USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 21
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William Mays, August 30, 1862 ; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
John Miller, September 14, 1863 ; drafted; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
David S. Maxwell, August 17, 1863 ; drafted; mustered out with com- pany June 24, 1865.
James D. Maffit, August 23, 1862 ; discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan- uary 12, 1863.
Alonzo J. W. Merrell, August 23, 1862 ; discharged on surgeon's certifi- cate February II, 1863.
Thomas E. Miller, August 23, 1862 ; discharged on surgeon's certificate April 1, 1863.
William L. Mackey, August 23, 1862; died at Washington, D. C., January 12, 1863 ; buried in Military Asylum Cemetery.
William H. Miller, August 25, 1862 ; deserted February 16, 1863.
George McCanns, August 17, 1863; drafted; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
James D. McMullin, February 7, 1865 ; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
Patrick McCail, August 29, 1862 ; deserted January 29, 1863.
Levi F. Noss, August 14, 1863; drafted; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
John H. Ogden, August 23, 1862; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
201
CLEARFIELD'S MILITARY HISTORY.
William H. Phillips, August 23, 1862; missing in action at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1, 1863.
Henry W. Peters, August 23, 1862 ; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
Benjamin F. Peterson, August 27, 1862 ; drafted ; mustered out with com- pany June 24, 1865.
Peter Pheffer, August 23, 1862 ; discharged on surgeon's certificate April 1, 1863.
James Rinehart, August 23, 1862 ; wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July I, 1863 ; absent, sick, at muster out.
Henry Rose, August 14, 1863 ; drafted ; discharged by special order June 29, 1865.
Lazarus A. Riggle, August 15, 1863; drafted ; wounded at Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864; mustered out with company June 14, 1865.
Cortes Reams, August 23, 1862; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps December 15, 1863.
William S. Renshaw, October 16, 1863; drafted; captured at Weldon Rail- road, Va., August 21, 1864; died at Salisbury, N. C., December 26, 1854.
J. C. W. Reynolds, August 23, 1862 ; deserted November 26, 1862.
Elias Schoepp, August 23, 1862 ; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
Henry B. Snyder, September 14, 1863; drafted; missing in action at Wil- derness, Va., May 5, 1864.
Henry A. Snyder, August 14, 1863 ; drafted ; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
James Steele, August 28, 1863 ; drafted ; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
James C. Sutton, February 7, 1865 ; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
Oliver Smith, August 29, 1862; died at Washington, D. C., June 18, 1863; buried in Military Asylum Cemetery.
Henry Shaffer, August 13, 1863 ; drafted ; died at Warrenton Junction, Va., November 9, 1863.
William F. Snyder, September 14, 1863 ; drafted ; died at Warrenton Junc- tion, Va., November 12, 1863.
William O. Snyder, August 27, 1863 ; drafted; died at Paoli Mills, Va., December 18, 1863; buried in National Cemetery, Culpepper C. H., block I, section A, row 9, grave 302.
Samuel Smith, August 23, 1862 ; deserted February 3, 1863.
Levi L. Tate, August 23, 1862 ; absent on detached service at muster out. John Titus, August 29, 1862 ; killed at Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864.
Edward Tinsdale, October 6, 1863 ; drafted ; captured May 21, 1864; died at Andersonville, Ga., July 28, 1864, grave 4160.
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202
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
Joseph R. Weasner, August 23, 1862; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
John Woleslagle, August 29, 1862 ; discharged on surgeon's certificate Oc- tober 2, 1864.
Chester O. Wells, August 23, 1862 ; discharged on surgeon's certificate Januray 30, 1863.
Phil. M. Woleslagle, August 29, 1862 ; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps December 1, 1863.
Edward Williamson, October 16, 1863 ; drafted ; wounded and captured at North Anna River, Va., May 23, 1864 ; died at Richmond June 6, 1864.
Samuel Yocum, August 14. 1863 ; drafted ; wounded at Wilderness, Va., May 5, 59th Regiment, 2d Cavalry, 1864; mustered out with company June 24, 1865.
COMPANY F. Recruited in Clearfield and Centre Counties.
Captains .- P. Benner Wilson, August 18, 1861 ; promoted to major Oc- tober 28, 1862.
W. W. Anderson, September 14, 1861; promoted from Ist lieutenant, com- pany E, to captain, February 2, 1863 ; to major 18Ist Regiment P. V. Feb- ruary 18, 1864.
