USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > History of Clarion County, Pennsylvania > Part 11
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85
Thus were extinguished the claims of a great company ; one which had become a household word.
Ingersoll, Dallas, and Adlum assigned their warrants in Richland township, this county, to Richard Peters, jr., and Thomas, his brother, attorneys-at-law. Thomas Peters's share was sold by the sheriff in April, 1819, and was purchased by his brother. Thomas was excessively addicted to strong drink, and, parti- ally in the hopes of removing him from the scene of temptation, and partly to personally attend their land business, Richard sent him out in 1820. He took up his residence near Richmond station, but, alas ! if not the gay company, the intoxicating glass was almost as easily available in the backwoods as in the commercial capital of the State. His death, which occurred in 1825, was hastened by his habit. Richard Peters was a generous fosterer of improve- ments and patron of schools and churches in the Richland settlement. In May, 1820, Richard Peters conveyed the largest portion of his territory in the north- ern part of the county to Thomas Kittera (afterwards of Venango county), and Richard Renshaw, of Philadelphia. Judge Keating was the most extensive purchaser of the Richland lands.
In 1804, the devisees of the Bingham estate empowered Robert H. Rose, of Silver Lake, Susquehanna county, their attorney in fact. Some time after- ward he removed to Clarion county. On May 7, 1811, the devisees of the Bingham estate executed deeds for 200-acre tracts, consideration five shillings, and a mortgage to secure the balance of the purchase money, to Thomas Guth- rie, John Wilson, William Moffet, Robert McGarrah, Job Johnson, Joshua Rea, Benjaimin Coe, Alexander Guthrie, Stephen Travis, John McNutt, Joseph Cathcart, John Jones, John Guthrie, John Parr, and Jesse McConnell, of the Clarion township settlement. Likewise on the same day, for the same con-
95
FROM WAR OF 1812 TO ERECTION OF COUNTY.
sideration, to Joseph Smith, Joseph Greenawalt, Joseph Everett, Peter Snyder, Val. Snyder, Jacob Watterson, Henry Girts, Thomas Mckibben, and John Mc- Kibben, early settlers in Perry township. The subdivision of the Bingham lands, north of the Clarion, was not till a much later date (1836), by Elihu Chadwick, of Venango county ; there was slight demand for farms there previ- ously, and settlement was retarded. Algernon Howe, of Maine, was the most extensive purchaser of the north Clarion territory.
Robert Gilmor having died, and Charles Hare becoming insane, the rest of the devisees, Alexander Ashburton, Henry Baring, and Joseph R. Ingersoll, as provided by will, appointed John G. Elliot, of Boston, and William Miller in their place. These appointments were confirmed by an act of Legislature, March II, 1822. Thenceforth they were styled " trustees."
J. W. Guthrie succeeded Dr. Rose in the agency of the Bingham lands in this and adjoining counties.
All the remnants of the Bingham lands in this county were purchased through the attorneys in fact, July 12, 1851, by Samuel A. Purviance, A. N. Mylert, and John Bredin, of Butler county. It comprised much subject to contract.
The Bingham trustees, and their wives or husbands, had by that time grown to a list that presents a glittering and aristocratic array of names : Ash- burton, H. M. Ashburton, Henry Bingham Baring, Augusta Baring, John Evelyn Dennison, J. Stuart Hippesley, Francis Baring, H. Bridgeman Simp- son, F. Emily Bridgeman Simpson, Antonio de Noailles, A. M. Helena de No- ailles, W. F. Baring, Emily Baring. Attorneys-in-fact, Joseph Reed Ingersoll, John Craig Miller.
In 1857 Mylert, Lane, and Purviance sold to James Bredin, of Butler, and James Campbell, of Clarion.
George Ross, of Kittanning, an extensive land jobber, was Fox's attorney from 1808. Samuel Fox, by will, conveyed all the real estate remaining in his hands, consisting chiefly, in this county, of warrants north of the mouth of Clarion, to Hugh Roberts, Joseph Parker Norris, Robert Ralston, and Jonathan Smith, in trust for his heir, Joseph Fox. It became vested in him in 1816.
In 1816 Jonathan Mifflin sold seven 1,000-acre warrants in Madison, Toby, and Porter townships, to Joseph and Hannah Fox.
The Fox estate at present (1887) is in the hands of Mrs. Mary Fox, relict of Samuel M. Fox, the son of Joseph M., in trust for the heirs, who by articles of December 16, 1884, agreed to let the property remain undivided for five years. None of the property in the vicinity of Foxburg has been sold, and the village of Foxburg belongs entire to the estate. Joseph Fox, the oldest heir, is superintendent of the estate.
