USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 60
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This first settlement was made by Peter and Mordecai Livergood, brothers, who came from Chester county with their family and effects in 1818. Peter Livergood settled and began an improvement near the river, about a mile east from the mouth of Surveyor's Run, near where the old Indian path crossed the country. Mordecai Livergood located and commenced a farm near the mouth of Surveyor's Run. This run was so named from the fact that a party of surveyors, in locating lands in the north part of the county, made a camp- ing place on the stream. Whether the name was applied by the surveying party themselves does not appear, but the stream has always been known as Surveyor's Run.
538
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
In his confession, made a short time before he was hung, James Munks, the murderer of Reuben Giles, stated that the shirt he had stolen from Giles was concealed in a hollow of a log not far distant from Peter Livergood's place. The article was afterward discovered and pulled out by a dog.
The next settlement was made in 1821 by John Irwin. He settled on the river, a few miles east from Peter Livergood's clearing. Irwin was a native of Ireland and came to this country with his parents. He continued to reside on the river for many years, and raised a family, but afterward moved to Wolf Run, east of Clearfield, where he died at an advanced age.
John Murray came from Huntingdon county, and made a settlement in the year 1821. He had a considerable family at the time, and suffered many hardships during the first few months of their residence here. The head of the family died in the winter of 1824, leaving a widow and a number of small children surviving.
About the year 1824 John Spackman and Thomas Leonard, with their families, left the older settlement up the river and located in Girard ; and about the same time William Irwin came to the vicinity. Each had lands and com- menced making an improvement.
Soon after came Peter Lamm, from Northumberland county. He was a millwright, and built a mill at the mouth of Deer Creek, near which he had located. This mill was subsequently changed by the addition of grinding- stones, and became a combination saw and grist-mill. No flour was made, however, but ground feed for cattle and a small quantity of corn meal.
Abraham Jury came from Dauphin county. He was a potter, and sup- plied the residents for miles around with earthenware made by him in a shop he had erected. He burned his ware in a small kiln near the shop.
Zacheus Mead came to this township about 1826, and made a farm. The Meads were in the county earlier than this, but had lived further up.
Up to this time the larger part of the families had located along the West Branch, the main stream, but of those who came later many went into the in- terior, not the extreme north part, for this has not been settled, even to the present day, but following along up the streams where there were desirable lands.
That locality known as " the Knobs," an exceedingly elevated position, was settled at an early day by families, many of whose names have become fre- quent in the county. Among those of the early settlers not before mentioned, were the names Krise, Shope, Smith, and others.
Settlement on the east and northeast did not commence as early as on the west, although there were a few there. The eastern part owes its greatest settlement to the residents of Covington township, and in fact its success is in a great measure due to the efforts of the French people, who came in about 1835, and the years following.
A.LITTLE
Leon Me Conduit
539
GIRARD TOWNSHIP.
Among the early French settlers was Alphonso Leconte, who came into the township from Covington about 1838. Three years later Augustus Leconte, his brother, came. Augustus Leconte built a saw-mill on Deer Ceeek, about two miles from the river, in 1840, but did not move there till about 1841 or '42. In this year Augustus built a grist-mill near where his saw-mill stood. Although the feed-mill built by Peter Lamm was the first of its kind in the township, the Leconte mill was the first regular grist and flour mill.
Stephen Hugueny was one of the early settlers in the French locality. He is said to have come there as early as 1835. Francis Grossaint came about the same time, or soon after. Their lands lay in the vicinity of the Leconte's Mills settlement, as it was called.
The chief pursuit of the residents of the township, especially up to about twenty-five years ago, was lumbering. At the time the first settlement was made by Peter and Mordecai Livergood the whole country embraced by the township was a dense forest, and as the whole county was more or less occu- pied by lumbermen, this locality formed no exception to the rule. To enu- merate accurately the many saw-mills that have been erected from the time that Peter Lamm built the first one, would be an exceedingly difficult task, but a general mention may be made of some of them.
Francis Grossaint built a saw-mill in 1844. Francis Coudriet built one in 1846. All mills built up to this time, and a majority of those in years follow- ing were water-mills, by which is meant that water was used as a motive power. The first steam mill was erected on the lands of Phelps and Dodge, who were extensive lumbermen in the township and elsewhere. The second steam saw-mill was built by Irwin.& Sons, on Bald Hill Run, some distance up that stream, about the year 1867 or '68. The third of this class was built on Deer Creek, on an extensive tract, and was known as the Burgett mill.
