History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 160

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 160

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"25th. I set out early, in order to see Lund Washington's land ; hut the ground and trees heing covered with snow, I was able to form but an indistinct opinion of it, though upon the whole it appeared to he a good traet of land. From this I went to Mr. Thomas Gist's and dined, and then proceeded to the Great Crossings at Hogland's, where I arrived about eight o'clock."

From there he journeyed back to Mount Vernon by the route over which he came.

Except by the parties above mentioned as receiving warrants April 3, 1769, the only purchases made in the present township of Perry during that year were those of Eleanor and James Hunter, of Philadelphia, the tract of the former being 316 acres, and that of the latter 276; acres. They were located on the waters of Virgin Run, and warranted April 19, 1769. . Of all these purchasers of lands in the present town- ship of Perry in the year 1769, none ever became settlers on them. And from that year until 1784 no other purchases of land were made within the present bounds of the township.

It is evident from the language of Washington's journal, above quoted, that the tracts of his brothers, Samuel and John A. Washington, were on the route from Capt. Crawford's (New Haven) to his own land, at and near the site of the present town of Perryop- olis, but that Lund (Laurence) Washington's land lay some distance away from the direct route. It has not been ascertained to whom the title of these lands passed, nor their exact location.

to a mill-seat on the small stream (since named Wash - ington Run) which flowed through his tract. It was his purpose to build a mill at this place, and propa- rations were soon after commenced for it by Gilbert Simpson, whom Washington sent out as manager of his property here. His first business, however, was to erect a log honse, which stood adjoining the present residence of John Rice. This was the farm- house which was the headquarters of the operations carried on by Simpson for the proprietor. The mill was built on the run, in the immediate vicinity of the present village of Perryopolis. From the time of its completion until the present (with the exception of a few years prior to 1790) a mill has been in constant operation on this site.

Between 1770 and 1774, Valentine Crawford (who had settled on Jacob's Creek ) succeeded his brother, Capt. William Crawford, as Washington's financial agent in this region, Simpson being merely the man- ager of his farming and other operations on his lands in the present township of Perry. Below are given some extracts from letters written in the year last named by Valentine Crawford to Col. Washington, having reference to the improvements then being made under the direction of Simpson on the Washington tract, viz. :

" JACOB'S CREEK, April 27, 1774. " I went to Gilbert Simpson's as soon as I got out and gave him the hill of scantling you gave me, and the bill of bis arti- cles. I offered him all the servants that he might take them to your Bottom until we got our crews at work ; hut he refused for fear they would run away from him.

" JACOB'S CREEK, May 6, 1774.

" As to the goods, I have stored them; and I went to Mr. Simpson as soon as I came up, and offered him some of the ear- penters and all the servants ; but he refused taking them,-the latter for fear they would run away ; he has, however, now agreed to take some of both, the carpenters to do the framing for the mill, and the servants to dig the race. Stephens has agreed to quit, provided the Indians make peace, and it would be out of his power to get them back again, as he has no means of con- veyance. I am afraid I shall be obliged to build a fort until this eruption is over, which I am in hopes will not last long. I trust you write me full instructions as to what I must du. Mr. Simpson yesterday seemed very much seared: but I cheered him up all I could. He and his laborers seemed to conclude to build a fort if times grew any worse."

"GIST's, May 13, 1774. "DEAR SIR,-I write to let you know that all your servants are well, and that none of them have run away. Mr. Simpson has as many of the carpenters as he can find work for, and has got some of the servants assisting about the seat for the mill until this storm of the Indians blows over."

"JACOB'S CREEK, May 25, 1774.

"From all accounts Capt. Connolly caught from the Indian towns they are determined for war. . . . I have, with the as- sistance of some of your carpenters and servants, built a very strong block-house ; and the neighbors, what few of them have not run away, have joined with me, and we are building a stockade fort at my house. Mr. Simpson, also, and his neigh-

In the extracts above given from Washington's jour- nal of 1770 it will be noticed that he makes reference . bors have begun to build a fort at your Bottom ; and we live in

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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

hopes we ean stand our ground till we can get some assistance from below."

A letter from Crawford, dated June 8th, informed Washington that Simpson had completed the fort at the Bottoms :

"JACOB'S CREEK, July 27, 1774.