Much of the Pickering lands, then split up into a number of hands, was seized for taxes, and sold in warrants by the sheriff of Armstrong county in
.
96
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
1808. Thomas Hoge and Matthew Ringle were the largest buyers. In those days sheriff sales were advertised in the Freeman's Journal of Philadelphia, the Gazette and Daily Advertiser of the same city, and the Farmer's Register of Greensburg.
The price of land, between 1800 and 1815, varied of course with locality and quality of timber. All the sales occurring were for unimproved land. Huidekoper obtained from one to two dollars per acre, on easy terms, for his land between the years 1808 and 1815. The average price, quick pay- ment, at the earliest date, was about sixty cents per acre. In 1806 John Boney sold to George Ross 440 acres in Toby township for $160.00. George Delo sold a 400-acre tract on the Clarion river, in 1808, for $210.00. Elliot and Henderson, of Huntingdon county, sold three 400-acre warrants in 1808 to Angus Sinclair for £255, who assigned it to Hugh Callen for £352 (a £ Pennsylvania currency was $2.663). These tracts include the ground which Callensburg stands on. In 1812 and 1815 land had advanced to one dollar and one dollar and a half per acre. Hon. James Buchanan, President of the United States, was the last in the list of distinguished men who held land in Clarion county-a list which contains a Peters, a Pickering, an Ashburton, a Brady, and a Buchanan.
POSTAL FACILITIES, ROADS, AND STEAMBOATS.
Clarion county's first post-office was opened in 1818, at the house of James McGonagle, two miles east of Strattanville. It was shortly afterward removed to a point a mile east of that village, north of the pike, where a prospective town named Roseburgh (and Clarion) after Dr. Rose, had been laid out on the farm of Alexander Guthrie. Josiah Copley, a 'prentice printer of Indiana, carried the mail on horseback for James McGahan, the contractor and his mas- ter ; his route lay from Indiana via Greensburg, Freeport, Roseburg, Lawrence- burg (Parker), to Butler, and thence back to Indiana by way of Kittanning.
A mail line from Meadville to Kittanning, passing through this county, ex_ isted much earlier, but there was no postal service here. It crossed the Clarion at Gardner's Ferry.
Before the turnpike was completed a route was opened between Bellefonte and Meadville. The first contractor on this line was Randolph, of Meadville, and Clark, of Perry county, took the first stage contract. The second post- office within the limits of the county was at the present Curllsville.
Previous to the opening of post-offices here, people north of the river went to Franklin for their news, and those south to Kittanning, twenty and thirty miles distant. County postmasters then sold postage on time; newspapers were not brought by the mail, but delivered by the carrier. The earliest me- diums of intelligence were the Western Eagle, of Kittanning, and the Crawford Weekly Messenger, of Meadville.
97
FROM WAR OF 1812 TO ERECTION OF COUNTY.
The State road, which crosses the Clarion in Millcreek township, was the first highway to enter Clarion county. It was surveyed by the State as a mil- itary road from Sunbury to Erie, in 1803 or 1804, and its course is almost identical with that of the Susquehanna- Venango trail. Robert, John, and Henry Allison, and Thomas Guthrie were the contractors for opening the Clarion section of the road. It was finished in 1806. The next public road was one leading from Watterson's Ferry to Gardner's Ferry, near Callensburg, called by early settlers " the old State road." It was originally laid out under State auspices, but was neglected, till, by order of the court of Armstrong county in 1805, viewers were appointed and the road opened.
The earliest local road was one leading from Samuel Frampton's farm, through Curllsville and Callensburg to Parker's mill, now Parker.
The Olean road was laid out in 1819. The viewers were David Lawson and Samuel Matthews, of Armstrong county ; John Sloan, jr., John Lucas, of Jefferson ; and Joseph Otto, and Brewster Freeman, for McKean county. The chain-carriers for Lawson and Matthews were William Nelson and Hamilton Henry ; axman, Samuel Freeman ; packman, Daniel Gold. The latter was a good shot, and supplied the party with fresh meat.