The Leconte mills, which were built as water-mills, have recently been made into steam-mills.
The early saw-mills of the township were built mainly for the purpose of supplying the local demand for building lumber, but as lumbering in after years became the chief occupation of the people of the township, as well as the speculators who came for temporary purposes, much manufactured lumber was sawed and rafted down the river. The amount of this class, however, was small when compared with the vast quantity sent down after log rafting and floating were resorted to.
There still stands in the north part of the township extensive tracts of tim- ber, and the area of land as yet unused for agricultural purposes, from which the timber has but partially been taken, or not yet touched, is variously esti- mated at from thirty-five to forty square miles.
There were no regular religious services held in the township until about twenty-five or thirty years ago. There were, however, occasional meetings
540
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
held as early as 1827, when Rev. William McDowell, of the Methodist society, preached at the house of the widow of John Murray. George Philip Geulich would sometimes hold services at various houses. The society of the Metho- dists gradually increased, but have never yet become sufficiently strong to erect a church edifice. Services are held in the Bald Eagle and Congress Hill school-houses at stated intervals. The French residents are principally of the Roman Catholic faith, and attend church at Frenchville, where a church is erected and a resident priest is located.
After an effort of many years, a Presbyterian church was built in the town- ship in the central part of the settled lands. This building, a neat and tasty edifice, was erected through the perseverance of Mr. John McCorkle, in the year 1873.
The first school in the township was taught by Cornelia Kincade. The building was a log structure, erected mainly through the personal efforts of the residents of the township. It was built at the place afterward called Congress Hill, so named from the very large vote polled by Alexander Irvin at that place when he was a candidate for congressional honors. At the present time there are four school-houses in Girard, each being named for the locality in which it stands, except Congress Hill school, which was named as above stated. The Congress Hill school is situate in the south part of the township, a short distance from Leconte's Mills. Buck Run school, so named from the stream Buck Run, is in the northeast portion of the settled lands. Gillingham school, named in honor of Joseph E. Gillingham, an extensive lumberman of former days, is situate in the northwest of the township, in the vicinity of "the Knobs." Bald Hill school is located in the southwest part of the township, in the vicinity of the Bald Hills, so named from their barren and bald appear- ance.
The schools of this township are conducted and supported in the same manner as the other educational institutions of the county, by school tax in the township, and the annual appropriation of the State Legislature, based upon the number of taxable inhabitants in the several townships. Every three years a new apportion ment is made, and the revenues for school purposes increase or decrease with the taxable population.
The hamlet of Gillingham was so named in honor of Joseph Gillingham, a Philadelphian, who held a large tract of land in the township. The village, if such it may be called, comprises a cluster of several houses, a shop, and store. For the accommodation of residents in that locality, a post-office was estab- lished there several years ago, but with changes in postmastership, the locality of the office may change and become fixed at a residence some distance from Gillingham hamlet proper, but still the office has always been known by that name wherever situate.
The hamlet known as Leconte's Mills owes its origin to the efforts o
Aley Murray
A.LITTLE, PHILA.
541
GIRARD TOWNSHIP.
Augustus and Alphonso Leconte. These families were residents of French- ville, but seeing a good business opportunity in the eastern part of Girard township, near the confluence of Deer Creek and Buck Run, were induced to locate there. Alphonso preceded his brother by about three years, and in- duced him to come to that point and locate a mill and build a residence. After years of labor Augustus Leconte succeeded in having a post-office estab- lished at the place which was named Leconte's Mills post-office. Mr. Leconte was made postmaster, which position he held until 1872, when he was suc- ceeded by Charles Mignot. In 1875 A. F. Mignot was appointed, and held for a time, when Alexander Murray was chosen. Under the present adminis- tration Dr. Gilliland holds the office.
While lumbering and agriculture have always been the chief occupation of the residents of Girard township, it is a known fact that there lies underneath the surface an extensive vein of coal. This is mined only for supplying local demand, but at an early day quantities' of this product were sent down the river in arks. About the first to engage in this work in this locality was John Kyler, who bought a tract of land on Bald Hill Run, from which he shipped coal down the river for several years, but the commodity was not then suffi- ciently valuable to justify extensive mining operations.
From the geological report on Girard township may be gleaned some facts of interest, but reference to the geological chapter in this work will be neces- sary to inform the reader fully as to the general character and classes of under- lying strata.