" My wagon and team have been at work at your mill for some time, hauling timber, stone, and lime and sand for it. I went over to assist in hauling some of the largest of the timber, but the late alarming accounts of the Indians have stopped the workmen, and I have brought home my team. I consider it a pity that the mill was ever hegun in these times. It appears to me sometimes that it will be a very expensive joh to you before it is done. All the carpenters I brought out for you stopped work on the sixth of May, except some who were at work on your mill. These I pay myself. I shall observe your orders in regard to settling with the carpenters."

But it seems that the work on construction of the mill was delayed for some cause (doubtless the open- ing of the war of the Revolution), so that two years had elapsed from the time of its commencement be- fore it was completed and put in operation, as is shown by a letter,1 dated Sept. 20, 1776, written by Valentine Crawford to Gen. Washington when the latter was engaged in the operations of his army around the city of New York after the battle of Long Island. The following extract from that letter has reference to the building of the mill, and tells the time when it was first started, viz. :

"I this spring, before I came over the mountain, called at Simpson's to see your mill go for the first time of its running, and can assure you I think it the best mill I ever saw anywhere, although I think one of a less value would have done as well. If you re- member, yon, saw some rocks at the mill-seat. These are as fine millstone grit as any in America. The millwright told me the stones he got for your mill there are equal to English burr."

From this time until 1785 little is known as to what was done with Washington's mill, or on his lands in this vicinity. On the 23d of September in that year he wrote to Thomas Freeman (who had succeeded Valentine Crawford as his agent) as follows :

" If you should not have offers in a short time for the hire of my mill alone, or for the mill with one hundred and fifty acres of land adjoining, I think it advisable, in that ease, to let it on shares, to build a good and substantial dam of stone where the old one stood, and to erect a proper fore-bay in place of the trunk which now conducts the water to the wheel, and, in a word, to put the house in proper repair. If you should be driven to this for want of a tenant, let public notice thereof be given, and the work let to the lowest bidder, the undertaker finding himself and giving bund and security for the perform- ance of his contract. The charges of these things must be paid out of the first moneys you receive for rent or otherwise. If I could get fifteen hundred pounds for the mill and one hundred neres of land most convenient thereto I would let it go for thnt money."

"G. WASHINGTON."

! This, as well as the extracts before given, is from the " Washington- ('lawford Letters."

Gen. Washington, however, did not succeed in sell- ing or otherwise disposing of his lands until the fall of 1789, when they were leased for a term of five years to Col. Israel Shreve," who afterwards became their purchaser. He (Col. Shreve) emigrated to Western Pennsylvania in 1788 from New Jersey, leaving his old home in Hunterdon County in that State on the 7th of July. With him came others, forming a party of thirty persons in all, viz. : Israel Shreve and Mary, his wife, with their children,-Ke- ziah, Hester, Israel, George, Greene, Rebecca, and Henry, with John Fox and James Starkey ; William Shreve and Rhoda, his wife, with their children,- Anna and Richard (the preceding named traveling in three two-horse wagons and driving three cows) ; Jo- seph Beck and Sarah, his wife, with their children,- Benjamin, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Henry, Joseph, and Ann (in one three-horse wagon ) ; Daniel Hervey, his wife, Sarah, their son Job, a mulatto boy, Thomas, Jo- seph, and Ann Wheatley, and John Shellow, the last- named seven traveling with one three-horse wagon, one two-horse wagon, and one cow.

They came over the mountains to Westmoreland County, Pa. Without pausing to follow the fortunes of other members of the party, it is sufficient to say that Col. Shreve stopped with his family in Rostraver township, occupying the house of Joseph Lenman for something more than a year, until he rented the Washington lands, as before mentioned. Soon after concluding the bargain, he wrote to his brother, Caleb Shreve, of Mansfield, N. J., a letter which shows what was the condition of the Washington lands at that time, as also the fact that the mill built by Gilbert Simpson was then in disuse, and too much out of re- pair to be again started without considerable expense. The letter 3 referred to is here given, as follows :

" Faks OF YOUGH, Dec. 26, 1789. " DEAR BROTHER,-Having an opportunity to Philadelphia, I embrace it and mention my situation or intended one. Sinee I have been here, have worked to get Washington Bottom, and have at last obtained the whole tract on rent for five years.

" I wrote to the (federal by his Agent in this eounty, Col.

2 Israel Shreve was born Dec. 24, 1739, at the Shreve homestead, Mount Pleasant, Mansfield, Burlington Co., N. J., but at a Inter period removed to Hunterdon County in the same State, where he was living at the ont- break of the Revolution. When the first two battalions were raised in New Jersey for the Continental army, he was appointed by the Congress (Oct. 28, 1775) lieutenant-colonel of the Western Battalion, William Maxwell being appointed colonel and David Ray major. These officers were commissioned Nov. 8, 1775, and the battalion was mustered into the regular Continental service in the following December, and marched to the vicinity of the city of New York, which was then occupied by the British.

