History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, Part 10

Author: Brown, Robert C., ed; Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Meagher, John, jt. comp; Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899, jt. comp
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1658

USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > History of Butler County, Pennsylvania > Part 10

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quenessing township . . . . . $ 28 00 John Beighley and Robert Boggs for a balance of road tax on unseated lands in same township, 1802 . . . . 50 52 June 17. John Martin for carry- ing collector's warrant and transcript of duplicate for 1803 to Robert Waddle, of Slippery Rock. 1 50 June 30. Robert Galbreath, Hugh ~ Riddle, Francis Anderson, Benj. Sarver and Robert Riddle for two days each, laying ont a road from Robt. Galbreathi's on Big Buffalo to Isaac Voris' in Deer tp. 12 00

David Sutton and John Clows for a balance of road tax on unseated lands in Middlesex and Buffalo in 1802 4 12

July 27. Henry Baldwin, attor- ney, for indictments. 4 00 July 30. Tarlton Bates, clerk, for fees (1803). 4 00

Aug. 12. Paid Sims Chambers, a witness, Pa. vs. Chambers. 13 27}

Paid Sims Chambers, a wit- ness, Pa. vs. Cousins . 9 59}

Aug. 18. Paid Tarlton Bates, bill of sundries 18 76

Sept. 3. Paid James Wallace, witness. Pa.vs. J. Chambers 2 74

Paid John Davis, witness, Pa. vs. Chambers .. 5 50 Sept. 7. Paid William Wusthoff, sheriff.

6 67 Paid William Wusthoff. 3 85

Sept. 8. Paid to William Gay- zarn, J. P. fees for June. . . 12 17 Sept. 24. Paid David Kerr and David Sutton part of taxes on U. L. in Middlesex. 85 00

Sept. 27. Same, same account ... 93 60

Sept. 28. Paid John Fowler, John Reed, Thomas Reed, wit- ness, in re Pa. vs. John Chambers. 13 97

Oct. 7. Paid James Amberson, Moses Bolton, Daniel Mc-

Michaels, Samuel Cochran, Barnet Gilliland, election clerks, etc 11 90

Oct. 15. Paid Robert Waddle for judge of election, mile- age in bringing the returns to Pittsburg from Slip- pery Rock township in 1803.8 9 90 Oct. 26. Paid Hardy Rundle, witness, P. vs. C 5 00

Nov. 3. Paid David Gilliland for himself and four others in laying out a road from the east line of Butler county to the county town, twelve miles, three days each. . . . . 15 00 Paid Matthew White for services as constable in re Pa. vs. George Powers, Pat- terson Fitzsimmons and James Girty 4 12

Paid Andrew Robinson, jailer, for the use of prison- ers chargeable to Butler county 44 97

Nov. 8-9. Paid Sheriff Wusthoff for proclaiming general election, $5.20. Paid T. Bates his fees as clerk of court in September, $2.40. Paid William Waddle, judge of election in Slippery Rock township, $1.50. Paid An- drew Jack for helping on 10 10 the Findley-Voris road $1 .. Nov. 9. One-fourth expenses of Allegheny county, for of- ficials' salaries, candles, bell-ringing,printed blanks, repairs of jail, etc., $1,097.10 274 27} Nov. 26. Paid Daniel Pugh ... . .. 80 Nov. 30. Connel Rogers and Robert Scott, as clerks of election at McLure's. 3 00

To one-fourth of treasurer's salary for two and one-half months 7 81 To three quires of paper, paid for by the treasurer, Win. Amberson. 75

To one book, paid for by Jno. Wilkins while treasurer To error in unseated lands for the year 1800, credited to the county . .........

207 54 To error in unseated lands for the year 1801, placed to the credit of the county .... 158 34

HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

Dec. 2. Wolf orders from begin- ning of year 1800 to date .. $494 03 Collectors' fees for same time 84 63

Allowed for last taxes same time 53 56}

Due by Collector Jeremiah

Smith from 1801.

36 80

Robert Hays from 1802.

299 00

Samuel Meals from 1802 ..

15 34

Christopher

McMichaels

from 1802.

198 21}

John Lyon from 1803.

444 53

[These balances, due by collectors, were received by the commissioners of But- ler as cash payments and duly credited to Allegheny county.]

Jolin Cooper, collector, for 1803

105 51

Robert Waddle, collector, for 1803. 194 43

Abner Coats, collector, for 1803 394 92

Amount due for unseated lands returned by assessors and collectors 158 00

Due by John Cunning- ham a fine for refusing to serve as collector of Middle- sex township for the year 1803 20 00

REVENUE.

1800.