As early as 1812 an act was passed empowering the governor to incorpo- rate a company for the erection of a turnpike from the Susquehanna, at the mouth of Anderson Creek, in Clearfield county, through Franklin to Waterford, connecting at Anderson's Creek with a road from Bellefonte and Northumber- land. A preliminary survey was made by General Mead, but the work was not begun in earnest till 1818, nor completed till 1822. The Holland Land Company were its chief promoters, and gave the direction of the enterprise to Benjamin Cooper, of Gloucester, N. J. Cooper organized the company, and the stock- holders elected commissioners to survey and grade the road. The work was aided by a State appropriation. Joseph Barnett, of Jefferson ; Philip Clover, of Armstrong ; and Martin, of Venango county, were commissioners of this district ; John Sloan was employed by the commissioners to survey and grade. The work of clearing and building was let in sections of from ten to twenty miles. James Harriet was contractor for the eastern half of the road in Clarion county ; Benedict & Anderson, a New York State firm, executed the western part. They employed forty hands. Trees of small and middle size were notched at the roots, five and six at a time, compassed by a chain, and all pulled out together by mules and windlass. The first bridge over the Clarion, a single span, was constructed in 1821, by Moore, of Northumberland. As soon as five miles of the road were completed, toll-gates were put up to defray expenses.
In 1860 the turnpike between Brookville and Franklin was re-chartered, and purchased by Messrs. J. Black, H. Maguire, G. W. Arnold, and James Campbell, who retired from the partnership ; the road was divided into sec-
98
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
tions, each shareholder taking one. In 1883 the Franklin end, beyond Ship- penville, was abandoned.
The first stage line was put upon the pike in 1823, by Bennet Brothers, of Bellefonte and Meadville. They had five relays on the line ; two in Clarion county, one between Berlin's and Franklin, the other between that place and Corbett's-the present Corsica. Mr. Jesse Berlin, now of Clarion, was one of the first drivers over both of these stages, and from the top of a Concord coach cracked his whip at the pine-needles along the road where the flourishing county-seat now lies. Henry Laus, of this county, was another of the earliest Jehus.
About 1828 a stage line was opened between Kittanning and Strattanville.
On February 23, 1829, the first steamboat to ascend above Kittanning, passed up the Allegheny to a little above the mouth of the Clarion, where it swung to, remained all night, and then proceeded on to Franklin and Warren. (The county being well timbered, the current then was of a larger and steadier volume.) It was the Wm. D. Duncan, a side-wheeler; Benjamin Brooks, cap- tain, and James P. Murphy, pilot.
In the following year steamers began to make regular visits, and from thence to the completion of the Allegheny Valley Railroad in 1868, the river traf- fic, both freight and passenger, between Pittsburgh and Franklin was large. Waterson's Ferry and Emlenton were the regular landing places for Clarion county people; sometimes the boats stopped at Brady's Bend and Miller's Eddy.
STREAMS.
By an act of March, 1817, two hundred dollars was appropriated for im- proving the navigation of Toby's Creek, and one hundred dollars for Redbank. Levi Gibson and Samuel C. Orr were appointed commissioners to superintend the outlay of these grants.
In 1819 we have the first official mention of the " Clarion" River, in an act empowering the governor to appoint three commissioners, " one of whom shall be a practical surveyor, to lay out and mark a road, beginning at the town of Milesburg, in Centre county, thence on the nearest and best route, to Kart- house and Kersey settlements in Clearfield county, and thence to Clarion river, at or near the mouth of Little Toby's Creek in Jefferson county." Previously it had always been called either "Toby's " or "Stump " Creek, which latter it obtained as early as 1809. How was the change made ? An interesting query, and one now for the first time extricated from the obscurity and contradictions which have involved it.
In 1817 an act was passed authorizing the survey of a State road from Bedford, through Indiana town to Franklin. Three viewers were appointed for this purpose, and among them, Daniel Stanard, a lawyer and surveyor, of In- diana ; David Lawson, who was very familiar with the country, was employed
99
FROM WAR OF 1812 TO ERECTION OF COUNTY.
as assistant surveyor. They camped on the banks of the river, and while lying in their tent they were struck by the clear sound of the distant ripples. The river's current was then fringed by a wall of close and massive timber, which con- densed and reflected the murmur, giving it a silvery mellowness which it has almost lost by the stripping of the banks. One of the party, Stanard, remarked that the water sounded like a distant clarion. "Why not call it the Clarion River ?" said Mr. Lawson. The suggestion was not acted on, as the return, filed in the clerk's office of Armstrong county, indicates it as "Stump Creek." Yet the name " Clarion " gained favor, and was introduced by one of the framers of the Olean road act and the accompanying section, given above - very possibly Lawson or one of his colleagues - and thus received the pres- tige of official saction. Messrs. Lawson and Stanard deserve the gratitude of the modern denizens on its banks for the refreshing change from the vulgar " Toby " and the unmusical "Stump " to euphonious and graceful " Clarion," a name appropriate, not only on account of its clearness of sound, but also the lucidity of its current, an idea not comprehended by its christeners.