On the reorganization of the New Jersey line he was made colonel of the Second Regiment, and remained in that command to the close of the war, serving in Maxwell's brigade, and taking part in many of Washington'a most important battles, including that of Monmonth. llis brother was colonel of the First New Jersey Regiment, and another brother (Samuel) lieutenant-colonel of the First Battalion of New Jersey in the Continental line.

- This letter, as also the account of the party with which Col. Shreve emigrated from New Jersey to Western Pennsylvania, was published in the American Magazine of History in 1842.

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PERRY TOWNSHIP.

Canon, who a few weeks ago returned from New York; the General wus pleased to order Col. Canon to let me have the whole of the Bottoms so called at my offer. The old farm con- tains abont 80 acres of improved upland and about 40 of the best kind of meadows, a bearing orchard of 120 apple and 100 peach trees, the buildings as good as most in this county, pretty well situated, and five other improved farms that at this time rent for £43 10s. I am accountable for the whole rent, which altogether is £60, so that I shall have the old place fnr Elf 108., to be paid either in money or wheat at 3x. per hu-hel.

" I considered that the land at the Miami settlement was rising fast, and that I had better pay this low rent for a well- improved farm than barter away my land at a low rate for land here. Land does not rise much in this place owing to the great emigration down the river. It seems as if people were crazy to get afloat on the Ohio. Many leave very good livings, set out for they koow not where, but too often find their mistake. I believe this us good as any of the settlements down the river for the presont. The Mississippi trade is open at this time, and all the wheat, whisky, bacon, etc., huying up by those concerned in it. The highest price for wheat is four shillings in trade, or three shillings nine pence cash, whisky three shillings cash, and bacon nine pence per pound cash. On the farm where I am going is as good a chance for u grist-mill as any in the whole forks, and a mill that can be set going for I believe fifty pounds, . and a number of years given for the repairs. I am in hopes of being able to set it going, as it will produce more grain than all the six farms on the tract. I am to have possession the first of April next, and flatter myself I have as good a chance as any person in my circumstances could expect. I shall have nothing to attend to hut my own private concerns. I think this way of life far preferable to any other. Richard Shrieve is to have one of the small farms. They contain of improved land as follows : One forty acres upland and five good meadows; one thirty-five acres upland and six good meadows; the other two twenty-five acres upland and five or six good meadows ; the whole in fences, they being the year before last renteil for repairs. Peggy Shrieve has a daughter. She and her husband have been very sickly this last fall, but have recovered. I am grandfather to another son. John and his wife are pretty well, as is our family at present, but except the measles, as it is in the school where our buys go. I hope you are well also.

" I am, with great respect and love, " Your Brother, ISRAEL 'SDRIEVE."

On the 31st of July, 1795, Gen. Washington, by his attorney, James Ross, of Pittsburgh, entered into articles of agreement to sell and convey in fee simple to Israel Shreve, for the consideration of four thou- sand pounds, sixteen hundred and forty-tour and a quarter aeres of land with allowance, consisting of the five surveys before mentioned, viz. : " Meadows," "Deer Range," "Crab-Tree Run," "Flatt," and "Spring Run," for which patents had been issued Washington Feb. 28, 1782. Gen. Washington died in 1799, never having conveyed the tracts under the articles of agreement to Col. Shreve,1 who also died in the same year.

1 At one time, not long before the death of Washington and Shreve, the former, notwithstanding his great wealth, having become somewhat straitened for money, pressed Shreve hard for payment on the laods, and cansed an execution to be issned against him, at the same time writing him a severe letter in reference to bis delinquency ; but at its close he relented, and said to bis old comrade of Treoton and Moomouth, " Not-

Nearly two years after Gen. Washington's death his executors, George Steptoe Washington and Sam- nel Lewis, constituted James Ross, of Pittsburgh, their lawful attorney, to convey the five tracts in pursuance of the agreement of July, 1795; and accordingly, on the 17th of June, 1802, Ross did so convey the prop- erty to the heirs of Israel Shreve.

