History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 125

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 125

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Joseph Oglevee, a young Marylander, found a sparsely-settled neighborhood when he came to Franklin iu 1788. He warranted three hundred and thirty-three acres (now owned in part by his sou Farrington), put up a cabin, and began to clear his land. Conrad Barricklow, an old soldier, who had served honorably through the Revolutionary war, moved to Franklin in 1790. Conrad found himself at the end of his campaigns the possessor of a great lot of' Continental money, and with it he proposed to buy a farm somewhere. Unfortunately, he found his Continental money worth so little that buying a farm was out of the question. So with his family he lived a while in a cabin on Joseph Oglevee's place, and eventually he bought a small farm of his own. In 1790 Oglevee married one of Barricklow's daughters. His sons were three, Jesse, John, and Farrington. Of these only Farrington is now living, and he re- mains on the old homestead. Jesse, who settled ou the Dunbar and Franklin line so literally that his family ate in Dunbar and slept in Franklin, had eight children. Three of his sons, Joseph, John, and Philip, are now residents of Dunbar township. Conrad Bar- rieklow died in 1802, and Joseph Oglevee in 1835. In their day one of the scarcest articles of use was salt, and to get it there was no way save by a trip eastward over the mountains. The salt wells of the West were then undiscovered treasures, and as salt must be had at all hazards, the pioneers at intervals made long and tiresome journeys for supplies of the needed article. The fall of the year was customarily the season when these salt trips were made, and according to previous understanding, a half-dozen or more settlers would set out together on horseback, and thus sociably and

551

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

safely get to market, bringing back upon their horses not only salt but other necessities required in the line of provisions. Joseph Oglevee built a saw-mill on Dickinson's Run in 1792, and sold it to Alexander Moreland, who set up a nail-making shop. More- land was bought out by Joseph McCoy, who, upon the same site, established a sickle-factory.

James and Samuel Rankin were among the first settlers in Franklin. James wished to buy land of Col. Isaac Meason, and at an appointed time met Col. Meason at Mount Braddock for the purpose of visiting Franklin on a tour of inspection. While en route Rankin remarked to Col. Meason upon his overcoat, which was an inordinately shabby one, "Colonel, I am amazed to find that a man owning as much land as you do will content himself with such a desperately ragged overcoat." "The coat is well enough," returned Col. Meason, " for, although ragged, it keeps out the rain pretty well, while for its looks I care nothing." When they were about closing the sale of the land, and while the deed was awaiting Col. Meason's signature, he suddenly halted, and turning to Rankin, said, "I don't know about signing this deed after all. I believe I have sold you the land too cheap, and upon reflection conclude that I will sign the deed only upon condition that you give me your overcoat, which I see is a new and excellent one, in exchange for mine, which, as you rightly observed yesterday, is old and ragged." Rankin saw he was caught, but he was eager to own the land, and, what was more, Meason knew that too. He hated to yield in the matter, his inclination prompting him to break off the trade then and there, but he fancied the property vastly, and so, with rather bad grace, accepted the alternative, remarking as he did so, "The next time I buy land of a man in a ragged coat I'll keep my mouth shut until I've concluded the bargain." Meason was much pleased at what he declared an excellent joke, and by way of emphasiz- ing his appreciation remarked to Rankin at parting, " My dear friend, I wonder that a man with as much money as you have will wear such a ragged coat." The Rankins lived in a community of practical jokers, and were themselves keenly alive to the spirit of harmless fun. So general was this mania for practi- cal joking that no opportunity was lost by any of the jokers for offering up a victim to ridicule.

