USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > History of Clarion County, Pennsylvania > Part 41
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" With breathless impatience the party watched the setting of the sun, and as its light disappeared from the tops of the trees in the east, they heard seven distinct scalp halloos, with the usual whoop between each. After it was over, Cole, the Indian, observed : 'There are fourteen warriors, and they have five scalps and two prisoners.' The night being clear and the weather mild, the captain remained in his position till near morning, when he forded the stream above the Indians and posted his men to await the crack of his rifle as the sig- nal of attack. As day broke, an Indian rose up and stirred the fire. The sig- nal was given. The Indian standing pitched into the fire. The attack con- tinued, and resulted in eight of the warriors being deprived of the pleasure of ever again giving the scalp halloo. When the captain got back to the fire he found the children much alarmed. After quieting their fears, the boy asked for the captain's tomahawk, and commenced cutting off the head of the Indian that fell in the fire, observing that this was the leader of the party and the man that killed and scalped his mother. The boy was permitted to finish the job he had commenced.
" Three days' easy march brought the captain back to Pittsburgh. The father of the children was sent for to receive his lost ones. He showed much affection and thanked the captain for having restored them ; and then asked the captain what had become of his 'big basin.' It appeared that the Indians had carried off or destroyed a big basin, from which Henry and his numerous family ate their sauerkraut. The honest Dutchman thought there could be no impro- priety in asking for it of the man who had the best chance to know.
" In 1804 the writer met Henry (the boy) at a friend's house in Greenburg, Pa. Henry had stopped with a wagon before the door, and had a barrel of cider for my friend, who, pointing to me, said, 'This gentleman is a brother of Captain Brady, who took you from the Indians.' Henry was assisting to re- move the cider, and he gave me a side look for a moment, and then continued his work. I felt hurt at the coldness he showed towards the brother of a man who had risked his life to rescue him from death or bondage, and to avenge the murder of his family."
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FROM THE OIL ERA TO THE PRESENT TIME.
It will be seen, leaving the question of locality aside, that although Brady's narrative is over-wrought, no grave discrepancies exist between his account and Brodhead's, except in the number of redskins. At the distance of time and under the circumstances he wrote, his errors are pardonable ; his version tallies far better than McCabe's with the official one.
Another version, published in the Knickerbocker for July, 1855 (author un- known), is analogous to local tradition. It makes the attack occur at night. In this Brady ascended the river on the opposite side, crossed at "Truby's Ripple," above the camp of the war party, and then moved down stealthily on their rear, hemming them in between the bank and the river. Cornplanter, their chief,1 escapes across the Allegheny under a shower of bullets to the famous rock. We quote the end of the article: "The rock that sheltered Cornplanter from Brady's bullets was pointed out to me by an old Indian in a recent trip down this river. It is known as 'Cornplanter's Rock.' The old Indian gave me the story, with a sad and dejected countenance, in broken English."
It is evident that much of this story is derived from imaginative sources ; its general tenor is foreign to the only reliable accounts we possess-Colonel Daniel Brodhead's and Hugh Brady's.
We will return to these and scan them with regard to location, to determine, if possible, whether this achievement of Captain Brady's occurred in Clarion or in Armstrong county. As the result, it will be seen that the honors lie easy between the two sections, with a preponderance in favor of Clarion. Col- onel Brodhead says, "about fifteen miles above Kittanning." This indefinite phrase is our only official authority for location. Elsewhere, in writing of his march up the Allegheny, he speaks of a delay " at a place called Mahoning, about fifteen miles above Fort Armstrong." Fort Armstrong was situated about three miles below the present and the old Indian town of Kittanning, and was frequently styled Kittanning in military documents of that date; therefore, I infer that by the Kittanning mentioned by Brodhead, the fort is meant. "At a place called Mahoning," taken in connection with the quarter mentioned in the letter giving the report of Captain Brady's success, would seem, then, to corroborate McCabe's and the generally-accepted locality ; for the mouth of the modern Mahoning is twelve miles above Manorville, the site of Fort Arm- strong, by river.
But we must remember that the earliest name of the Redbank was Lycama- honing, while that of Mahoning Creek was Mohulbucteetam. When the change in the name of this stream took place is unknown, but probably not until the surrounding country became settled, about 1800. We find that Redbank is in one place called " Licking Creek," whose Indian equivalent would be Maho- ning.