The change, however, was very gradual, and the old inhabitants clung to the former titles with considerable tenacity. It was not till about 1840 that "Stump " and " Toby " disappeared altogether.
It is mentioned as the latter in the report of the Supreme Court in 1833, con- cerning an action of trespass brought by John Clugh against Robert Criswell and others for tearing down a mill-dam across "Toby's Creek." Clugh recovered damages, and the higher court affirmed the judgment.
It will be noticed that the river has been blessed with an abundance of names; the Indian Tobeco; the French Rivière au Fiel, the pioneer Toby and Stump, and finally Clarion.
The earliest militia in the backwoods were " rude and raw in arms " indeed . Although existing under the law of 1807, requiring regular organization, uni- form and arms, there was little of any of those adjuncts. On parade they pre- sented a sorry appearance, rivaling General Von Poffenburgh's battalion 1 in di- versity of array. "The militia held their reviews at Abram Standford's, near Curllsville, twice a year, and a gay time it was, with plenty of whisky and gin- gerbread. The uniforms were not all uniform, neither were the arms all arms, as some marched with one kind of clothing on and some with another, and while some had guns, others marched with sticks, corn-stalks, or anything that looked like guns at a distance. The field-officers were well uniformed, and looked well; such as brigade inspectors, generals, colonels, etc., etc. The free circulation of the above named whisky caused any amount of black eyes and bloody noses, for there were men then, as now, we are sorry to say, who only needed some whisky to stir up all that was evil within them." 2
1 Irving's " Knickerbocker."
L. C.
2 Judge Clover in " Atlas."
100
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
The first and for a long time the only uniformed company in the county was Captain Neely's Richland Rifles. George Kribbs succeeded Captain Neely in command ; Michael Weaver was first lieutenant, and Daniel Wingard, sec- ond. Their uniform was the same as that of 1814, with a few elaborations. In 1830 the company numbered sixty-nine men.
The Washington Rangers, of Callensburg and vicinity, Captain John L. Reed, was one of the earliest volunteer companies in the south.
The mustering places north of the river were at Neely's, now the Mong farm ; south, at Stanford's, Curllsville, and Colonel John Sloan's.
The polling places for Redbank and Toby townships were at John Sloan's and Thomas Mckibben's respectively. For the southern county Joseph Rankin, of Toby township, and David Lawson were the most prominent politicians, and both were elected to the Legislature several times. North of the river the voting places were at Alexander McDonald's, Richland township; later at Best's mill, and George Kapp's.
The years between 1820 and 1840 saw great advances, both material and intellectual, in the county. It was a period of road-making, of bridge-build- ing, and of the opening of churches and schools ; of the introduction, too, of many conveniences and ameliorations in modes of life. The country became comparatively populous; the most remote and savage parts of it became the habitation of man. In 1826 John Anderson culled a home from the wilds of Highland township, Millcreek; he was soon followed by the McNaughtons.
the home of Alexander McNaughton, as early as about 1812, was colonized by the Reeds and others. George Kapp and John Siegworth were the pio- neers of the northwestern extremity of the county, and were followed by a colony of Germans, 1825-30. In 1835 John Voglebacher gave his name to the settlement in Knox township, and about the same time the wilderness of Farm- ington township was peopled by the Alsbachs, the Blacks, the McCloskeys, Wil- kinsons and others. These are the latest settled parts of Clarion county.
Between 1826 and 1828 Shippenville, Callensburg, and Strattanville came into existence in the order named ; the first villages in the county. For a while Shippenville boasted the only inn.
September 18, 1806, the original township of Toby was subdivided into Redbank and Toby. By the year 1839 Redbank had produced Redbank, Mon- roe, and Clarion townships ; Toby, Madison, Toby, and Perry.
The original northern townships (erected in 1806) were Richland, Elk, Beaver, Paint, Toby's Creek, and Farmington. These were not regularly subdivided as in Armstrong county, but new townships were formed from portions of several. The townships taken from Venango county were Richland, Beaver, Pine Grove (mainly Washington), Paint, Elk, and Farmington.
About 1830, frame-houses, plaster, glass-windows, and carriages were in- troduced. Clumsy Dearborns were the precursors of the graceful and light vehicles of the present day, yet they were none too substantial for the roads.
IOI
FROM ERECTION OF COUNTY TO IRON ERA.
In and before 1830 flour was three dollars a barrel, beef three cents per pound, venison hams one and a half cents per pound, fowls six cents each, but- ter six to eight cents a pound, eggs six cents a pound.
In 1825 Charles Gaskell, agent of the Holland Land Company, sold un- seated land in the southern part of the county, at from one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars per acre, but this was remarkably low.
