USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 69
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Penn was taken from Pike, which originally embraced all the lands west of the Susquehanna River.
The petition presented to the Quarter Sessions Court, appears to have been made through the efforts of the inhabitants of the country further up the river than the locality of Penn, and contemplated the formation of but a single town- ship out of parts of Pike and Chest. The prayer of the petitioners was as fol- lows :
"To the Hon. Thomas Burnside, esq., president and his associates, judges of the Courts of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions of the peace of Clearfield county, now holding court for the same, December term, 1834.
"The petition of the undersigned, citizens of Pike and Chest townships, most respectfully sheweth, That they, with many others, labor under many disad- vantages, as well as the publick in general, by the said townships being so large, many of us being from twelve to fourteen miles from the place of holding the elections, and the supervisors having to go all over them. In many cases parts of the road are nearly neglected, to the great injury of the publick ; and in truth, the loss of money by having to travel so far, that half the day is spent before they get on the ground to work. We therefore pray your Honors, to
616
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
appoint suitable citizens to lay off part of said township in a separate township, if they shall deem it meet, and your petitioners will ever pray, etc."
This ancient document bears the signatures of thirty-five of the most sub- stantial residents of the upper part of the county, and their names will appear in full, in the history of those townships, to which they more properly belong.
Upon the presentation of the petition, the court made the following order : " Clearfield county, ss .: At a Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace of the county of Clearfield, held at Clearfield town, in and for said county on the 2d of December, 1834, before the judges of said courts, upon the petition of the . inhabitants, citizens of Pike and Chest townships, was read, stating that they labor under great inconvenience on account of the said townships being too large, and many of them being from ten to twelve miles from the place of holding elections, etc .; and therefore praying the court to grant them relief by appointing proper persons to divide and lay off a township or townships out of parts of Pike and Chest townships ; and, whereupon the court, upon due con- sideration of the premises had, do order and appoint David Ferguson, Alex- ander B. Reed and James Alport, to view and lay off the said township or town- ships, agreeably to the prayer of the petitioners, and shall make report therof to the next Court of Quarter Sessions, together with plots and drafts thereof. By the Court, December 2, 1834. Jos. Boone, clerk."
The petition, and the order granted and made thereon, were followed by a further petition to the court, which bears more directly upon the subject mat- ter of this chapter. It was as follows: "To the Hon. Thomas Burnside, presi- dent, and his associates, judges of the Court of Common Pleas and General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, etc., to be holden on the fourth day of Febru- ary. The representation of the subscribers, inhabitants of Pike township, humbly sheweth, that they labor under great inconvenience on account of their remote situation from the place of elections ; and, therefore, pray your honors, to appoint commissioners to divide Pike township and part of Chest into three townships, on the river, so that the middle township shall include the whole of the Grampian Hills settlement, and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will pray." This supplemental petition was signed by Richard Denvir, John F. Irwin, John Hauckenbury and Benjamin Fenton. It was referred to the three commissioners above named, for such action as they deemed prudent.
The report of the commissioners was as follows: "The undersigned com- missioners appointed by the Court of Quarter Sessions of Clearfield county to divide and lay out from parts of Pike and Chest, new townships more conven- ient for the inhabitants of said townships, after having examined the petitions and remonstrances referred to them by the court, and consulting with the peo- ple, do report the diagram (annexed to the report) to be agreeably to the prayer of the petitioners, and for the general benefit of the inhabitants of the same. Witness our hands this fourth day of February, 1834. A. B. Reed, James All- port, David Ferguson, commissioners."
617
PENN TOWNSHIP.
Annexed to this report appears this request. "The undersigned, without presuming to dictate to the honorable court, most respectfully suggest the names affixed to the numbers, as appropriate ones for the respective townships. No. I, Cherry Tree, ' Burnside; ' No. 2, Bells, ' Bell ; ' No. 3, Grampian Hills, ' Penn; ' No. 4, Chest Creek, 'Chest.' Signed by the commissioners."
The map or draft of this newly formed township bears the following endorse- ment in the handwriting of the court. " Penn." "In honor of the proprietor of No. 3, Pa." "By the court, T. B."
Penn township as, by these proceedings laid out and as at present consti- tuted, is perhaps, as irregular in its boundary lines, as any township in the county. Its present boundaries are as follows : north by Brady, Bloom and Pike; east by Pike and Ferguson ; south by Ferguson and Greenwood ; west by Bell and Brady townships.