1 Cornplanter was a Seneca, while the leader, mentioned by Brodhead, and who was killed, was a Muncy. It is possible, though, that Cornplanter took part in the fray.
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HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
The question then seems to hinge on the manner Brodhead calculated the distance ; whether by the windings of the river, or by a more direct, overland route. If by the former, then the claims of Mahoning are paramount ; but if the latter, the mouth of Redbank, or Brady's Bend, must have been the scene of the engagement, because twelve miles measure the distance between Fort Armstrong and the latter point, on an air line, which, allowing moderately for the deviations of an overland journey, would make "about fifteen miles" to East Brady, or, with wider digressions, fifteen miles to the mouth of Redbank. Now, in the case of Captain Brady's expedition, where did Brodhead obtain the distance and the point of attack ? Doubtless from Captain Brady himself, who, in haste to overtake the savages, would not have lost time by following the river, but would have struck through the forest on a line only generally parallel with the course of the Allegheny. But it may be said that Brodhead, on the march, kept by the water's edge. There is no evidence whatever as to that. Very possibly he shortened the route by traversing the interior, or divided his course between the stream and the country, wherever the most practicable way was presented ; and in this way, after a march of about fifteen miles, arrived at the mouth of Redbank. However, the claims of Clarion county do not depend on Brodhead's path.
The strongest point in favor of this county is that the captives, then ten and twelve years old, and their descendants, some of whom afterwards lived there, assert that the rescue took place at Brady's Bend.1 It is little likely that they would be mistaken ; at least, make the egregious error of ten or twelve miles.
As between Brady's Bend and the Redbank (near its mouth), where the rescue is said by General Hugh Brady to have occurred, I incline to the tra- ditional spot at the bend, as supported by the legend and the granting of the land. General Brady, in his recollection of the affair as preserved in the fam- ily, was probably misled by the mention of the crossing of the Redbank.
So this interesting dispute rests. The writer does not contend that he has proved beyond a doubt that this historical incident occurred in Clarion county, and while he challenges the claim of Armstrong county, is content to let the vexed question hang in abeyance till the desirable, but almost hopeless certi- tude is arrived at. He believes, though, that he has developed a strong case for Clarion county, and that it lacks but a featherweight more of evidence to tip the scales decisively in favor of the latter.2
Samuel Brady was the son of John and Mary Brady, and was born in 1756 at Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pa. He was therefore very youthful, twenty-three, at the time of this action. His parents moved in 1768 to Stand- ing Stone (Huntingdon), and finally to the West Branch near Muncy. The
1 See History of Armstrong County, page 261 ; Pittsburgh Chronicle, December 5, 1859; History of East Brady.
2 These observations are the result of painstaking researches among records, official and unofficial, as well as the oral traditions of the community.
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FROM THE OIL ERA TO THE PRESENT TIME.
perilous frontier life early accustomed him to arms, and at the age of nineteen we find him a volunteer in Captain Lowdon's company, of Thompson's Rifle Battalion, which in August, 1775, joined the army before Boston. Thomp- son's company dissolving at the expiration of its term, Samuel re-enlisted and was commissioned first lieutenant in Doyle's Independent Company, annexed September 5, 1776, to the First Pennsylvania, but he was shortly selected for Morgan's corps of sharpshooters.
He took part in the battle of Brandywine and the bloody affair at Paoli in the autumn of 1777, and the battle of Monmouth in 1778. Having been trans- ferred to Brodhead's command, the Eighth, stationed at Fort Pitt, he was pro- moted to captain-lieutenant, and became one of the colonel's favorite scouts, being sent on various hazardous and difficult errands into the wilderness north and west, and acquitting himself with skill and intrepidity. He signalized him- self in particular by the rescue of the prisoners, and a mission of espionage to Sandusky, during which he wrested a captive woman and child from a band of savage marauders.
While at Fort Pitt he heard the news of his father's and mother's massacre in Lycoming by Indian raiders; and it is said that he then vowed vengeance against the race, seizing upon the Sewickley affair as the first opportunity for re- taliation. Brady participated in Brodhead's sylvan campaigns, and in 1780 be- came captain. January 17, 1781, he was transferred to the Third Pennsyl- vania at Easton, under Colonel Craig, and accompanied Wayne on his southern campaign. He was discharged January 14, 1783, and took up his residence in the Chartiers Creek settlement, Allegheny county, spending most of his time in the chase, when his services as an Indian fighter were not in demand.