Clement R. See, November 10, 1861 ; promoted from 2d to Ist lieutenant October 2, 1862; to captain April 23, 1864; wounded at St. Mary's Church, Va., June 24, 1864 ; discharged September 6, 1864.
William H. Sheller, October 10, 1861 ; promoted from Ist sergeant to 2d lieutenant May 2, 1864; to captain December 25, 1864; transferred to com- pany F; Ist Cavalry, June 17, 1865 ; veteran.
IN OTHER COMMANDS.
From the upper part of the county a contingent of some fifteen men were enlisted, which formed a part of Company H, of the Sixty-fourth Regiment- the Fourth Cavalry. They were enlisted mainly in Burnside and the surround- ing townships, but the military record gives this county no credit for any part of that or any other company of the Sixty-fourth. The regiment entered the service in October, 1861, and was mustered out in July, 1865.
Clearfield county was also represented in Battery A, First Regiment of artillery-Campbell's Battery, the Forty-third in the line. The contingent was small, comprising less than ten recruits.
203
GEOLOGY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
CHAPTER XIII.
GEOLOGY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
T' HE geology of Clearfield county has been written by numerous gentlemen, notably Professors Leslie, Pratt, Chance, Hoover, and Scott, while local geologists have all had a say, and the consequence has been a difference of opinion as to what should be the name, and what letter or letters should be assigned to the several coal beds.
With all due deference to the opinions of these eminent geologists, yet the necessary hurried examinations made by Messrs. Pratt and Chance, oftentimes through a primeval forest, or over nearly impassable jungles where the meas- ures could not be exposed, and where it would take months to make a thor- ough examination, the chance for error would seem to be great, and their scientific knowledge could not'guard them from making reports that the pick and shovel would disprove in after years ; and therefore, no credit is asked for the later facts herewith presented, and it is trusted that where this paper differs from the reports named, the gentlemen will be assured that no blame is attached to their several papers, but that the region being more thoroughly developed, it is very easy to give facts that they could possibly know nothing about.
Before starting on the geology of the county, it is necessary that the reader should be made acquainted with the general principles governing the science, and what is meant by the terms employed to describe the material composing the planet called earth, and how this material was formed. The classification of formations of organic history and geological time is inserted in the following table :
Æons.
Ages.
Organic Reigns.
Cænozoic,
Quaternary, Tertiary,
Man.
Mammals.
Cretaceous,
Mesozoic,
Jurassic, Triassic,
Reptiles and Birds.
Upper Carboniferous, Lower Carboniferous,
Amphibians and Land Animals.
Palæozoic,
Devonian, Silurian, Cambrian,
Fishes.
Marine Invertebrates.
Eozoic,
Huronian, Laurentian,
Protozoans.
The portion of this table most nearly concerning Clearfield county is the lower carboniferous measures of the Paleozoic formation. The rocks compos- ing the other divisions of this æon are far below the surface, and do not crop
204
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
out within the county, if we except the No. XI Red Shale and the No. X Pocono Sandstone, which are above water level for short distances along the Susquehanna and Moshannon valleys.
The base of what is known as the Lower Productive Coal Measures, is the Pottsville or Seral Conglomerate. This rock is the foundation of all the great coal measures of the Appalachian basin. It belongs to the coal era, and extends from the southeastern part of Pennsylvania, to and beyond the coal fields of Alabama and Missouri. In thickness it reaches 1,000 feet in the anthracite regions, gradually tapering to ten feet at the southwestern extremity. Its composition is a concretionary silicious quartz, in the form of a coarse sand rock, containing large, white, flint-like pebbles. In this region, the outcrop of the conglomerate forms the main crest of the Alleghenies, and is exposed by the deep basins of mountain streams, whose waters wash its surface. The Moshannon heads in this formation about twelve miles above Osceola Mills, and its presence is a never failing indication of coal.
Taking the Seral Conglomerate, or No. XII, as the foundation, a true sec- tion of the coal measures of the county would read upwards as follows, accord- ing to J. W. Scott, esq. :
" From the cannel slate and coal to Bed A, 30 feet. From A to B, 50 to 60 feet. B to intermediate vein 30 feet, and from latter to C, 30 feet. From C to slate vein (slate and coal mixed) 30 feet, and from latter to D (Lower Freeport) 30 feet. D to D2, 30 feet, and from D2 to E or Moshannon bed, 40 feet. From E to F or Rider Bed, 40 feet, and from F to G or Cap Bed, 30 feet.