Col. Shreve had four sons,-Henry, John, Samuel, and Israel, Jr. Henry was a civil engineer, and was employed by the government to clear the channel of the Red River in Louisiana. He finally settled on that river at the present town of Shreveport, which was named in his honor. John Shreve lived in what is now the township of Perry, and represented the distriet in the Assembly with John St. Clair and Col. Henry Heaton. Samuel Shreve settled in l'erry, and was one of the original proprietors of Perryopolis. Israel Shreve, Jr., also lived and died in Perry.

The heirs of Col. Shreve sold the greater part of the property purchased from Gen. Washington to Isaac Meason. In the division of the property after his death the Shreve homestead, containing one hun- dred and sixty-one acres, was set off to Mrs. Williams, of Greensburg, by whom it was sold to Caleb An- trim, a Quaker. He left it by will to his daughter Mary, Mrs. William Campbell, whose heirs sold it to the present owner, John Rice.

A tract of two hundred and thirty-six acres of the Washington lands was set off in the partition of the Meason estate to Alfred Meason. He sold to Benja- min Martin, who in turn sold in 1838 to Pierson Cope, who still occupies it. His father was one of the early settlers in Jefferson township, and he is himself one of the oldest living settlers of Perry.

Other purchasers of lands belonging to the original tracts of Gen. Washington were Isaac Sparks, one hundred and eighty-five acres; Ruel Sears, one hun- dred and fifty acres; and John Lloyd, one hundred and sixty acres. Of the latter, the heirs of Alexan- der Thom now own fifty acres. The tract of Isaac Sparks was purchased by James Fuller and John F. Martin, Jan. 19, 1831. James Fuller, of Dunlap's Creek, came to this township in 1817, and purchased two hundred acres of the Washington lands of the widow of Isaac Meason, and one hundred and fifty acres of Conrad Shultz, a merchant of Baltimore. He also purchased one hundred and twenty acres of Thomas Burns, it being a part of the Burns traet, which extended to the Youghiogheny River, and on which the Burns Ford was situated. David and John Fuller were two of the six sons of James Fuller.

withstanding what has been done, and in consideration of our ancient friendship, I give yon further indulgence. Take this letter to Col. Thomas Collins, sheriff of Fayette County, and it will operate as a stay of execution." Col. Shreve tunk the letter to the sheriff as directed ; further time was given, the payments were met (thongh with great dif- fienlty ) by Shreve, but both he and his great creditor passed from eartht leaving the transaction uncompleted and the lands still unconveyed. The letter referred to remained in the possession of Sheriff Collins aod his widow for many years.

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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

A tract lying directly south of the town plat of Perryopolis, and containing one hundred and seventy- two acres of the Washington lands, was sold June 13, 1802, to Joseph Sayre. Of this, fifty-one acres was sold in 1806 to John Baldus, who sold in 1810 to John Kubbs. On the 11th of May, 1815, it was con- veyed to Samuel Shreve, and on this was surveyed and laid out the outer tier of lots that was added to the town plat in 1815. The land comprising the original plat of the town was purchased before 1814 of George Meason by Samuel Shreve, Dr. Thomas Hersey, and Nathan Hersey.

The Washington Mill property passed to Powell Hough, and from him to John Strickler and Jacob Strawn. Strawn's heirs sold it to George Anderson, who repaired it in 1859, and later sold to Samuel Smith, in whose possession it still is. The site has been occupied by a mill in active operation for a period of one hundred and five years without inter- mission, except for a few years prior to 1790, during which it was out of repair and in disuse.

James Hunter and his wife, Eleanor, were among the owners of original tracts in this township, two hundred and seventy-six acres on Virgin Run being warranted to him, and three hundred and twenty-six

The place where Aaron Townsend now lives was acres to her, on the 19th of April, 1769. They were | owned fifty years ago by his father, Aaron Townsend,

residents of the city of Philadelphia, and he a land speculator. It was said of him that he could ride from Philadelphia to Lake Erie and sleep every night on his own land. He and his wife were in the habit of riding through the country together to visit his lands. Pierson Cope says he remembers that when he was a boy James Hunter and wife came together to the house of his father (who was Hunter's agent) in a private carriage, with a white man for a driver. This driver had heard of sugar-trees, and asked young Cope to show him one. This he did, but the man after examining the tree remarked that he saw no signs of sugar upon it, whereupon the lad explained at length (and munch to the driver's surprise) the process by which it was manufactured from the sap. Both the two tracts above mentioned became Mr. Hunter's property. He lived to a very advanced age, and in a codicil to his will (made Dec. 14, 1819) de- vised his lands in Perry township to his niece, Mrs. Eleanor H. Curwin. Afterwards the greater part of these lands were sold by Pierson Cope, as agent, to Obadialı Bowne, Sr., and John H. Blaney.