in his hand a jug that looked very much as if it held whisky. Whisky in jugs was then as common in the land as the most devoted tippler could desire, and it was most natural and reasonable on Sammy's part to suppose that Wiley's jug contained whisky. It was equally natural and reasonable for him to con- clude that a drink of whisky on a cold morning as the one in question would be proper and consoling. So after greeting Wiley cheerily, and receiving the same in return, Sammy exclaimed, "Well, Wiley, this is a pretty sharp morning, and as you've got a jug of whisky I will be glad to take a drink with you." Wiley owed Sammy one on the last time he had been made a victim, and to that moment had pined for an opportunity to repay the joker. As will be seen, his chance had come. Lifting the jug to Sammy's hand, remarking that it was a cokl morning, that a drink was a good thing at such a time, and that the jug held as good whisky as was ever made, he bade Sam drink heartily. Thus invited and en- couraged by Wiley's hospitality, his own desire as well, Sammy applied his mouth to that of the jug and drank. The drink was, however, a short one, and was followed by the violent dashing of the jug upon the ground, and the excited exclamation from Sammy of "Great heavens, Wiley, it's soft soap!" Splut- tering and coughing to free his mouth of the nauseous mess, he was inclined to be angry with the author of the mishap, but better judgment prevailed, until, like a philosopher, he laughingly declared to Wiley, "Well, old fellow, you got me that time, but it's a long lane that has no turn: I'll pay you off yet." Wiley laughed and bade good-by to Sammy by in- viting him to meet him again some day for another drink, and advising him to look sharp if he desired to pay off the score. Whether Sammy did or did not pay off the score does not appear among the chroni- eles of the time, but the popular conclusion is that if he attempted it he succeeded.

Thomas Dunn is said to have located in Franklin some time during the progress of the Revolutionary war. He took up a farm containing four hundred and thirty-two acres, of which original tract his grandson Thomas owns three hundred and thirty acres, Mr. Dunn and his wife were hardy pioneers in every sense of the word, and without waiting to build a dwelling-house, they made their home in a stable for Among them all, the Rankins, and especially " Sammy" Rankin, were considered the most invet- erate jokers of the period. Many a good story is still told of Sammy and the manner in which he used to sacrifice his neighbors, who as often sought to get even with him by returning the compliment, although Sammy was termed "smart enough to hold his own a year after their arrival. Time was precious, they were ambitious to get a portion of their land cleared and a crop in, and so when the stable was up they said, " We will defer the building of our cabin, since we have a more pressing necessity to clear and culti- vate our land, and until we can spare the time to erect a better one we will make our home under the and more too." For that reason it was exceedingly ' same roof that shelters our cattle." When Dunn put gratifying to his many friends if they could get the up his cabin the following year he built also a wagon- shop, as he was by trade a wheelwright, continuing the business until his death, which occurred in 1800. Four years before his death he replaced the log cabin laugh on him. As a case in point it is told that Sammy, while proceeding to town one cold morning, met Andrew Wiley trudging along on foot, carrying

552

HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

with the stone house now occupied by his grandson, Thomas Dunn. Of his twelve children seven were sons, and of these all but two removed early in life to Ohio, pioneers of that State. John and Samuel, the two who remained upon the old farm, worked it to- gether for several years, when Samnel got the Western fever, and selling his interest in the homestead to John, he too emigrated to Ohio. John ended his days in Franklin. He had but two sons, Robert and Thomas, in a family of eight children. Robert moved to Kansas and there died, while Thomas still lives upon the farm that his grandfather cleared more than a hundred years ago. He says he was left upon the place to keep the name of Dunn alive, and adds, "I rather guess I have made a good start in that direc- tion, for I have had eleven children born to me." One of his daughters, Harriet, was accidentally killed in 1879. Driving to church with her brother one Sunday morning a halt was made at a neighbor's, and the brother alighted for a moment from the carriage. As he did so the horse, a high-spirited colt, dashed madly away, the young lady being thrown out and almost instantly killed.