The township contains some very high lands, especially in the northern and western part, where the summits rise in places to an altitude of two thousand feet above tide-water. From the river front, on the south, back for a short distance, there is considerable level land, but with a gradual inclination upward as a north or northwest direction is pursued. The township is well watered, although not possessed of any streams of note except where the Susquehanna River skirts its south boundary. The creeks tributary to the river that have their course through the township are Curry's Run, in the extreme west part ; Poplar Run, having its course about two miles east from Curry's Run ; Bell's Run, which practically intersects the township, and runs a generally south course just west of the center; Little Anderson Creek, the course of which is opposite to that of the other streams, running a north and east direction, and is tributary to the greater Anderson Creek, into which its waters are discharged in Pike township on the east. Besides these, there are other and smaller runs and rivulets incident to a mountainous district.
At an early day, and less than ten years after the erection of the county, the lands along the river were nearly all taken up and occupied, so that sub- sequent pioneers turned to the most available of the hill, or ridge lands, where- on to erect their habitations and make their farms. In this locality, as else- where, there was but little to attract the notice of settlers, as the entire region was densely wooded, and every effort at improvement or cultivation was attended with great labor and considerable expense, and ready cash was an exceedingly scarce article at that time.
The locality known as the " Grampian Hills," was one of the first settled of the upland districts of the county. It may be said to have been divided, so far as settlement was concerned, into two localities, the one toward the river, on the lower lands, near the base of the " Hill," and that more remote from, and back of the bottom lands, or the " Hills " proper. The lowlands were occu- pied by the Bells, the Fergusons, and the Fentons, and was subsequently taken
618
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
up by John Bennett, Nun England, William Hepburn, Joseph Spencer, Francis Severns, and Samuel Cochran. From 1805 to 1808, a large tract here was claimed by Charles Smith, but his claim was without foundation, and therefore unsuccessful.
The Bennett improvement was divided among his heirs. The England lands passed to the ownership of other parties, and most of his family left the county many years ago. Job and George England (sons of Nun), left and went to Ohio; Isaac, who will be remembered by the older residents, as a substantial, industrious and enterprising person, moved to Morris township. William Hepburn, of Scotch descent, was a man possessed of many peculiari- ties, and yet, withal, a good citizen. He died leaving a family, John and Samuel C., sons, and Catharine, who married James Thompson, late of Cur- wensville, being his children.
In the year 1808, Joseph Spencer came with his family, and took up lands that had been purchased from Benjamin Fenton, some four hundred and more acres in extent. He is remembered as an honest, industrious, and therefore successful man. He divided his farming and wood lands into four parts, of one hundred acres each, and gave one to each of three sons, retaining one tract for his own use. For nearly eighty years have these tracts, with a single ex- ception, been held by members of the family, or their direct connections. Joseph Spencer, the pioneer, was of the Society of Friends, and a man highly respected in the county. His descendants are numerous in the county.
Francis Severns and Samuel Cochran were descendants of African blood. The latter, Cochran, is described as being a light mullato. His mother, as- well as himself, were said to have been born in slavery. Several times Samuel escaped from bondage. Once he was captured, and on the other occasions he voluntarily returned to captivity, but eventually purchased his freedom and came north. Early in the present century he came to Clearfield from Lycom- ing county, and settled, about the year 1804, on the south side of the river. Later he took up some three hundred acres of land in one of the best localities. on the Grampian Hills. He cleared over one hundred acres, built a substan- tial log house, and a large, double log barn. He kept a number of horses and a large quantity of other live stock, and became one of the most thrifty and successful farmers on the " hills." His house was the popular resort for team- sters on the old Kittanning turnpike. Cochran raised a family of several boys, and was anxious that they receive a good education, such that he had not, nor was allowed to acquire during the days of his youth, and in the bonds of slavery.
The name of "Grampian Hills" has been applied heretofore in this chapter, but its use was made only to distinguish the locality. The name in fact was not given until the time of the settlement in this locality by Dr. Samuel Cole- man, a person of supposed noble birth, although he always studiously avoided
619
PENN TOWNSHIP.
any discussion of his personal life or antecedents. He was of Scottish parent- age, but came to this county from the eastern part of the State in the year 1809. From a striking resemblance the locality bore to the Grampian Hills of Bonnie Scotland, the doctor named this in honor of his native county and home, a name by which this part of Penn township has ever since been known and the post-office so designated, which it retains to this day.