About 1786 Captain Brady married Drusilla Swearingen, a daughter of Captain Van Swearingen, a gallant fellow-soldier in Morgan's Rifle Corps. “ It is a tradition that the gentle Drusilla was first wooed by Dr. Bradford, of Whisky Insurrection notoriety, but Brady returned from a long trip to Ken- tucky just in time to secure the coveted prize. Her father objected at first to his daughter marrying Brady, on account of his roving and dangerous scout's life, but afterward gave his consent. There was some foundation for this ob- jection, for we learn that the fond and lovely wife suffered untold miseries when her reckless husband was absent on distant scouts longer than the time agreed on for return. Dr. Darby once witnessed the meeting between husband and wife on such an occasion, and states it to have been very affecting."I
During a time of peace in 1791, Brady, while hunting, it is said, encountered a party of Indians at the present Brady's Run, near the mouth of the Beaver River. His inveterate feeling toward the race, which was then inflamed by al- coholic influences (he had grown over fond of strong drink) mastered his bet- ter nature, and he shot one of the savages dead. Even Captain Brady could
1 " Our Western Border."
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HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
not in times of peace kill a red man with impunity, and the interests of justice demanded his trial. Warrants were issued, and it is said a reward of three hun- dred dollars offered for his capture, as his renown for prowess overawed the officers of justice. His brother says that, though an attempt was made, he was not taken, but subsequently voluntarily delivered himself into custody. He was arraigned for murder at Pittsburgh, and defended by James Ross, after- ward judge. In defense it was claimed that the savages had been on a raid against the Chartiers settlement; that Brady, with a few retainers, had waylaid them on their return at the Ohio crossing. The trial was a notable one, and excited great interest, but public sentiment was hostile to the Indians, and the verdict was for acquittal.
Shortly after his marriage, Captain Brady removed to Virginia (now West Virginia), near Wellsburg, where his father-in-law lived in a fortified domicile. On General Wayne's arrival at Pittsburgh, in 1792, he engaged Brady as a scout, which position he exercised till a short while before his premature end. He died of pleurisy on Christmas day, 1795, near West Liberty, W. Va. His two sons died before 1850; his widow remarried, moved to Tyler county, Va., and lived to a good old age.
Of Samuel Brady's personal appearance, his brother's sketch furnishes all we know: " He was five feet eleven and three- fourth inches in height, with a perfect form. He was rather light, his weight exceeding at no time one hun- dred and sixty-eight pounds." His arduous, exposed life told on him in his later years, and he looked older than he was. He walked lame from a hurt, and was partially deaf from lying long in the water while hiding from the sav- ages.
Captain Brady's career was doubtless a marvelously active, adventurous, and in some respects useful one. He was a brave soldier and a skilled and hardy partisan. Of the adventures, of which tradition has made him the cen- tral figure, some are highly embellished ; others are wholly fictitious; largely the products of a relative's facile pen and fervid imagination.
In a moral and political aspect, Brady was far from heroic. The element of self-control was lacking in his character. He appears to have yielded to a licentious passion, which discredited his race among the tribes of the Ohio, and inflamed their hatred ; 1 and his revengeful instincts detract from the merits of his deeds.
George Rote and his sister Rhody, aged about twelve and fourteen, were taken by Indians, in March, 1781, from their home at Mifflinburg, now Union county, and carried prisoners to the Seneca country. After some time, when
1 Mr. Isaac Craig writes : " He caused much trouble to the Americans by his rascally conduct to a Shawanese woman whom he took prisoner, and it was with great difficulty that Colonel George Mor- gan, the Indian agent at Fort Pitt, appeased the Shawanese tribe. It is difficult for us to understand Brodhead's infatuation with Brady, in the light we now have."
1
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
peace was proclaimed, they were liberated, met near where Clarion stands,1 and returned home together. "Rhody married James Ben, and they moved to Centre county. They were uncle and aunt to the late Captain John Rote, who never could hear of an Indian, in latter times, without getting into a passion." ("Annals of the Buffalo Valley," by John Blair Linn). This bit of history was obtained too late to be inserted in the body of the work.