In the southern part of the township, south of " the Knobs," the Mahoning sandstone is found in all the high land. In the hills along the river the rocks seem to lie nearly flat, but a short distance from the river, going north, the measures rise rapidly toward the second anticlinal axis, the dip being at least one hundred feet to the mile.
On the road leading northwest from Deer Creek bridge are two old banks, both apparently opened on the Kittanning coal. The first, on the Robert Green place, is said to contain a four foot vein of coal.
A large number of beds have been opened from time to time in the south- ern part of the township, but having been abandoned and the mouth closed, reliable data as to their quality is not obtainable.
In the southern and central part near the Murray lands are beds showing from two and one-half to three feet in thickness. This was variable between the Beds C and B of the Kittanning Lower coal.
From the river going north in the direction of the Knobs, the rocks rise rapidly, and with this rise in the surface is still found the Freeport group in the vicinity. The high lands between the headwaters of Deer and Sandy Creeks and the Knobs, are capped with· Mahoning sandstone, but still further north from the Knobs appears the Clarion sandstone, and rocks of the Con- 69
542
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
glomerate series coming to the summit of the ridge, and making a great stretch of rocky and sandy ground known as the Barrens.
The beds of the township may be summarized as follows : Freeport Upper coal (E), thin and not well defined ; Freeport Lower (D), estimated at from four to five feet ; Kittanning Upper (C) coal, varying from three to four feet ; Kittanning Middle (C), from two to three feet, and of fair quality ; Kittanning Lower (B), average about four feet, containing clay shale in localities ; intra- conglomerate coal, about three feet.
The coal shipped by John Kyler in arks, referred to heretofore, was what is known as the intra-conglomerate.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
HISTORY OF GRAHAM TOWNSHIP.
T HE proceedings by which Graham township was brought into existence were commenced in the year 1855, upon the presentation of a petition to the May Quarter Sessions, on the part of divers inhabitants of the townships of Bradford and Morris, praying for the erection of a new township, out of parts of each of those named, and the appointment of commissioners to make the necessary division. Upon this petition the court appointed James B. Graham, John L. Cuttle and George Latimer Reed to inquire into the matter, and report according to the act of Assembly in such cases made and provided. There seems to have been a hitch in the proceedings, and the order appointing these commissioners did not become operative until the month of December following.
By their report, the commissioners say: "We, John L. Cuttle, James B. Graham and George L. Reed, appointed commissioners by virtue of the above order issued from the Court of Quarter Sessions of Clearfield county, after being duly sworn according to law, and notifying the inhabitants of the town- ships of Bradford and Morris, and the commissioners of the county, of our time and place for meeting, for the purpose of inquiring into the propriety of forming a new township out of parts of Bradford and Morris, do report: That we are firmly of the opinion of the propriety of laying out a new township out of the said townships, and deem the same as highly expedient ; in pursuance whereof, we do report that the new township be laid out agreeably to the draft annexed, and that the same be called - -; to which (draft) we have also annexed drafts of the old townships, as they will remain after taking out the new township. All of which is respectfully submitted to your honorable court
543
GRAHAM TOWNSHIP.
for confirmation ; and, further, we would suggest to your honorable court, the propriety of appointing commissioners to take into consideration "whether a · new township should not be formed out of the southern end of Morris town- ship, as marked on the draft, and parts of Decatur and Boggs adjoining. Wit- ness our hands and seals this 19th day of February, 1856," G. L. Reed, James B. Graham, John L. Cuttle. On the 22d day of August following, the new township was erected by a decree of the court, and the proceedings confirmed absolutely ; and the new township named "Graham," in honor of James B. Graham, an enterprising citizen of the new township ; and the court fixes the house now (1856) occupied by Jacob Hubler, as the election house; Jacob Hoover appointed judge, Patrick Curley and John W. Turner inspectors to hold the next election.
Graham township, thus formed, occupies a position in the eastern part of the county. It is bounded on the north, by the river Susquehanna ; east by Mor- ris (now Cooper) township; south by Morris, and west by Bradford, and a small part of Boggs townships.