By tax assessed in 1800 on Connoquenessing township 176 99

By your part of the tax on Slippery Rock township for 1800. 345 981

By the amount of tax as- sessed on Middlesex town- ship for 1800. 183 58

By your part of the tax of Buffalo township for 1800. . 82 53 Tax from N.R. Depreciation lands in Elder's district. ... 13 83 Tax from same in Cunning- ham's ... 53 64

Tax fromfi same in Nichol- son's. . 3 76 Tax from same in Alexan- der's 59 67

Tax from same in First and Second districts . . . .$ 26 64

1801

June 10. Tax assessed in Conno- quenessing township, exclu- sive of unrented lands ..... 204 06 Tax in Slippery Rock town- ship. 214 50 Tax in Middlesex township 284 28 Tax in Buffalo township ... 108 80 Amount arising from non- resident Depreciation lands in the parts of the several districts of Butler county 1801. 132 602 Tax on non-resident Dona- tion lands in 1 and 2 dis- tricts for 1801 25 74

1802

June. Taxes assessed in Conno- quenessing. 450 53

Taxes assessed in Slippery

Rock. ...

281 36

Taxes assessed in Middle -. .

sex.

438 09

Taxes assessed in Buffalo .. 135 15

1803

Collector Jolin Lyon's dup- licate, Middlesex .. . 444 53

Collector John Cooper's duplicate. Buffalo. 161 01 Collector Robert Waddle's duplicate, Slippery Rock. .. 341 33 Collector Abner Coat's dup- licate, Connoquenessing ... 452 92

By error in charges.

1 50

By tax paid on unseated lands in 1800. 207 84 By tax paid on unseated lands in 1801 158 64

Jolin Martin appointed col- lector for Slippery Rock in

1803, refused to serve, fine. 20 00 John Cunningham, ap- pointed collector of Middle- sex, refused to serve, fine. . 20 00

The totals show receipts from But- ler county, aggregating $5079 51, and ex- penditures on account of Butler county, aggregating $5528.901. At date of settle- ment, the commissioners of the new county agreed to pay the balance, $449.392.

COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

The assessors appointed in 1800 were Robert Ilays of Connoquenessing, David Kerr of Middlesex, and Samuel Jolly of Slippery Rock. In 1801, John Shannon Thomas Smith and Daniel McConnell filled the positions, respectively. In 1802, Moses Bolton and Matthew White, assessed Connoquenessing ; John David, James Scott and David Sutton, assessed Middlesex and Buffalo ; David Arm- strong, Robert Waddle and Robert Reed assessed Slippery Rock; while Matthew MeEwen, William Moore, Samuel Meals and Eliakim Anderson were also engaged in the work. The whole sum paid to assessors from 1800 to June 10, 1803, inclusive, amounted only to $456.51. The trustees of Butler county in 1800 were Abdiel McLure, James Amberson and William Elliott, who received for their year's labors the sum of $33.3716.

The tax levy in the original township of Connoquenessing in 1800 was $176.99; in 1801. $204.06; in 1802, $450.53; and in 1803, $452.92, or a total of $1,234.50 for the four years.

In Middlesex township the tax for the years given was as follows : $183.58, $284.28, $438.09 and $444.53; total $1,850.48.

In Slippery Rock township, the tax amounted to $345.98 in 1800; $214.50 in ISOI ; $281.36 in 1802; and $341.33 in 1803, or a total of $1, 183.17.

Buffalo township yielded $82.53 in 1800; $108.80 in 1801; $135.15 in 1802, and $161.01 in 1803.

The supplementary act of April 6, 1802, authorized the Governor to appoint a commission, who would locate the seats of justice in Armstrong, Butler and Mercer counties, and, the executive, acting under this authority, appointed Isaac Weaver, John Hamilton, Thomas Morton, James Brady and P. Carr Lane. The part taken by these men in locating the county seat of Butler, is fully set forth in the history of the borough, where the names and actions of the county-seat trus- tees, appointed under the act of March 8, 1803, are detailed.

The first commissioners found the four townships named in the statement of the Allegheny commissioners, and were content with the number. The inhabit- ants were not so easily satisfied. A petition presented to Judge Moore, in Feb- ruary, 1804, was the first in connection with changing the order of townships as recognized by the older county. The signers stated :

That Middlesex township at present extends from the southern boundary to the township of Slippery Rock, distance more than twenty-three miles * * * and we pray your honours to erect that part of Middlesex and Buffalo townships, south of said north- ern boundary, into separate townships.