The lands, or a very large body of them, in the townships now included by Bell, Pike, and Penn, were surveyed in the name of Hopkins, Griffith, and Boone, and were afterward known as the Nicklin and Griffith lands. This company gave to Dr. Coleman a tract of about three hundred acres as an in- ducement for him to settle thereon, which he accepted. In the year 1809, he commenced clearing, having the assistance of three men, one named Gibson, and one slave (colored), named Otto. They encamped for a time in an open shed, thatched with brush, and slept on pieces of chestnut bark in lieu of beds, and until better quarters could be constructed.
Early in the summer of 1809, Joseph Boone and his family reached the home of Esquire McClure, having come up the West Branch from Williams- port by boat. The party proceeded to Coleman's camp in wagons, upon which they slept on the night of their arrival. The next day a cabin was built of logs, and roofed with bark from the trees in the vicinity. Boone was a man of education and worth ; a zealous Catholic, and devoted to his church. He commenced the erection of a grist-mill on Bell's Creek, but through"some cause the enterprise was abandoned. He afterward was chosen prothonotary and recorder of the county, and held other positions of public trust, all of which he most satisfactorly filled. He lived for several years at Clearfield town.
The story of Boone's coming to this county, or the incidents that led to his settlement here are well known to the older residents of the locality, but a repetition of the tale may not be out of place. Boone was formerly sheriff of Washington, and while in office, had in custody one John Nicholson. Having the privileges of the jail yard Nicholson managed to escape. This rendered Boone liable on his official bond, and his property was swept away. He came north and found traces of his escaped prisoner, whom he eventually followed to Philadelphia, and there found in custody. Nicholson, in order to repair the losses suffered by Boone, transferred to him and his sureties a number of land warrants, which were afterward surveyed to Hopkins, Griffith, and Boone, and which have already been referred to in this chapter. Boone came here to occupy and improve these lands, and his settlement was incident to that of Dr, Coleman, although the latter preceded him.
James Moore, formerly a resident of Half Moon township, Centre county, came with his family to the " Hills " in the year 1810, and located on the site, now of the village of Pennville, and near which passed the Glen Hope, and
620
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
Little Bald Eagle, and also the Punxsutawney turnpikes. This place was dis- tant from the river about four miles. Mr. Moore and his sons Jeremiah, An- drew, and James, built a saw and grist-mill at an early day. James, jr., was, for a time, agent for the Fox and Roberts land, so called, an exceedingly large tract owned by a wealthy Philadelphia family.
The Moores were a prominent family in the affairs of the locality, always having at heart the interests of all who were around them. They were mem- bers of the Society of Friends, and have actively participated in the welfare and progress of that society. The Friends' meeting-house in the township shows strongly of the efforts of this family, as well as the other resident mem- bers of that society. Prior to the settlement of the Moore family there had been no regular religious services held in the vicinity, although, as early as 1806, Rev. Daniel Stansbury came and preached occasionally in the neighbor- hood. Rev. Stansbury was a tailor by trade, and his coming was a welcome one on that account, as he could clothe the outer man and provide for his bodily comfort as well as for his spiritual welfare. Rev. Linn, of Bellefonte, came to the vicinity and delivered an occasional sermon, but his visits were not fre- quent. In the year 1822 regular services were begun, and a log edifice was built on Esquire McClure's land. After years of occupancy the old building was abandoned, and a more commodious one was built at Curwensville, in Pike township.
Among the others of the old settlers of Penn township, and who came in about or soon after the year 1810, were the families of Samuel Johnson, David Wall, Caleb Davis, Gideon Widmire, Jonathan Wall, Joseph Giddings, Jonathan Taylor, David Allen and others from time to time, down to the erection of the township,"in the year 1835, and still later, so that now Penn possesses a popu- lation of about six hundred persons, exclusive of the boroughs within its limits.