" After 30 feet of cover on Cap Bed, we reach the Mahoning Sandstone with the barren measures and barren beds rising above.
" The Mahoning Sandstone does not appear in place until we pass Houtz- dale. At Ramey large accumulations of barren measures superimpose the Mahoning.
" This is what may be properly called an average section, varying with local- ity. Each bed has its own specific bed rock as well as cover, varying in dif- ferent places. The different seams or beds of coal are not uniform throughout, but vary in size and quality."
The rocks composing the barren measures are found only in a few town- ships of the county. According to Dr. H. M. Chance in his report H. 7, "they are capping the high summits of the Bloomington ridge, south of Curwensville and Clearfield, and also in the trough of the Andersonville sub-basin. They also cover a considerable area in Beccaria and Guelich townships."
Between these two rocks therefore lie all the mineral wealth of the Clear- field region, viz., the Seral or No. XII Conglomerate and the Mahoning Sand- stone.
"The county is divided into three great coal basins, known respectively as
205
GEOLOGY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
the First, Second, and Third Basins, which pass through the county in a gen- eral southwest and northeast course.
"They are separated by two anticlinal axes, commonly known as the First and Second axes, the third basin being separated by the Third or Boon's Moun- tain anticlinal from the Fourth basin of Jefferson and Elk counties.
" Beginning at the southeastern corner of the county, and passing northwest to Boon's Mountain at the northwestern corner of the county, we pass over the following axes and basins :
First Basin.
L Eastern sub-basin (?) Guelich township sub-anticlinal (?) Utahville- Ramey- Houtzdale- Osceola-Philipsburg-Morrisdale basin.
First Anticlinal Axis-Laurel Hill axis.
Ansonville sub-basin -Karthaus basin.
Second Basin. 3 Marion sub-anticlinal-Nolo axis of Indiana county.
Pennville sub-basin.
Second Anticlinal Axis-Chestnut Ridge-Driftwood axis.
Eastern sub-basin.
Third Basin. Second sub-anticlinal.
Du Bois-Benezette basin.
Third Anticlinal axis-Boon's Mountain axis.
" The significance of the lines marked upon geological maps to show the axial line of anticlinal uplifts is not understood by many persons. Some imagine a distinction is to be made between an 'anticlinal' and an 'axis;' that one brings up the conglomerate, No. XII, and throws the coals out into the air, while the other does not. Others suppose that this occurs where an 'anticlinal' or an 'axis ' is marked upon the map. It is, therefore, proper to explain here that-
" Ist. An anticlinal is simply a fold or roll in the rocks, or a line along which they are uplifted.
" 2d. An axis is the central or crest-line of an anticlinal ; in other words the line along which the greatest uplift is found. The term axis is often used synonymously with anticlinal."-Report H. 7.
The trough of the first basin extends from Utahville through Ramey, Houtzdale, and Osceola. It crosses the Moshannon Creek into Centre county at the Mapleton Branch Railroad, re-crossing again into Clearfield county near the schutes of the Atalanta No. 3 colliery, crossing back into Centre county below the town of Phillipsburg, and again crossing into Clearfield county at the mouth of Emigh Run, where it gradually rises until near Morrisdale, when it "spoons" out. But still the basin can be distinctly traced north through Kylertown, when it deflects towards the east and passes over into Centre county.
The central line of this basin follows the valley of the Beaver Run from Osceola Mills to Houtzdale. The Centre county side of the basin catches only
27
206
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
a small area of the upper beds, the rise on the southeast side of the axis being very steep.
The basin is full of faults. Three of these are found in the Moshannon workings. Serious faults have also been encountered in the Morrisdale mines (an upthrow of 42 feet) in the Allport, Franklin, Penn, Arctic, and many other collieries ; in fact there are very few mines in this basin in which more or less serious disturbances have not been found.