The MeLeans (two brothers) were great land-owners in Franklin, and were well known by all the people. Land was cheap in those days, and to own a farm of three or four hundred acres did not call for an espe- cially liberal outlay of funds. Stories are told of farms being frequently bartered for dogs, guns, or horses, one gun sometimes proving enough of the . whether you bring any grist or not." With "Damn purchase price to secure a large tract of land. Robert McLean had plenty of land, and that he did not value it very highly is shown by the following story : He met a man traveling through Franklin, and noticing the fellow's dejected appearance, inquired if he was in trouble. The man replied that he had been unfor- tunate, was poor, and did not know how he could better his condition. Prompted by a sudden and charitable motive, McLean said to him, "See here, , where he died. Mr. Sharpless was conspicuons in the my man, I'll give you a farm and put you in shape to earn a living if you will mount that stump and cry as hard as you can." The man thought of course that McLean was joking, but upon being assured that he was truly in earnest, and that the farm would be his if he complied, he mounted the stump and cried like a good fellow. In return, as the story is told, he was given the farm, and became prosperous and successful in life.

One of the early mills in Franklin was Cullen's grist-mill on the Redstone, near where Bute's Run flows into the former stream. Cullen was an accom- mo lating miller, as the following will show.

Old Mr. Gilchrist set out one morning for Cullen's mill, and as he passed the house of a Mr. Ramsey was hailed by the latter with "Hold on, Gilchrist, I'm going to mill with a grist, and will bear you com- pany." Both journeyed along upon their horses until they had arrived to within a mile or so of the mill, when Ramsey suddenly clasped his hands together in .

despair and cried out, " God bless me, Gilchrist, if I haven't forgotten my grist. I stayed up last night to shell two bushels of corn for the mill-trip, and now I've come away and left it behind." With that he fell to berating himself for having been so absent- minded. Gilchrist consoled him with the suggestion that perhaps he could borrow at the mill what corn- meal he wanted, and take the corn down some other time. To this proposition Ramsey would listen only upon the condition that Gilchrist should say nothing about the matter to Jimmy Rankin, "for," added he, " if Jimmy gets hold of the story there'll be no end of the fun he'll have at my expense." The promise was given, the corn-meal was obtained as suggested, and the matter adjusted satisfactorily to all parties. The following Sunday, at church services, Ramsey and Jimmy Rankin met during the nooning hour, and Jimmy, broaching the subject of dry weather, re- marked that such weather was very bad for the mills. "Oh, yes," continued he, as Ramsey began to grow uneasy, " where do you get your milling done now ?" Ramsey, feeling sure that Jimmy had heard about the corn, determined not to give up the secret himself, and pretended not to have heard the inquiry, but at once began talking of the probable bad effect of the dry weather upon crops. " Yes, yes,"'put in Jimmy, loud enough for all to hear, "they tell me Cullen's mill is a fine mill, and that Cullen himself is a fine man. They say you can get your bag filled there ye! old Gilchrist has been blowing on me," Ramsey fled, and for some time after heard the story at every turn, from Jimmy Rankin's persevering purpose to "get a good rig on Ramsey."

Another early mill was the one built by Jonathan Hill, about 1790, on Redstone Creek, on the site now occupied by Samuel Smock. Mr. Hill sold the mill to Jonathan Sharpless in 1810 and moved to Virginia, history of Fayette County for having, with Samuel Jackson, built on the Redstone the first paper-mill known west of the mountains.1 He located in Frank- lin not long after the year 1800, and in 1810 was driv- ing a grist-mill, saw-mill, sickle-factory, and fulling- mill, which amount of business was, for those days, very extensive. There he lived until his death, about 1860, at the age of more than ninety years. Joseph Jordan was his nearest neighbor, and lived upon an adjoining tract, where Samuel Jobes now resides. Samuel Jobes ( whose father, John, was an early settler in Redstone township) came to Franklin in 1840. John Lewis, a Methodist preacher and a tanner, moved from Baltimore to Connellsville in 1790, and at the latter place established a tan-yard. Having bad luck in his business affairs he moved to a farm in Dunbar town hip, afterwards to Franklin, and later to Plumsock, in Menallen township. He died at the