The following signatures are given : John Quinn, Patrick McGee, Bernard McGee, Hugh McGee, Robert Maxwell, Robert Kennedy, Wm. M. Kennedy, Joseph Sutton, David Sutton, Daniel Sutton, James Guffey, John David, David Kerr, Matthew Wigfield, John Bittiger, Henry Sofire and James Shields. The first endorsement shows that the petition was continued under advisement to the next May sessions, and in May a second indorsement was made as follows : "The court consider that the necessity of acting on this petition is superseded by an appoint- ment of viewers at the present session, to divide the whole county of Butler into separate districts to be erected into townships .- J. Moore."

HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

Another petition for the erection of townships was presented, May 15, 1804, and reads as follows :

To the Honorable Jesse Moore, Esq., President of the Court of General Quarter Ses- sions, etc., and his Associate Judges of the same court now sitting.

'The petition of a number of the inhabitants of Butler county, humbly sheweth that your petitioners as well as the inhabitants of the county at large, labor under great inconvenience for want of sufficient number of townships in said county. Your peti- tioners therefore pray that your honors would appoint suitable persons to lay out a com- petent number of townships in the said county and make report of their proceedings to your honors at your next sessions and your petitioners as in duty bound will pray. May Sessions 15th, 1804.

The signatures to this document are as follows: Matthew White, Jacob Mechling, James Bovard, John Negley, William Ayres, John Gilmore, Robert Hays, David Dougal, Josiah Crawford, John McCandless, Alex. White, Samuel Kinkaid, Samuel A. Rippey, William Skeer, William B. Young, James Thomp- son, John MeBride, John David, William Elliot, Samuel Cunningham, Henry Evans and William Wason. Judge Moore at once appointed John Cunningham, John David and Barnet Gilliland to inquire into the propriety of granting the prayer of the petitioners and to execute all other acts and duties required by the act of Assembly in such case. In August, 1804, the men named tendered the following report :

We, the subscribers, having been appointed by your order of May term, 1804, for the purpose of examining as to the necessity of dividing the said county into a suitable number of townships agreeable to an act of Assembly in such case made and provided, have, in pursuance of said order, assembled for said purpose and are of the opinion that it is absolutely necessary that the county should be divided into a convenient number of townships,-two agreeing as to plan Number 2, one as to plan Number 1, which are here- with exhibited and respectfully submitted to the consideration and determination of the honourable court.

The document was indorsed, " continued under advisement to next sessions -John Parker," and filed. Plan Number 2 referred to in the report showed nine divisions, each seven and three-fourth miles square ; one division, thirteen miles, ninety-eight perches, by five and one half miles ; one, ten miles by five and one- half miles ; one, in the north-east corner, ten miles by five and one-half miles, and one, in the northwest corner, five miles, one hundred and fifty-two perches on north line by five and one-half miles on east line. The only township name given thereon is " Slippery Rock."

Report Number 1, or the minority report, is drawn to a scale and the town- ships named as follows :- Connoquenessing, in the south-west corner, Middlesex next, and .. Buffaloe " in the south-east corner. In the second tier were Muhler, Butler and Connaught ; in the third tier were Muddy Creek, Heidelberg and Clearfield: in the fourth tier, Slippery Rock and Parker, and in the fifth or north- ern tier, Mercer in the north-west corner and Venango in the north-east corner. The dotted lines on the original map show the boundaries of the townships and the indorsement made November 15, 1804, tells this story : " The written divis- ions approved by the dotted lines." The writing in this sentence is Parker's, but there is no record to show that it was done by order of the court. The dotted

COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

lines given correspond with the ink lines in report Number 2. The minority report was practically adopted, but amended so far as the names were concerned : -Cranberry, Middlesex and Buffalo in the first tier; Connoquenessing, Butler and Clearfield in the second ; Muddy Creek, Centre and Donegal in the third ; Slippery Rock and Parker in the fourth, and Mercer and Venango in the fifth tier.

From 1840 to 1846, new townships were erected. a few of which corres- ponded with the modern election precincts. A petition for the erection of Ring- gold township out of parts of Middlesex, South Butler, Cranberry and East Connoquenessing was filed June 16, 1847. It bore ninety-three signatures; but was met by seven counter petitions from the old townships and these petitions were supplemented by an account of a large meeting, held at Breakneck (Evans City), August 18, 1848, to protest against the establishment of such a township. Samuel Marshall, Andrew Boggs. Joseph Johnston, David Garvin and Daniel Boggs represented the opponents of the petition in the southwest.