The price of real estate in the more settled parts of the county doubled be- tween 1820 and 1830. About the time of the organization of the county im- proved land was worth ten dollars per acre.
In 1829 the construction of the first furnace by Myers and Bear marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Clarion county.
CHAPTER X.
FROM THE ERECTION OF THE COUNTY TO THE IRON ERA-1839-1845.
Legislation, etc., Previous to Organization-The Act-Change of Boundaries-Selection of Site of County Seat -- Public Buildings -- Militia-Pohtics -- Statistics-County Finances.
A S early as 1835 the inhabitants of upper Armstrong and lower Venango counties, then filling up rapidly on account of the development of the iron industry, began to feel the inconvenience of the distance of their county seats, and petitions were signed for the erection of a new county from parts of each.
In the session of 1835-36 Senator Kelly, representing the district affected, presented a bill for the erection of a new county out of Venango and Arm- strong, to be called "Stark." 1 At the same period " Clarion " is mentioned in some petitions. This bill was tabled. In the following session, 1837-38, Mr. Kelly introduced another bill to the same effect, which reached second read- ing ; again " Clarion " was mentioned in petitions.
HOUSE.
In the House, December 15, 1838, Mr. Snowden, of Venango county, pre- sented a petition from the inhabitants of Armstrong and Venango counties for the erection of a new county out of parts of said counties. (Referred). Decem- ber 19, Mr. Yost, of Montgomery, presented a similar petition. (Referred).
Monday, January 15, 1839, Mr. Snowden presented the proceedings of a meeting of citizens of Beaver township, Venango county, asking for the erec- tion of a new county out of parts of Venango and Armstrong. January 22,
1 Senate and House Journal.
IO2
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
Mr. Snowden, from the committee to whom were referred the petitions on the subject, reported a bill (No. 54) entitled, "An act erecting parts of Armstrong and Venango counties into a separate county to be called Clarion." (Read, and laid on the table.) January 25, Mr. Evans, of Armstrong, presented a petition from inhabitants of Armstrong and Venango counties for the erection of a new county out of parts, etc., to be called Clarion ; Mr. Snowden one of like import. (Tabled).
January 28, Mr. Purviance (Butler) presented two petitions from inhabitants of Butler, Armstrong, and Venango counties, praying for the erection of a new county out of parts of said counties to. be called " Jackson." (Referred).
January 31, petition of like import to that of the 25th. (Tabled).
February 4, on motion of Mr. Snowden, the House resolved itself into a committee of the whole on the bill No. 54, entitled an act erecting parts of Armstrong and Venango counties into a separate county to be called Clarion.
On motion, the said bill was read the second time, considered and agreed to; and ordered to be transcribed for third reading. On motion of Mr. Wil- cox (Jefferson, McKean and Warren), the rule which prohibits the reading of bills twice on the same day being in this case dispensed with, the said bill was read the third time, when a motion was made by Mr. J. Cunningham, of Hunt- ingdon, to postpone the further consideration of the same for the present, which was disagreed to ; and, on the question, Shall the bill pass ? it was determined in the affirmative, and ordered that the clerk present the same to the Senate for concurrence.
SENATE.
On Friday, December 21, 1838, Mr. Hays, senator from Twenty-second District, composed of Jefferson, Mckean, Potter, Tioga, Venango, and Warren counties, presented two petitions from citizens of Venango and Armstrong, praying for the erection of a new county out of parts of said counties.
Tuesday, February 5, 1839, House bill, act for organization of a new county from parts of Venango and Armstrong to be called " Clarion " committed to Messrs. Hays, Carpenter, and McConkey.
February 6, Mr. Hays presented a petition of citizens of Armstrong, Butler, and Venango praying for the erection of a new county out of parts of said counties.
February 20, Mr. Hays reported from committee House and Senate bill (Clarion) with amendments.
February 25, Mr. Fullerton presented a petition of citizens of Armstrong and Venango counties, etc.
March 5, 1839, the speaker (Charles B. Penrose) presented a memorial of citizens of the counties of Armstrong, Butler, and Venango, remonstrating against the contemplated new county to be called " Clarion," and praying for erection of a new county out of parts of each to be called " Jackson."
IO3
FROM ERECTION OF COUNTY TO IRON ERA.
March 6, on motion of Mr. Hays and Mr. Strohm, the Senate resolved itself into a committee of the whole, to consider bill from House, entitled, an act for the organization of a new county from parts of Armstrong and Venango, to be called Clarion. After some debate the committee rose and the chair- man reported bill with amendments.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.