1 See history of Jefferson township.

553

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

age of ninety-three, upon the farm in Franklin now occupied by Joseph Lewis, and then by "Squire" Na- than Lewis. Nathan Lewis, just named, was a son of John Lewis, and for more than twenty years was a justice of the peace at Plumsock, where he was long a figure in local history. He died on his Franklin farm in 1875, aged eighty-four. Two of his brothers, John and Samuel, moved to the far West. James, another brother, built a pottery in Plumsock in 1822, conducting that business for twelve years, after which his son Nathan succeeded him in it for fifteen years longer. James Lewis died in 1872, aged eighty-two. His wife was a daughter of Arthur Wharton, himself one of the pioneers of Menallen, as well as an early settler upon the land now owned and occupied by his grandson, Nathan Lewis. All of Wharton's sons moved to Ohio. Resin Virgin, Jacob Wolf, Elisha Pears, the Gillilands, McVays, Whetsels, Cooks, Abrahams, Pattersons, Works, Junks, and Rossels were concerned in the early settlement of Franklin, but the majority of them have to-day no descendants of their names in the township.

Although John Bute did not come until 1813, he was very active in pioneer history. He bought on Bute's Run a farm lying upon the State road. The land had been patented in 1789 by Elisha Pears, who later disposed of it at public sale. David Veach, the purchaser, met John Bute at Plumsock while en route from the place of sale, and Bute being anxious to own some land bought the Pears place of Veach then and there. Bute, who had been keeping tavern at Plumsock, moved to Franklin without much delay and became a farmer. In 1829 he built a saw- mill and grist-mill on Bute's Run, and in 1857 died on the old Pears farm. Ten of his twelve children were sons, and all became settlers in Franklin. Cy- rus, one of the sons, carried on the mill, and had also a small store there. The last owner of the mill was a Mr. Madison. Eight of Jolin Bute's sons set- tled eventually in the far West. The ninth died in Franklin, and the tenth, Mr. Joseph Bute, now lives in the township, upon a farm that was occupied before 1800 by Andrew Arnold. Mr. Bute located upon the place in 1837. It was warranted April 3, 1769, by Joseph Snively, and by him conveyed to Resin Vir- gin, July 3, 1771. Jan. 24, 1786, Virgin deeded it to Andrew Arnold. Mr. Bute's first education was obtained in Thornbottom District in 1816, at the hands of James Adair, a somewhat famous peda- gogue, who taught in Thornbottom District fully ten years. He made a bargain to teach school there at ten dollars annually for each scholar, all the pay to be taken in produce, and bound himself to have at no time more than thirty scholars, aside from his own children and " poor scholars."

Thomas Townsend, a Quaker, settled west of the Monongahela, near Geneva, in 1770. From there he went on a trading expedition to the Territory of Ohio. While making his return trip he and his companions,

MeKnight and Colson, were surprised while en- camped, by Delaware Indians and put to death. Of his sons, Aaron located in Franklin township in 1823, in the vicinity of what is now known as Flatwoods post-office. He was a carpenter and joiner, and fol- lowed his trade at Flatwoods for many years. He died at the age of eighty. Aaron Townsend's son John opened a store at Flatwoods in 1846, and con- tinued in the business until 1861, when he sold out to Daniel Binns. In 1864, Binns disposed of his interests to P. P. Murphy and John Townsend, who have been the traders at Flatwoods since that time. Flatwoods post-office was established in 1842. John Townsend was postmaster until 1861, Daniel Binns from 1861 to 1864, and P. P. Murphy from 1864 to 1881. Mail is received three times a week from East Liberty.

William Craig settled in Franklin at an early day, near the Dunbar line, and in what is now called the Craig neighborhood. His sons were John, William, Samuel, James, Allen, and Thomas. Those now living are William, who lives in Illinois, and John, whose home is in Dunbar. John Craig was for many years a blacksmith at Laurel Hill, having bought of Thomas White a shop that White had set up years before on the town line road. Solomon Curry set- tled near the Craigs, upon land he purchased of John Wiley. Mr. Curry died in 1857, at the advanced age of one hundred and one. His three children were named Mary Ann, James, and John. John was ac- cidentally killed in a saw-mill in 1877. James and Mary Ann are still living. John Graham, one of the early comers to the county, arranged a lottery draw- ing in Franklin township in 1814, but what the lottery was for, or why it was instituted, are points upon which there appears to be no light. A news- paper advertisement in 1814 contains the following information touching the subject : "The subscriber informs the public that the drawing of his lottery is unavoidably postponed to Tuesday, the 27th inst., on which day it will positively be drawn at the house of William Craig, in Franklin township, near Laurel Hill Meeting-house, under the direction of gentlemen of unquestioned character." Signed by John Gra- ham, and dated " Union, September 7, 1814."