On March 10, 1849, a meeting was held at A. M. Brown's store to petition the court of general quarter sessions for the establishment of a new township and for the increase of school districts. John Maharg, Sr., presided, with George Boyd, Sr., John Crowe, Sr., and Benjamin Douthett, Sr., vice-presidents; Alex- ander Douthett, Thomas B. Ilood and Stephen Luse, secretaries. From the resolutions, given in the petition, it appears that the school directors of Middlesex and Cranberry refused, flatly, to create a sub-school district, and out of this refusal grew the desire for a new township. The petitioners submitted a plat of the territory and asked the court to order its establishment and name it " Ring- gold." The court did not take kindly to this petition, and the subject died under the snub inflicted. The snub, however, did not die, for the desire for change took another shape. In 1549, the proposition to create a new county, to be named Lawrence, out of parts of Beaver and Mercer, or Beaver, Mercer and Butler counties, was presented to the legislature. The measure received little support from the people of Butler, who were pleased with Butler county as it then stood and could look forward with certainty to a greater county within the same boundaries and under the same name.

Meantime a measure was brewing which would nearly satisfy all parties within the county. It was born in a little school-house in which Cyrus E. Ander- son, of Butler, then presided. The head of the tall teacher reached the ceiling, and every day he experienced the evil effects of poisoned air. Calling the direct- ors and parents together, he showed them the sad condition of affairs ; but they could not afford relief until new townships were formed, one of which, at least, they could govern. The petition was drawn-up, and the reconstruction of the county begun.

The petition of citizens of Butler, referred to in the transactions of quarter sessions in re the erection of townships, asked the court to deny the prior peti- tion of the people of Buffalo, Middlesex and Cranberry, and to set aside the act of the legislature erecting ten townships. This was presented June 18, 1553, bear- ing the following names : William Murrin, Joseph Graham, John Bartley, James Bartley, Patrick Graham, David Logan, Thomas Bartley, William Coch-

HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

ran, William Harbison, Abner Bartley, David Burkhart, John Burkhart, John Burkhart, Jr., W. F. Barchman, John Barchman, Richard Martin, James Cunning- ham, Jr., Geo. Mechling, Powell Burkhart, R. B. Maxwell, Joseph Criley, Jacob Schneider, John Cook, Philip Stoolfire, Sam Polhemus, W. Levesey, T. R. Arm- strong, Moses Lensey, Matthew Cunningham, S. Patterson, John McKee, James Brewster, Jacob C. Croup, Abraham Hlenshue, William Crooks, William W. Smith, S. A. Johnston, Thomas L. Dunn, W. W. Maxwell, M. Zimmerman, Robert Maxwell, John Kennedy, Robert McKee, A. Lowry, John M. Smith, D. B. Beam, Henry Dickey, Andrew Lemmon, Jacob Shleppy, James A. Negley, James B. Kennedy, Michael Emerick, Joseph McQuistion, Joseph Hays and R. E. Brown. The court at once granted the prayer of the petitioners and appointed three viewers to devise a plan for the division of the county into townships.

On June 18, 1853, the petition of sundry citizens of Butler county, asking for the division of the county into townships, each five miles square, was pre- sented to the court. The signers set forth that petitions from the people of Buffalo, Middlesex and Cranberry townships, to the State legislature, asking that ten townships be erected out of the three named, were granted, and that an act was passed in accordance with the prayer of the petitioners; that the Governor did not approve of that act, but remanded the whole question to the courts of Butler county, and that now the people of Butler desire the disapproval of the petitioners prayer, as outlined in the act of the legislature, as it would result in the division of the county into forty-three small townships.

The signers of this new petition, or remonstrance as it may be called, asked the court to order that the whole county be divided into townships, each as nearly five miles square as possible. On June 18, 1853, the court acquisced in this opinion and appointed Hugh McKee, Samuel M. Lane and James T. McJunkin viewers or commissioners to inquire into the propriety of granting the petition and to make a draft of the townships and of the division lines proposed, as well as of the lines of townships proposed to be altered, and make a report of their work before the next term of court. On November 19, 1853, their report and opinion were presented to Judge Agnew and associate judges, the text of which is as follows :

Having given the required notice, Hugh McKee, Samuel M. Lane and James T. McJunkin met in Butler, October 4, 1853, when several of the districts were represented by delegates chosen for that purpose, all of whom represented that they were instructed to urge the necessity of such division. In order to make an accurate report, we found it necessary to ascertain the dimensions of the county by actual survey. This was done by Hugh McKee, commencing at the northwest corner of Cranberry township and run- ning the west and north boundary lines to the northeast corner of the county, being found on the eastern bank of the Allegheny river. This, with the assistance of the actual survey and measurement by William Purviance, of the south end of the county and the west side of Cranberry township, to the point at which we began, enables us to pre- sent the annexed draft of the county, showing the present townships and also the pro- posed divisions.