James B. Graham, in whose honor this township was named, came to the county with his parents in the year 1822, but did not become a resident of this locality until some fourteen or fifteen years later. The town of Grahamton was also named for him, he being one of its most enterprising residents and business men. He built both saw and grist-mills there, and engaged exten- sively in the lumbering business. In 1852 Mr. Graham removed to the bor- ough of Clearfield, and became one of its foremost business men. Among the first families in Graham were Jacob Hubler and Bassel Crowell, both of whom came here about the year 1827 or 1828. Each raised a large family of chil- dren, and cleared up good farms ; nevertheless they were subjected to and withstood all of the hardships incident to pioneer life. The Hubler farm lay near the center of the township. In those early times one of the methods used in cleaning grain-for fanning-mills were then unknown-was to use a com- mon sheet or blanket, and by waving it, clear the grain from chaff. In 1864 Jacob Hubler was arrested for a political offense, and taken to Fort Mifflin, and there held until March, 1865, when he was released. He died in 1868. In the year 1857, the next succeeding that in which the township was erected, there appeared upon the tax-roll the names of the taxable inhabitants as fol- lows : B. F. Ackley, M. D., Moses Boggs, William Burlingame, William Ben- nett, William Bagley, William Burge, John Cook, William Cole, M. and S. Cath- erman, David Chollar, Henry Colegrove, David Crowell, Israel Crowell, Basil Crowell, Patrick Curley, James Curley, Benjamin Chance, Frederick Conklin, Francis Colegrove, Samuel Davidson, Thomas Duncason, A. C. Dale, John Dixon, Robert Elder, Moses C. Evans, William English, Valentine Flegal, Thomas H. Forcey, Samuel Flegal, Martin French, James B. Graham, Francis Graham, Ira Green, William Riley Green, French, Hipple & Co., Amos Hub-
544
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
ler, Sarah Hunter, Henry Hamlin, George Hoover, Abraham Hoover, Jacob Hoover, John Holt, Jacob Hoover, jr., Michael Fink, Jacob Hubler, William Hall, Levi Hubler, Edward Hill, Obed Hoover, Simon Hauckenbury, Joseph Ishman, John H. Irvin, Edmund Jones, William G. Johnson, Henry Kyler, Conrad W. Kyler, Isaac Kyler, Peter Keppler, John M. Katon, James Katon, Samuel Lonsbury, Benjamin Lonsbury, Abraham Lonsbury, George Luzere, Rev. J. M. Mason, Joseph Montz, Mark McGuire, George Moyer, David Mc- Dowell, John Martin, Samuel S. McEwen, Jacob Mack, George Nearhood, Henry Nearhood, Henry Nearhood, jr., J. P. Nelson & Co., William Phenix, Christian Pace, Jacob Peters, Jacob C. Pace, Jonas Powell, Harrison Ross, F. W. Russell, William Rolston, Alexander Rolston, William P. Smeal, John Smeal, George Stever, Samuel Spitler, Benjamin Smeal, jr., Benjamin Spackman, An- drew Smeal, Samuel Smeal, Robert Stewart, William Shimmel, jr., James H. Smeal, Abram Sever, John W. Turner, David Turner, Joseph Thompson, Samuel Ulrich, John Ummerman, John W. Wilhelm, Jacob Wilhelm, William Woolridge, James E. Watson, George W. Wells. The single freemen of the township, as shown by the assessment, were as follows : Richard Dodson, John Nearhood, John Woolslagle, John S. Jury, James McGuire, Luke McGuire, George Davidson, William Davidson, George P. Hall, Amos Bornaman, Henry Evans, Cornelius Crowell, Charles Taylor, William H. McClure, Curtin M. Gra- ham, Jacob Taylor, William W. Montgomery.
In addition to these the roll further shows the names of residents of the township who were then subject to military duty. They were Patrick Curley, William R. Green, George P. Hall, William Shimmel, Amos Bornaman, Jacob Mock, Christian Pace, Andrew Smeal, Benjamin Chance, Benjamin Lonsbury, jr., George Hoover, William English, Henry Evans, Henry Hamlin, William H. McClure, James E. Watson, John Discorn, Samuel Smeal, John H. Smeal, Benjamin H. Smeal, jr., John W. Turner, David Turner, Samuel Flegal, David Crowell, Robert Stewart, Frederick Conklin, Cornelius Crowell, John H. Irvin, Andrew Hunter, William G. Johnson, William Davidson, Jones Mons, Peter Kepple, Amos Hubler, Isaac Kyler, Henry Nearhood, George Nearhood, John Nearhood, John Woolslagle, Martin Cathaman, Simon Cathaman, David Chol- lar, James McGuire, William P. Smeal, George Davidson, John S. Jury, Rich- ard Dodson, George Lozier, James P. Nelson, William Burge, Alexander Ralston.
