the hollow west of Towner's. George Murphy commenced his improvement on Towner hill in 1803, and John Hicks settled in the hollow west of him, in 1804.

William Elliott, with a large family of boys, came in 1805. Elliott had fourteen children ; his son Thomas commenced merchandising in 1813. . In 1806 Reuben Bump and Russell Gibbs settled in the north- west part of the township, and the settlement was called "Bump- town." Bump was a great hunter, and could tell some tall hunting stories. . Achatins Vought commenced his first improvement on Park's creek, north of Rome village, in 1807. . Rev. C. E. Taylor came from Connecticut in 1817; his family consisted of his wife, two sons and one daughter-Edwin W., Delamar and Abby Jane.

Martin Van Buren Moore was an early settler on the hill. He was relative of his namesake.

The first wheatfield was the ground now the Judge Passmore orchard. The seed to sow the ground was carried by Nathaniel P. Moody, one bushel, and each of his sons a half-bushel. He planted the first orchard. Some of the old apple trees still stand in front of D. H. Rice's residence. Godfrey Vought built the first frame house, in 1804. Burr Ridgeway built the first mill in 1808, which he sold in 1818 to his brother David, who disposed of it to Sylvester Barnes. Previous to this the nearest mill was Hinman's, at Wysox, the present Robert Laning place. Jacob Mver built the first mill where is the Myer & Frost mill. . Silas Gore was

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

the first blacksmith, in 1812. . Godfrey Vought and Andrus Eiklor built a sawmill near the confluence of Bullard and Wysox creeks.

Benjamin Moody was the first white child born in the township, born in 1798. . The first death was that of Mrs. Fredrick Eiklor, in 1800. . . In 1801, Henry Lent went to Sheshequin, but attempt- ing to return through the deep snow, he perished. His body was found near the dividing line of the farms of Prof. J. G. and Washing- ton Towner. . The first wedding was in the year 1803, the parties being James Lent and Chiloe Park. The first school teacher was Fredrick Eiklor who taught in the first log school-house, built in 1803, near the. O. F. Young farm.

In the township are a gristmill, owned by Charles Barnes, two miles south of Rome borough, William Sypher's steam and water grist and saw mill, located three-fourths of a mile north of Rome, and Seneca Russel's steam sawmill four miles north of Rome. There is a steam sawmill near North Rome. North Rome, situated in Centre valley, has one store.

ROME BOROUGH.

Rome borough was incorporated in February, 1860. It is situated in the south-eastern part of the township, about one and a half miles along Wysox creek, and about one-third of a mile wide. For a good many years it has been an important business point. It has a hardware store, drug store, a general store, and a shoe store, two miscellaneous stores, Byron Wilmot's planing mill, two blacksmith shops and a wagon shop.

CHAPTER XLIII.

SHESHEQUIN TOWNSHIP.

T THE name of this township is derived from the Indian, and is said to signify " the place of a rattle." It is one of the loveliest valleys in Bradford county, extending along the Susquehanna river a distance of seven miles, beautiful and fertile. It was taken from old Ulster. The first settlement was May 30, 1783, the colonists being pre- ceded by Gen. Simon Spalding, who came up from the Wyoming. The party consisted of Gen. Spalding and his wife Ruth, their children, John, Ruth, Rebecca. Mary, Anna and George. Their son Chester Pierce Spalding was born in Sheshequin in 1784; the others were Joseph Kinney and wife, Sarah Spalding, Benj. Cole, Col. Fordham, Thomas Baldwin and Stephen Fuller. Gen. Spalding came from Connecticut in 1774, first locating at Standing Stone in 1775. He was in command of a company in Sullivan's expedition in 1779, and in passing through Sheshequin valley he beheld the beautiful land, and resolved to make it his future home.

Col. John Spalding was a son of Gen. Simon, and was a fifer in his father's company at fourteen years of age; was also in the Sullivan

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

expedition. Joseph Kinney was also a Revolutionary soldier; was wounded at Long Island, and for a period was in the Jersey prison- ship. His first child, Simon Kinney, was the first white child born in Sheshequin.

Vine Baldwin, son of Thomas, is said to have been the first white child born in Sheshequin valley after the war. In 1784 Obadiah, Samuel Gore and Arnold Franklin came from Wyoming. The old homestead of Obadiah Gore is described in the old records as a tract of land called "Indela Mooking." situated on the east side of the north- east branch of the Susquehanna river, opposite an Indian settlement called " The Sheshequamung."

Judge Obadiah Gore was the son of Obadiah and Hannah (Park) Gore. He was commissioned judge at the organization of Luzerne county ; removed to Ulster in 1783, and to Sheshequin the next year; opened a store in the latter place (the first in this section) in 1796, and continued it until 1803. He built a gristmill on the river opposite where is now the " Valley House," in 1807, the first gristmill in the township. He also built the first frame house in the township, in 1787, and also the first distillery ; was appointed the first justice, in 1782. On his record the first marriage is that of Mathias Hollenback and Miss Sarah Hibbard-April 20, 1782. Arnold Franklin was a mem- ber of one of the distinguished Franklin families of the Common- wealth. Seven of the Franklins were killed at the Wyoming battle, and John, Jonathan, Roswell and Jehiel were of these seven brothers. Arnold, the settler mentioned above, was a son of Jonathan Franklin. Arnold was captured at Wyoming, but after three months' captivity escaped on the Genesee, and made his way back to his brother, Uncle Roswell Franklin, at Kingston, where he and his cousin, Roswell, Jr., when about twenty years of age, were captured by the Indians and taken to Canada, where they were kept three years.

Moses Park came to Sheshequin about 1785, and taught, probably, the first school in the township. In 1786 Jeremiah Shaw, an old Rev- olutionary soldier, came to Sheshequin, with his son, Ebenezer, then a lad; this was the Shaw that lived to be over 100 years old. . Peter Snyder came in 1798. . Daniel Brink came in 1790; his father, Benjamin Brink, a Revolutionary soldier, improved the David Horton place. . Abel Newell, who married a daughter of Ethan Wilcox, was an early pioneer. . Col. Joseph Kingsbury came in 1793, when aged nineteen ; was a surveyor, and he married a daughter of Gen. Spaul- ding. Col. Kingsbury was for many years one of the most distin- guished men in the county. . Ichabod Blackman, and three sons, Frank- lin, Elishu and David S., were prominent among the early pioneers. Hugh Rippiths, an Irishman, an early comer, improved the Patterson farm at the lower end of Breakneck. He married Hulda Franklin.

Elihu Horton came to Sheshequin about 1794, and resided on the Ed. Brigham farm; his sons, who came with him, were William, Joshua, Elihu, Jr., Stephen and Gilbert; his son Richard came two years afterward, and purchased Arnold Franklin's improvement. The Hortons were a strong and splendid race of sturdy pioneers. Elihn

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 50

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.) Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1340

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1340