At the first enumeration of taxables made in the year 1836, by Henry D. Boone, assessor, there appeared on the roll a total of fifty-seven, as follows : Henry D. Boone, Thomas Blackburn, John I. Bundy, Joseph Boone, jr., Daniel Brink, Robert Cochran, Claphaut Cochran, Samuel Cochran, Joseph Cullings- worth, William Clark, James Conley, Matthew Murter, Joseph Davis, Richard Denber, Jeremiah Flinn, John H. Fisher, Thomas Fenton, Henry Hile, Elisha Fenton, Azariah Standers, Alexander Fowler, David Hewitt, James Henry, Jonathan Hewitt, Samuel Johnson, James Johnson, Elah Johnson, Jason Kirk, David Kirk, John Lord, Dennis McGee, Andrew Moore, James Moore, Jere- miah Moore, Peter Owens, Romanto Porter, Ruth Paulhamus, Patrick Quinn, Thom. Felix Raferty, Patrick Raferty, Spencer & Company, Jesse Spencer, Joseph Spencer, John Shugart, Samuel Spencer, Jonathan Spencer, Job Shu- gart, William Wrigglesworth, David Wall, Gideon Widmire, Jonathan Wall, William Wall, William Porter, Asaph Kirk. The single freemen were: Will- iam Cochran, Joseph Spencer, James Spencer, John Spencer, James Wall, Reuben Wall, and Isaiah Wall, the last named being a house-holder.
621
LUMBER CITY BOROUGH.
At this time Joseph Cullingsworth was enrolled as having a post office. Samuel Johnson was assessed $50 for a saw-mill; James and Elah Johnson were assessed $50 for a saw-mill; Jeremiah Moore had a saw-mill and grist- mill, and was assessed therefor $250; Spencer & Co., $100 for a saw-mill.
With a then resident population of about two hundred and fifty persons in the entire township, a steady, natural and healthful increase has followed year by year. The cutting away of the forests and the development of the abundant agricultural resources have much facilitated and increased this growth. Includ- ing the two boroughs, Lumber City and Pennville, both of which are within the boundaries of Penn township and were taken therefrom, there is a present population of something like nine or ten hundred souls.
LUMBER CITY BOROUGH.
The third borough incorporation organized in Clearfield county was in the separation of a part of Penn township that lay in the southeast portion thereof, and along the river, and the erection of such land as was included within its established boundaries into a municipality, to be thenceforth known as Lumber City. This occurred in and during the year 1858. The court records of this incorporation are so incomplete that the day and date of the various steps toward this event do not appear. The first record appears in the election of borough officers, which occurred September 28, 1858. Clearfield and Cur_ wensville were incorporated as boroughs prior to this time.
For many years previous to the erection of the borough there was a con- siderable gathering of houses at this point, and the hamlet so constituted was, for convenience, called Lumberville; but no post-office was established until after the hamlet became incorporated.
This part of the township was settled earlier than the more remote districts away from the river. The families living in this vicinity were the Kirks, of whom Jason Kirk was the head, William and James Ferguson, and James Schofield.
The family of Henry Hile came to this point from Northumberland county in the early part of the year 1835. There were twelve children, sons and daughters of this old pioneer, viz : James, Daniel, Philip, Anthony, John P., Amos, Lorenzo D., Abbie, Mary Ann, Emeline, Elizabeth, and Ellen. The descendants of these children are numerous in the county, and many are still living in and around Lumber City. Henry Hile, the pioneer, died over thirty years ago.
The bridge across the Susquehanna River at this point, was built about the year 1851, and soon after Daniel Robbins built a store and established a gen- eral mercantile business at the Lumberville end of the bridge. This store was afterward burned.
About this time the village commenced to grow rapidly, and a hotel was
79
622
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
built by Henry Hile, and called the " City Hotel." Mr. Hile died soon after, and the hotel property has since passed through several owners- Thomas Owens, Isaac Kirk, and finally into possession of Israel Guppy, the present proprietor. The hotel is now known as the Mountain House.
The Mount Vernon House was built by Lorenzo D. Hile about the time that the town became incorporated, but has changed hands frequently. The present owner is Jason Kirk, but the house is managed by William Hitson.
There was no school nearer than the Kirk farm, about a mile below the town, and the necessity of an educational institution became apparent. One was soon afterward built within the borough, but the increase in population and the demand for better educational facilities has led to the establishment of a graded school at the place, the old building being now used as a primary school.
Although comparatively small in point of population, Lumber City is large so far as relates to area. When the borough was laid out, the school district from which it was taken was divided, leaving a considerable area without any established school district. To remedy this the borough limits were extended so that it is now very large in area, and includes, in whole or in part, several farms in the neighborhood.