The " Bedford and Franklin Road," mentioned in chapter ninth as having been surveyed through Clarion in 1817, never went beyond that stage.
CHAPTER XL.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
The First Court-Judge Alexander McCalmont-The First Attorneys-Later Ones-Judges Buffington, Knox, and J. S. McCalmont-The Logue Trial-Murder Cases-Judges Scofield and Campbell-Additional Sketches-Judge Jenks-The Standard Proceedings-Hons. Corbett and Wilson-History of the District-List of Attorneys-First Records-County Officers.
C' LARION county's judicial organization began the first of September, 1840, from which date, says the constituent act, "the inhabitants of the said county of Clarion, be entitled to and shall have all and singular the courts, jurisdiction, officers, rights and privileges to which the inhabitants of other counties of this State are entitled by the constitution and laws of this Common- wealth." The county was attached to the sixth district, then consisting of the counties of Erie, Venango, and Crawford ; but by a repealing act, passed before any court was held (May 21, 1840), it was added to the eighteenth judicial district, composed of Potter, McKean, and Jefferson counties ; of which Hon. Alexander McCalmont was presiding judge ; Christian Myers and Charles Evans were commissioned associates.
Judge Alexander McCalmont was a man a little past middle life when he began to preside over the courts of Clarion county. He was a native of Nittany Valley, Centre county ; born October 22, 1785, died at Franklin, August 10, 1857. His parents moved to Franklin in 1803, and Judge McCal- mont continued to reside there almost uninterruptedly till his decease. He received a very limited education, but by self-application, became proficient enough to teach school at Franklin in 1809 and '10. He held nearly all the offices within the gift of his county, being successively commissioner, treas- urer, recorder, sheriff, and justice of the peace. About 1828 he was admitted
1 Mr. Linn's informant, a Mr. Gill, who traveled afoot through this county many years ago, and who was very accurate as to dates and facts, says that the meeting took place "at a furnace near Clarion," which must mean the site of Clarion Furnace, or Penn Mills.
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HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
to practice, having studied with David Irvine, esq., one of Venango county's first lawyers. Mr. McCalmont was also engaged in the iron business, having constructed a furnace and forge; but he relinquished this in 1833, to devote himself entirely to the law, wherein he enjoyed a successful and lucrative prac- tice, till he was appointed president judge by Governor Porter.
While he possessed some eccentricities, his magisterial learning and ability commanded respect. Judge McCalmont spent several summers in Clarion, bringing his family and library with him.
Christian Myers was a prominent character of the early days, and an exten- sive iron manufacturer. Charles Evans had represented Armstrong county in the assembly, and was very active in securing the erection of the new county.
The first court was held November 4, 1840, the first Monday of the month, in the house now occupied by A. H. Alexander. It was a mere preliminary session, to initiate the new judges and officers, and qualify the attorneys. The following description by an eye-witness will convey a more vivid picture of the proceedings than the writer could otherwise furnish :
"The house and store being built by Alexander Reynolds was up and roofed, and partly weather-boarded, but the front was still open, and a large carpenter's bench was standing in what is now Captain Alexander's parlor. That apartment was secured in which to hold court, and the carpenter's bench turned against the east wall. Three or four trestles were arranged in front of the bench, and boards laid across for seats for the bar; three large chairs were mounted on the stand for the judges.
" The judges elect had to be sworn in, but there were no officers sworn in to qualify the court ; that was the starting point, and till the court was in running order, the entire machinery of the county was at a stand-still, and could not start. But this difficulty had been foreseen, and Governor Porter had sent out to Jacques W. Johnson a 'dedimus potestatem' to swear in the judges and start the machinery in motion. Jacques was no little elevated at the idea of being made the receptacle of this amount of royal prerogative in the hands of a subject, and talked a great deal about the importance of this sacred trust.
" The people had elected Dr. Goe, prothonotary, and James Hasson, sheriff. Uncle Jacob Zeigler, then prothonotary of Butler county, was brought over to teach the new officers how to put on their official robes, and to see the court inaugurated with becoming dignity. The old court-crier of Venango county, Mr. Morrison, came down to help on the show, and pick up the initiation fees of the lawyers.