The Bowne tract was sold by order of court after ! the death of Mr. Bowne, Sr. The widow of Obadiah Bowne, Jr., had an interest of 8500 in the property by will if she married, and the whole of it if she re- mained single. She preferred matrimony, and in the course of time married James Blair, Jr., her manager. They bought in the farm, she paying one-half of the purchase-money and he the other half. Mrs. ; Blair by this last act helped to pay for the farm three times, -first, in assisting her husband in helping his father

pay for the place originally ; second, in paying off legacies under the will of Obadiah Bowne, Sr. ; and third, in the half-payment at the time of purchase by Mr. Blair.

The remainder of the Hunter tract was purchased by John H. Blaney, James Blair, Sr., John B. Blair, James Piersol, John Carr, John Hamilton, Samuel Johnson, and Ephraim Lynch. A brother of Eph- raim, Robert Lynch, was a blacksmith and an axe- maker. For a time he had a shop on the Israel Shreve farm, afterwards built on what is now the King farm. The coal to supply his forge was brought from Little Redstone. A few years later a vein of coal was found within a short distance of the forge.

The tract of land situated north of the Hunter tract, and running to the Youghiogheny River, contained over three hundred acres. Charles March became the possessor of the tract from the warrantee about 1790. It passed from him to his sons, John M. and James. The widow of the latter is now living on the place.

Christian Patterson became the owner of over one hundred acres of land before 1800. He sold to Ben- jamin Martin, who later conveyed it to Thomas Price, by whom the present brick house on the farm was built. The property now belongs to Mrs. Sutton.

Sr., who purchased of Joseph Radcliff. Freeman Cooper resides on a farm purchased by his father, Joel Cooper, of John Patterson.

Hugh Patterson is a son of James H. Patterson, of Franklin township. The latter purchased many years ago.

North of the Joseph Radcliff tract is land that for- merly belonged to Patrick Robinson, who left it by will to his wife. She conveyed it to Robinson Mur- phy and Samuel Watson, who both live on the place. Adjoining this last tract on the northwest is four hundred acres of land now owned by James Piersol, which was purchased by his father, William Piersol, before the commencement of the present century. Samuel, a brother of James, owned land adjoining, also a part of the land of his father. His son Levi now owns this, and has added considerably to it.

Benjamin, Sarah, and Elizabeth Powers, all ad- vanced in years, are old settlers, and live on an old homestead.

Thomas Cook, a native of Chester County, Pa., came to this township about 1800, and purchased over three hundred acres of land south of the Washington tract. He was a weaver and wheelwright, and forsook farming after a time and bought the John Follies mill on Big Redstone Creek, and resided there till his death. He had a number of children. John, a son, settled on Big Redstone Creek, and now owns the mill his father purchased years before. Rebecca, the daughter of Thomas Cook, married James D. Cope, the father of Eli and Pierson Cope. The farm of Thomas Cook was purchased by George Stickle, Pat-

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PERRY TOWNSHIP.

rick Watson, Josiah King, and David Jones, Josiah King, in addition to his original purchase, now owns part of the George Stickle farm.

A property lies in this section of the township for- merly owned by William Wallace, and now by John H. Patterson, that contains a fine vein of coal, which is the eastern outcrop of the Pittsburgh or Mononga- hela basin.

West of the Cook farm, adjoining the Jefferson township line, is a farm formerly owned by Samuel Brewer, whose son Henry now owns it. Adjoining this tract north lies a tract that many years ago was owned by John Negis. Later it was owned by Wil- liam Binns, by whom it was conveyed to William Price, who now owns it.

Jonathan Hewitt, a native of Ireland, came to this country in 1770, and in 1786 to this section. No ac- count is shown of purchase until Sept. 15, 1807, when he purchased of Thomas Barns one hundred and sixty acres of land, part of the tract which was patented Oct. 26, 1795. The children of Jonathan were Abel, Joseph, John, Elizabeth, Mary, and others who moved West. Abel lived on Washington Run, near the mouth, where he erected a saw-mill and carding-ma- chine. He died there, leaving a widow and large family, now scattered in the West. John Bradley now owns the Abel Hewitt property. In 1870, Brad- ley started the manufacture of fire-brick in the run, and later removed above Layton's Station, where he is still manufacturing.

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History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 160

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