On examination of this draft the impractibility of dividing the county into town- ships of five miles square will be clearly seen. The county averages twenty-four miles

COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

and a fraction east and west, and thirty-three miles and a fraction, north and south. To carry out the wish of the petitioners would leave a fractional range of townships on two sides of the county and a ground for future complaints; but by dividing the distance and approximating the direction of your order, we can have five ranges of townships north and south, and seven east and west, making in all thirty-three townships,-thirty-one of which will be almost square and contain an area of about twenty-four square miles, the other two, owing to the diagonal course of the northwestern boundary line of the county, will necessarily vary a little from that size.

In our opinion, the advantages arising from the districting of the county as above proposed would be almost incalculable, of lasting utility and which we might safely say is desired by more than three-fourths of our population. The entire southern, western and central divisions of the county are almost unanimous in its favor. The objections that have reached us come from townships lately formed by the division of old ones, the size and location of which will be but slightly changed by the proposed arrangement.

The arguments urged against the proposed division are, that it will derange our present school districts, causing the building of new school houses throughout the county and increase the county expenses by creating eleven or twelve new election districts and a like increase of township officers. There would be some force in this latter objection if the proposed division fail. Then Cranberry, Middlesex and Buffalo will be divided into ten districts, and Clearfield, owing to its large territory and dense population, will ere long be divided. Venango and Mercer, each ten miles from east to west by but little over five north and south, already contemplate the formation of new townships, and some citizens of Centre and North Butler have asked for division. Thus in the course of a few years we would have as many election districts as would be under the proposed division; yet permaneney and regularity would be unattained, and, we might say, un- attainable, and the probability of the number of election districts exceeding that which we propose, would be very great; for so long as we have some townships twice as long as wide, as is the case with North Butler, Butler and several others, we may expect complaints and calls for sub-division.

The objections urged in connection with the disarrangement of school districts may be considered as follows: From the report of the superintendent of common schools for the year ending in June, 1852, we find the number of school houses then in the county to be 225, and thirteen yet wanting, a number greater than that of Allegheny with a popu- lation three times as large; yet out of that number, less than fifty have the conveniences requisite for school purposes. The remainder are delapidated, being mostly log build- ings, put up immediately after the introduction of the school law, for temporary pur- poses. The citizens ever since have been awaiting some systematic arrangement of townships to warrant them in concentrating their energies and means to put up suitable buildings in conformity with the requisitions of the general school law. From the same report it will be also seen that the amount of tax levied for school purposes, amounts to $11,668.14, and the amount received from the Sate, $2,934.06, naking $14,602.20; yet we had but an average of five months school in the year. The expense of repairs, fuel and other contingencies for so large a number of unnecessary school-houses is very great. Many of these houses thus furnished have some fifteen, some ten and some even as low as five taxables; while others have sixty and seventy. All this arises from the present irregularity of the townships. This could not possibly exist under the proposed arrangement, for the number of school-houses would in a short time be reduced to 133, or four to each township, and then from the fact of the new townships being almost square, no citizen could be so situated as to be more than one and one-fourth iniles from the center of the district, and the services of competent teachers could be secured and continued for a period of eight or nine months in each year, instead of, as at present, about five, and this without one cent of additional expense.

Another advantage arising from the proposed division is in respect to roads. Then every citizen will have an opportunity of working out his road tax in his own immediate

HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

neighborhood and on roads in which he has a direct interest in keeping in good repair for his own convenience, instead of being taken five or six miles, as at present, to work on roads that he seldom ever sees unless when called to assist in repairing them, and losing inneh of the day in going to and returning from the place he worked.

The expense attending the proposed division is urged as an objection to it. Of this we have nothing to say, but will merely state that it can be done, we have ascertained, for six hundred dollars, which would make an average of eight cents to each taxable. Taking all these facts into consideratien, two of the viewers (Mr. Lane, the other one, being absent), are unanimous in the opinion that the division is necessary and that no time more favorable and convenient than the present will likely be arrived at during the next half century. Therefore, we recommend the immediate districting of the county, agreeably to the plan set forth in the draft hereto annexed, as it carries out the wish of a large majority of our citizens, approximating the order of conrt as nearly as can be. creating convenience in election districts and insures regularity and permanence in schools.

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History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, Part 10

Author: Brown, Robert C., ed; Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Meagher, John, jt. comp; Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899, jt. comp Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago : R. C. Brown Number of Pages: 1658

Author: Brown, Robert C., ed; Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Meagher, John, jt. comp; Meginness, John Franklin, 1827-1899, jt. comp
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1658