The first borough election was held September 28, 1858, at which the fol- lowing officers were chosen : Burgess, John Ferguson ; town council, W. W. Spencer, James Arthurs, John P. Hile, D. A. Fetzer, and Joseph Hegarty. The officers elected for the year 1887 are : Burgess, D. N. Hipps; councilmen, John A. McDevitt, Charles Jordan, Joseph Lines; constable, J. J. Sterling ; high constable, James J. Hile; assessor, D. W. Hile; overseer, John Hipps.
The voting population of the borough in the year 1860 is well shown by the poll-list, made at the election during that year, as follows: James Arthurs, Thomas Bromall, J. M. Curley, Bronson Davis, D. A. Fetzer, John Ferguson, sr., J. H. Ferguson, James Ferguson, sr., Noah Farwell, T. J. Garrison, J. P. Hile, Amos Hile, Anthony Hile, Joseph Hegarty, L. D. Hile, Isaac, David, Jason, Thomas, Samuel, and Joseph Kirk, William W. Kelley, Isaac Lemon, G. H. Lytle, William A., C. W., Samuel, and A. S. Moore, John McQuilken, Samuel McCracken, John McDevitt, J. P. Needler, Peter Owens, Jesse and Samuel S. Spencer, Adam Smith, W. W. Spencer, W. V. Wright, Robert Young, Christian Yager, William Jordon, Atchison Kelley, James Ferguson, jr., Peter Thompson, John Hazlet, M. S. Dunn, John Lemon, G. W. Lind- ley, James Needler, Harry Robinson, William S. Wright, John Young, William Warner, James McDevitt, William Haney, J. M. Ross.
Of these, fifty-five in all, only seven are now living in the borough, viz. : D. A. Fetzer, Anthony Hile, Joseph Kirk, John McDevitt, J. M. Ross, James Ferguson, jr., and John Lemon. The present voting population of Lumber City borough numbers about eighty persons.
623
LUMBER CITY BOROUGH.
There are two resident physicians at Lumber City-Dr. D. A. Fetzer and Dr. J. M. Ross, both of whom have practiced at the place for over a quarter of a century.
The present business interests are represented by two general merchandise stores, a grist mill, and a saw or shook-mill. The merchants are E. L. Cool- broth and James Rorabaugh. The former purchased an interest, in 1876, in the then existing firm of Nutter, Davis & Co., general merchants, and also pro- prietors of the saw-mill industry. In 1886 Mr. Coolbroth became sole propri- eter of both enterprises. Connected with the saw-mill, and a part of it, are machines for planing and matching lumber, and also a shingle-mill. These works were started in 1875, on lands purchased by Nutter, Davis & Co., from Anthony Hile.
The grist-mill was built some thirty years ago, by Abram K. Wright and Amos Hile, as a water-power mill, and supplied with such machinery as was then used. Latterly, however, machinery has been introduced for manufact- uring flour by the roller process. The mill is now owned by John Hicks.
Prior to the time of the borough erection, the residents of the vicinity were compelled to receive their mail from Curwensville, six miles distant. A post- office was established at this place about the time the borough was formed, and located at Daniel Robbins's store, he being the first appointee as postmaster. He was succeeded by " Squire " Lemon, and he, in turn, by Harrison W. Spencer. E. L. Coolbroth was the fourth incumbent of the office, and was recently superseded by John Haley, the office, however, being retained in Mr. Coolbroth's store, and he discharging the duties thereof as deputy-postmaster under Mr. Haley.
Situate within the borough, though tributary to and supported by the people living generally throughout the vicinity, are two churches and church societies-the United Presbyterian and the Methodist Episcopal-the exist- ence of each of which societies antedates the borough by some years. It was not until about twelve years ago that the United Presbyterian Church was built, but the society held early meetings in an old building down at the lower or east end of the borough. Here occasional services were held and a sermon preached, which will be remembered by some of the older residents on account of the great length of such sermons, and the further fact that the people that attended usually provided themselves with a lunch to be eaten during the meeting. The present church home of this society is a plain but comfortable frame building, standing on the main street of the borough, about midway between its east and west limits. Among the families prominently identified with this church and its society, were those of the Fergusons (James, William, John, and David), John Henry, Joseph Wiley, William Reed, all of whom were early members, and John B. Ferguson, Alexander Ferguson, Luther Ferguson, John C. Ferguson, David Reed, John McCreery, and others, descendants of
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