This will serve to show who were the pioneers of Graham township, al- though it represents, in the main, only the descendants of the heads of families who endured the hardships incident to pioneer life. The old residents, with but few exceptions, are dead, but there remained at the date of this assess- ment, and there still remains in the township, many substantial sons and grand- sons bearing the family names: Hubler, descendants of Jacob Hubler ; Kyler, descendants from Conrad Kyler, one of the early settlers in this locality, and
A.LITTLE. PHILA.
R. S Stewart
545
GRAHAM TOWNSHIP.
one of its most respected residents ; then there were the families of Samuel Tur- ner, the Monos, Williams, the Hitchins, the Kepples, the Smeals, the Flegals, and others, who are variously mentioned in this work.
Graham township has never acquired any special prominence in the affairs of the county, yet it has produced some of the most enterprising and success- ful business men anywhere to be found within its boundaries. Of these men there may be named James B. Graham and Thomas H. Forcey, both of whom were advanced to positions of trust and responsibility, both in county and business affairs.
Conrad W. Kyler commenced here in 1843. He cleared and made a fine farm. He was made county commissioner in 1875, and faithfully performed the duties of that office. For a period of ten years he was justice of the peace of Graham township.
The chief pursuit of the inhabitants of this locality in the past has been lumbering ; and there has been, perhaps, none of the townships of the county that, in proportion to area, that have produced a better quality of lumber and timber of all grades than this ; but as this branch of business has declined, the people have turned their attention to agriculture, and, be it said to their credit, there are in Graham some of the best and most desirable farming lands in the entire county. The township, too, is known to have an underlying bed of workable coal, but lying; as it does, out of the regular basins, and at a dis- tance from any railroad, this interest has not been developed to any consider- able extent. No coal has been shipped to market, but such as is taken from the several openings is used in supplying the home demand.
The village of Grahamton is the trading center of the township, and occu- pies a position in the extreme western part, near the line of Bradford town- ship. The leading business here is owned by Thomas H. Forcey, of Clear- field, but formerly a resident of the place. He succeeded Mr. Graham here, and greatly enlarged upon business which he then acquired. The manage- ment of these extensive interests is left to persons employed by the owner. The town has not yet sufficient population to entitle it to the distinction of a borough corporation, and, in this locality, such proceeding is deemed unneces- sary.
The spiritual welfare of the people of the township is guarded by religious societies of two denominations-the United Brethren and the Methodist Epis- copal-each of which denominations has two houses of worship. The former are located, one at Fairview and the other at Summit Hill. The churches of the Methodist Episcopal society are located, one at Center Hill and the other at Palestine.
The schools of the township are five in number, known and designated as follows : Fairview, Palestine, Center Hill, Black Oak, and the Johnston school.
During the early years of this locality, Graham was an almost solid Dem-
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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
ocratic township, but through some disaffection in the party, a large number seceded and united with the short-lived Greenback party, leaving the Demo- crats in the township as scarce as Republicans hitherto had been, numbering only some eight or ten voters. These gradually drifted back into the party camp, forming a still solid rank of Democrats of about one hundred and twenty five votes, opposed to which are from twenty-five to thirty Republicans.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
HISTORY OF GOSHEN TOWNSHIP.
T HE first steps toward the organization of the township of Goshen were taken by the presentation of a petition to the Court of Quarter Sessions, at a term thereof held on the second day of December, 1844, from divers inhabitants of the townships of Lawrence and Girard, setting forth " that the petitioners residing in the settlement called Goshen, being partly in Lawrence and partly in Girard townships, and unconnected, in a great measure, with the other settled parts of said townships, and therefore labor under great inconve- nience on account of schools, they being in separate townships, and that their roads are neglected by the supervisors of both townships, more particularly of Lawrence township, who reside at too great a distance from this settlement to attend to roads in that far-off settlement; also that the election district is to them, in both townships, inconvenient; that it is very inconvenient to attend at the place of holding elections in both townships; and the right of suffrage (free and equal), is a privilege that your petitioners claim as a right. There- fore we ask that a new township be formed out of Lawrence and Girard town- ships, including part of Jay and Gibson townships not taken into Elk county, if the last named township is not too far distant, and praying the court to appoint suitable persons to examine into the premises and make report to the judges of the next Court of Quarter Sessions to be held at Clearfield on the first Monday of February, 1845."
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