"Early on Monday morning the town began to fill up; the Franklin, Butler, and Armstrong county lawyers had generally come on the Sunday evening before. It was a pleasant, sunshiny November day, which was fortunate, as we had no means of heating the room. I believe more people came in to see the court, than come now ; although there was not a case on the list, either
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
civil or criminal. The judges got Johnson into a room at the Western, and were sworn in before going to court. By ten o'clock the judges got upon the bench ; and at the intimation of Judge McCalmont, old Mr. Morrison opened the court. The seats in front of the judges by that time were pretty well filled with applicants for admission. Zeigler was a good officer, with a fine, manly voice, and after reading the commissions of the judges, commenced swearing in first the prothonotary and sheriff, whose bonds had been approved, then the constables and justices of the peace. Then the certificates of the younger lawyers were examined by the court, and the whole batch were told to stand up and be sworn ; and all were on their feet and sworn in. By dinner time nearly all the preliminary work was done. Though the court met in the after- noon there was little to do. Most of the old lawyers failed to put in an ap- pearance, but were seen walking around, or sitting at the hotels telling stories. Several were up stairs playing euchre, or other games."
Jacob K. Boyd was the first resident lawyer in the county. He came to the county seat in the spring of 1840. He was soon after followed by D. B. Hays, John B. Butler, Jacques W. Johnson, Alfred Gilmore, and James Camp- bell; all these were admitted at the first session of court. In February, 1841, D. W. Foster, John L. Thompson, Thomas Sutton, and George W. Lathy were admitted. Thomas M. Jolly came in the spring of 1841.
It is fitting here to give a brief sketch of these pioneers in the legal field of Clarion. The great majority of them have passed away. Their names are yet familiar, and their traits yet fresh in the memories of a very few; to others they are dim figures in the long retrospect, and with the end of the present generation they would be entirely forgotten did not the kindly pen of the historian rescue their fame from this threatened oblivion.
Jacob K. Boyd was from Butler county, and brought his family with him, to a new house he had erected. He was an illiterate man and failed to gain any standing at the bar. He remained only three or four years, and returned to Butler county. Of his subsequent career nothing is known.
Jacques W. Johnson was the second of the series. He was a young lawyer, born in Dauphin county, who had removed to Clarion from Carlisle. Of a mercurial temperament, and a flippant tongue, he lacked solidity, and there- fore attained no substantial success. Shortly after coming he entered into partnership with George W. Lathy, and they opened the first office in Clarion, where Dr. Ross's office now stands; with the legend "Johnson & Lathy, attorneys at law," in bright, gilt letters on the door. Johnson married an eastern lady, and about 1845 left Clarion county.
David B. Hays was the son of Sheriff Hays, of Venango county, and one of Clarion's earliest lawyers. He had his office with James Campbell, in a building on the site occupied by Brown's barber shop. "Davy" Hays was tal- ented, witty, and of a lively and amiable disposition ; a universal favorite. His 40
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HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
career here was a short one ; he departed for Mercer in the spring of 1842, and died there. His death was hastened by his convivial habits, which over- mastered him after he left Clarion.
John B. Butler hailed from Butler county, where he had been engaged in journalism. His talents seemed better fitted for the sanctum than the bar. A nervous, impetuous habit, which often overreached itself and marred work which required circumspection, was a great hindrance in his forensic career. After some years he went to Pittsburgh, where he edited a Know Nothing paper, and after, by a marvelous transformation, became a Catholic. He had served as a major during the rebellion, and is now living at the Fortress Monroe Sol- diers' Home.
Mr. Butler, while here, resided in a hewed log house, now the residence of William Cramer. Lawyers were well content with log houses then.
Alfred Gilmore was a brother of Samuel A. Gilmore, of Butler, an attorney of high merit. Alfred was appointed first district attorney here, and while considerably lower than his brother on the legal scale, was a lawyer of fair ability and pretty good practice. His manner was rather pompous and pe- dantic. After remaining here five or six years, he returned to Butler, and finally settled in Philadelphia, where, at last accounts, he was still living. He was a member of the firm of Gilmore & Thompson, who displayed their shingle at the present office of 'Squire Sweny, then new, freshly painted with white, and presenting a very neat appearance.
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