As long ago as the year 1800 there was in Franklin township, on the Yonghiogheny, at the mouth of Furnace Run, a small village called Little Falls, the village being made up of a furnace, forge, a grist- mill, saw-mill, store, and workmen's dwellings. The forge known as the Franklin Iron-Works was built by George Lamb, and by him sold to Nathaniel Gib- son, who was a man of considerable business capacity and liberal enterprise. He built a furnace at Little Falls, intending to make iron for his forge from the ore in that neighborhood, but a few experiments con- vinced him that the ore would not make such iron as he wanted, and he was forced to abandon the project. Mr. Gibson built for his residence a fine stone dwell-

554

HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

ing, which was long known as the Mansion House. He obtained his pig-metal from the Connellsville Furnace, and shipped his bar iron down the river in keel-boats. About 1825, Mr. Gibson disposed of the works, including the mills, Mansion House, etc., to F. H. Oliphant. Oliphant's successors were Milten- berger & Brown, who carried on the business until 1839, when they closed it and ended the history of the village of Little Falls, for the villagers, being simply laborers at the works, moved away, the store was sold, and such portions of the works as could not be utilized allowed to fall into decay. The stone house built by Nathaniel Gibson is now occupied by James Lynch.

ORIGINAL LANDIIOLDERS IN FRANKLIN.

The original surveys of lands in Franklin give the names of original land-owners, as follows:

Acres.

Richard Applegate ...... 120%

John Lowry. 194

James Allen 1834

Thomas Lawson. 165

William Allen ... 400

Robert Lynch .. 21

James Allen .. 75

John Allen 282

187

John MeLanghhn 377

James Brand.

Jonathan Addis.

Daniel MeMullan 231

Andrew Byers, Sr 200

Jobn Bradley.

Andrew Byers 407

Joel Maxwell.

104

Ebenezer Burt.

Richard Bays 294

James Bays. 1734

163ł

James March. 400

James Byers

150

A. S. Byers 1124

2014

Benjamin Horner

440

Samuel Byers, Sr

Allen Boyer. 250

James Boys. 721

Alexander Hamilton 204

James Bainet

John Bather, Jr. 419

101

John Byer-

437

Elias Brewer.

George King .. 105

Joseph Cummings

Daniel ('ann m).

4602

Jolin Cunningham 187

806

James Lewis. 14

David Catheart.

800

John Cart ichael.

604

Robert Mays 336

Hannah Crawford (2 slaves ) 204

William C. Hlins.

379

William Moreland. 307

Jahn Crawford.

John Catsun.

133

James McCormick ..

Daniel Cannon (] slave 400

David Cationt.

3211

David Moreland 3703

James Craig.

William Creacroft

101

Peter and John Miller 127

John Carmichael. 300

W'in. Carson .. 200

Henry Cu lin ...

633

Julin Craiz

John Morrison 51

Benjamin Caulk .. 20

Josiah Dreker.

Job Dunlap ..

2861

Charles MeLaughlio. 96

176

Joshua Dickinson, miller. 400

John Dougherty, distiller.

Benoni Dowson 14 slaves)

Robert Dugan.

Zachariah Davis, distiller.

100

1 2

Joel Evans

054

1-ane Quick.

Thomas Dunn, Jr ..

200

John Gilehti-t. :71

Robert Ross,

*95

W'in. Dunlap ..

Henry Gner

1191

Benjamin Ross. 461

Adam Dunlap ... 270

2 2

John Gary.

Alexander Robeson

181

John Dunlap, distiller. 100

Richard Gibson.