The mines opened along the Beaver Run on the Moshannon Branch Rail- road show that the measures rise towards the northwest and southwest. But in nearly all of the collieries reverse and local dips are encountered, and in some cases they are of such a serious nature as to cause much extra expense in overcoming them ; Eureka No. 5 and No. 10 being examples. Clay seams and a pinching down of the roof, thereby thinning down the coal, often occurs; but the most serious disturbances, and the most difficult to overcome, are the numerous dislocations or displacements of coal seams. In every case of a " downthrow " it goes to the southwest, and in the line of fracture or slip has a southeast and northwest bearing. On the north of the Beaver Run, and extending northeast from Houtzdale to Morrisdale, these dislocations occur very often, showing displacements of the coal bed from ten to fifty feet. The first on the north side of the Beaver Run is at Stirling mine, No. 2, which shows a " downthrow" to the southwest of twenty-one feet, and having a southeast and northwest course. The next are two faults in the Laurel Run mine, which occurred within forty-five yards of each other. One indicates a " downthrow " of twelve feet, and the line of slip is south ten degrees east, the other bearing north forty degrees east, and is a " downthrow" of fifty-three feet ; line of slip north forty degrees west. The next fault is at the Decatur mine, which shows a " downthrow " to the southwest of ten feet. At the Em- pire mine there is one twenty feet. At the Pardee, one half mile from Decatur mine, there is another, but do not know the number of feet of displacement. The general direction or bearing of the slips are southeast and northwest, and " downthrows " toward the southwest. When these faults are encountered they often destroy the whole plan of the under-ground workings, and unless the mine manager has the necessary skill and general adaptability, they are very expensive to overcome.
The majority of the mines opened in the first basin are opened on the E Bed. The exceptions are named below. This bed is called the D by Pro- fessor Chance, and the B by Professor Platt, but later developments plainly show that it is the E or Mammoth Bed of the Anthracite region.
The first bed above the Seral Conglomerate is known as Bed A, the next as Bed B, the next Bed C, and so on to the top bed which is known as Bed G, and is immediately underneath the Mahoning sandstone. If there were no disturbances it would be easy to know what bed was being worked by
207
GEOLOGY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
counting either from the bottom or from the top rock, but sundry local beds appear now and then, not true beds, but oftentimes offshoots of the regular bed, and these sporadic beds may exist over miles of area. When first found they mislead the miner and geologist into thinking they have another persis- tent bed, and behold another letter is wanted for it, but the letters all being appropriated some years ago they tack to their new found child a letter with the second power-for instance, A Prime, B Prime, etc. This is often the case in the Clearfield region, and thus the geologist is wrong from no fault of his. To get at the true letter then of the bed so extensively worked in the first basin we commence at the top and count down. We find first the Cap Bed, G, next the Rider Bed, F. This bed is worked by W. C. Langsford & Co., and the coal sold in the borough of Houtzdale for home consumption. Under Bed F is the Moshannon Bed, or E.
The reason Professor Platt called the bed at the Moshannon mine B, was due to the (then undefined) faults at this and the Beaverton mines, which throw the coal down to within a few feet of the railroad. The same mistake was made in naming the bed at the Franklin colliery, while local geologists claimed that the bed worked in the Penn colliery was not the same bed that was worked in the Eureka No. I mine, and this, too, after a person could enter the one mine and pass out through the other one. An erroneous opinion is one of the hardest things to correct, sometimes even when ocular proof is offered. These mistakes do not matter much to the general reader, or to the average citizen, but oftentimes properties have been condemned which have since been reclaimed by local, competent men.
The coal worked at the Philadelphia mine at Osceola Mills, and at the Re- liance mine near the same place, and at the Powelton Black Diamond mine, is taken from Bed B. The coal worked in the Morrisdale mines is taken from Bed C, as traces of the ferriferous limestone is found beneath that bed. The coal from the mines on Pine Run is taken from Bed B. Bed F was opened on Hughes's Farm, and found to be two feet, six inches thick.
The mines worked along the line of the Bells's Gap Railroad are all on Bed B.
There is very little known about the second basin as yet; the region not being opened, and the country but sparsely settled, and covered in most places by dense forests.
A sub-anticlinal enters the county from Cambria county, a little southwest of East Ridge, and runs near Marion towards Kerrmoor. This anticlinal'has not been fully developed. It is known as the Marion Anticlinal. The center of the trough of the second basin is supposed to extend from Lumber City, south from Curwensville and Clearfield, along the upper portion of Bradford township, and the lower east end of Girard township, and about through the center of Covington and Karthaus townships, and thence into Cameron county.
208
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
The mountainous wilderness north of Clearfield borough, embracing an area of about one hundred and fifty square miles, is without human inhabitants, is traversed by few roads, and according to Chance, is principally occupied by rocks of the Conglomerate series, forming sterile soil. Therefore it is impos- sible to say what this land may contain. ·
" North of Clearfield the measures rise steadily towards the second anticli- nal axis, so that while the ground three or four miles north of the river is very high, we find the hills topped by only the lower portion of the coal measures, and six or seven miles (in an air line) north of Clearfield on the road leading towards the old Caledonia pike, we find the summits sandy and rocky and cov- ered with blocks of conglomerate. The summits on this road are 2100 to 2150 feet above tide.