Samuel Rankin.

206

Jane Gilliland.

111

Thomas Rogers 360

Thos. Estell

David Gilson .. 1:14

William Rittenhouse .. 4014

Jus. Esington

100

Davul Hawkins

John Robertson ... 234

David Faulkner 100

John Holmes

Rubert Shields. 408

Sail. Freeman. 500

James lolines. 156

Thomas Shields, Jr .. 404

Timothy Smith 364

Acres.

Riebard Smith. 441

Jacob Snively .. 300

J. C. and T. Townsend ... 237

Samuel Stephens. 594

Matthew Weilly. 138

John Willey 345

Samuel Work 308

Daniel Wetzel 109

George Wet :el .. 50

James Patterson. 4IS

Joseph Torrence .. 426

William Patterson 11 !

Christopher Wireman. I78

James Rankin. 702

James Wilkey 353

Joseph Work .. 302

David Rittenhouse ..

Joseph Wetzel .. 50

John Wilkin. 216

Daniel Young. 263

Andrew Snively. 307

FRANKLIN TAX-PAYERS IN 1785.

Following are given the names of the tax-payers of Franklin in 1785:

Acres. 160

David Allen ..

200

Andrew Arnold

350

James Adams

Benj. Archibald

Elijab Bartlet .. 300

Julin Brand 100

Ww. Barker 100

Samuel Boden

Elijah Barkley

3851

Matthew McCoy. 48

John March. 283

Thomas Brooks

Samuel Byers, Jr ...

Isaac IIill 281

James Boyes

200

John J. Barron 3984

John L. Barker 3901

Margaret. Hall. 401

William Barker

John Barker. Sr. 4121

George Hunter. 923

Henry George 50

James Byer-

Samuel Jackson 255

John Carson

100

Edward Jordon. 108

Joseph Coombs

300

Josiah King .. 145

Win. Cuesenberry

James Camble ..

Thomas Curry

I 2

.. .

Joshua Direinsol. 4261

Robert Douzan 29%

Zachariah Davis 110

John Daw - Un 614

Jahn Oglevee. #134

Joseph K -- igton

124

Il. F. Oliphant.

Thomas Estoy

1101

Robert Pollock 288

Thomas Dunn, Sr.

Thomas G: wer.

326

John Reed.

318

Win. Dickson.

Andrew Gamble.

2964

John kichey 170

Stafford Dickson

Thos. Espey.

Saml. Finley .. 300

Robt. Fowler.

1 3 :9139414 4

Juhu Cherry

150

Moses Cuescuberry

200

Samuel Clemens

1 3 G 2

249 Joseph Buker. 1081

Margaret Latimore .. 199

George Lynch .. 153

James Cing.

John Hall, Jr. 96

Sarah Bradford I slave).

Thomas Cannon

John Hall. 418

Jotham Burt. 200

Robert Beall

Thomas May 164

Richard Bays

John McClelland 32S

Robert MeLaughlin 406

John M. Allen.

James Melictierty.

Joseph Barker ( I slave 50

Jonathan Sharpless. $5

John Shotwell. 166

Robert Smith 132

Walbam Tinsley 460

James Rittenhouse. 1

Hannah Radcliff ..

James Ros-ell ... 100

Patrick Logan 166

John Murphy 150

Jonathan Dungan 338

Malcolm MeDonald.

James Davis.

Richard Noble.

James Nichol ..

Mathew Nicly 128

Horses. Cattle.

John Al'en

William Sparks 346

535

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

Acres.

Horses.

Cattle.

Acres.

Catile.

Saml. Gibson ..

100

Saml. Roe

John Golden, distiller.

...

Jobn R tcbey

Henry Gillilan

Edward Gibson

John Robi-on.

100

John Gilchrist.

250

Alex. Robison

100

Matthew Gilchrist ( ) slave)

150

W'in. Robison

100

John Gibson, Jr

John Heed.

200

Thos. Greer, distiller.

200

Saml. Ritchey.

John Gibson, Et.

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History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 125

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314