" One mile and a half north-west of Clearfield we find several banks opened. The lower bed shows about two feet and a half of coal with a slate parting one- half to one inch thick, five inches from the bottom. This bank is opened at an elevation of about 1310 feet above tide, and is probably on the Kittanning Middle coal, Bed C. The Joseph Shaw bank on the opposite side of the ravine is about twenty feet lower, but is thought to be on the same bed; it shows but little more than two feet of coal."-Report H. 7.
Forty-five feet above the former opening a bank was opened on Bed C, and two beds are supposed to lie in the hill above this mine, one of which showed five feet of coal, but a fault was encountered which ran the bed down to an insignificant thickness. This was Bed E.
The old Karthaus-Caledonia pike runs for about three miles through the northern part of Lawrence township, through sandy "barrens," formed by the Conglomerate, which is here elevated by the Caledonia sub-axis. But as the Elk county line is approached, the rocks rapidly sink to the northwest, towards Caledonia, and the coal measures are soon found on the hill-tops, and the character of the land is similar to that made by the coal measures in other localities.
Bed E was opened in Karthaus township many years ago, and mined ex- tensively by old Peter Arns Karthaus, at the place named after himself; the coal averaging five feet six inches. The old workings were allowed to close, however, and to remain so until, in 1883, when John Whitehead and Berwind, White & Company opened large mines in this township, the one at Karthaus and the other at Three 'Runs. The coal proved to be over six feet in thick- ness at each of these mines. They are now both owned and worked by the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. This coal, however, has the " bony" on its top, and a small slate parting in the center. This parting is not per- sistent, however, and is often wanting.
Bed E does not cover a large area in this township, as it lies very high on the hill-tops, and is, moreover, confined to the hills close to the river. The other beds are not yet opened.
209
GEOLOGY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
In Covington township the lower beds have been extensively worked for home consumption, but the opening of the E at Karthaus has discouraged the farmers from attempting to compete with the mines of the Big Bed, as it is locally named, around Frenchville.
About two miles from Wallaceton a mine has been opened along the line of the Beech Creek road, which is supposed to be on Bed B.
Between Wallaceton and Woodland the rapid dip towards the center of the second basin is plainly shown by some of the railroad cuts, and in one cut a bed of coal is exposed, which shows a remarkably sharp dip to the north. The . lower portion of the coal measures occupy most of the surface of Bradford township, and only a small portion is sufficiently high to take in the upper beds of the series.
There is a mine near Woodland which produces a peculiar kind of coal, which nearly resembles and is taken for cannel. On examination, however, it is found that this coal is bituminous shale, and is met with very often in the first coal basin. It makes a good house coal, but is practically worthless for other purposes. It contains a large percentage of ash, which certifies to its character. The amount being limited, however, a ready sale will be found for all that can be produced. The following facts are extracted from Report H :
" Passing west and northwest along the Tyrone and Clearfield Railroad from Blue Ball station, about one-half mile beyond the station, is marked by a beautiful exhibition of the seral conglomerate. Enormous bowlders of fine- grained white quartzose sandstone, with some brownish massive sandstone, are found, and occasional massive layers of conglomerate rock, with rounded white quartz pebbles of the size of a pea and larger. The mass rises as a wall fifty to sixty feet high. Some of the loose blocks will contain over two thou- sand cubic feet. As exposed here, this mass of sandstone and conglomerate should be in all some two hundred or more feet in thickness.
" The Tyrone and Clearfield Railroad, following the stream, keeps in this conglomerate, sometimes dipping softly in one direction and then back again, or about flat until near Wallaceton, where overlying measures come in, and coal is found out-cropping. In wells in the village a small coal is struck only a few feet below the surface, with from six to twelve feet of fire-clay underly- ing it. Where the lowest exposed coal was struck in a well, about five hun- dred yards southwest of Wallaceton, it shows about two to two and one-half feet of coal, with fire-clay floor and sandy gray slates for cover. The dip at this point is slightly back to the southeast.
" At Shimmel's opening, two-thirds of a mile northeast of the station, the main entry has fallen in ; but from the size of the opening the bed could not have been large. Gray slates overlie the bed. On the hill south of this mine two small beds were once opened up, dipping to the southeast.
"The valleys of Clearfield and Little Clearfield Creeks are sharp, narrow
210
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
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