USA > Pennsylvania > Greene County > History of Greene County, Pa. : containing an outline of the state from 1682, until the formation of Washington County in 1781. History during 15 years of union. The Virginia and new state controversy--running of Mason's and Dixon's line--whiskey insurrection--history of churches, families, judges, senators, assembly-men, etc., etc. > Part 18
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
222
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
ness, thus giving assurance to the people of this vicinity that they shall not go unburied when they die, but on the contrary shall be decently laid in the tomb. This village also rejoices in the possession of a substantial brick school building, in which Prof. F. M. Nickeson teaches the small pupils in the forenoon and the larger scholars in the afternoon, and for the sake of variety he occasionally "teaches the young idea how to shoot, " and when this thing becomes monotonous, he varies the exer. cises and teaches the youngsters how to shout. I took dill- ner at the hotel of Warren Mankey, where as good a meal can be obtained on short notice as anywhere else that I know of in the country, and then he is content with a reasonable compen- sation, and does not resemble some other landlords, who seem anxious to have your bottom dollar now for fear you will never come again. Mrs. Elizabeth Mankey was a daughter of San :. uel Moninger, deceased. He was a brother to George, Henry, John, Ezekiel (Ake) and Jacob. These were sons of Jacob Moninger, whose parents emigrated from Ireland about a intui- dred years ago. These old people, like many in the day in which they lived, had their peculiarities, among which was this, that they did not put off all thoughts of death until it surprised them, but. on the contrary, knowing that it is appoint. ed unto all once to die, the old woman, long years before the leath of either of them, scutched, hackeled, spun and wove. then bleached, cut out and made a shroud a each for herself and her " dear old man, " and when their deaths occurred their lescendents and survivors wrapped them in their fine linen gal- ments and laid them in the grave. Mrs Mankey's mother was a daughter of James Fonner, of Fonner's Run, where he raises a large family, consisting of four sons and five daughters. Tle names of the former were William, James, Jr., Frederick and Philip ; the names of the daughters were Ineinda, Christens Eva, Elizabeth and Jane. The names of the old settlers whu
-
223
HISTOR& OF GREENE COUNTY.
surrounded this town of Nineveh when its first house was erect- ed were partly as follows : Jesse Carter, who was of a family part of which now resides in Buffalo township, Washington county, Pa .; Jacob Mankey, who had five brothers, viz. : Eli, John, Isaac, George and Michael. Peter Mankey (their father), emigrated from Eastern Pennsylvania early in the present cen- fury, and was of German descent. Another old settler, imme- diately below this town, was Edward Barker, who was con- nected with a large family, of whom I could gain no informa- tion as to the survivors, except Lewis, who married a daughter of old General Dickerson, and now resides in Washington, Pa. George Lightner resided in this immediate vicinity forty years ago. He was a son of Henry Lightner, who came here from New Jersey some eighty years ago. Another old settler in this vicinity was Christopher Wolf. His son, George, settled on the old Iams farm upwards of thirty years ago. His wife was ¿ daughter of John (Johnny) Day of Washington county ; she still lives a short distance above Nineveh. The original stock came from New Jersey. Amnos Day, my informant, is of the extensive stock of Days "whom no man can number," who are so thickly strewn along the line of the two counties partly in Greene and partly in Washington. The brothers of Anos still surviving are Frank and Hiram. Their father's name was William, who resided within a few feet of the county linc. John Shape, Micheal Shape, Abraham Clutter and John Riley. are said to have made up the remainder of the cordon of old , settlers by whom this locality was surrounded forty years ago. Just outside of this circle, I find Cephas Day, who is a living illustration of the truth of the Scriptural declaration that "the hand of the diligent maketh rich." He purchased large quanti- ties of land many years ago, while it was cheap. He has care- fully and diligently improved it until it has become valuable. A great part of this improvement has been made by keeping
221
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
large numbers of sheep that are the most diligent of all agen- cies in subduing sprouts and briers and inducing abundance of natural grass by the fertilizers they leave on the top of the highest hills just where it is needed most. Mr. Day has been a very successful wool grower for many years. He is also an elder in the .Cumberland Presbyterian church of Nineveh. Mrs. Amos Day is a daughter of John Jennings, Sr., and was born and raised near the county line, near the Jennings school house. She is a sister of John Jennings, Jr., who now resides in the brick house on the State road, one and a half miles east of Jacksonville, Richhill township, Greene county, Pa.
A few evenings ago I met Peter Shape, Jr., at Deer Lick station. From him I received a history of his ancestors who settled near the present site of Nineveh fully eighty years ago, as follows: John Peter Shape was the father of John, Jr., George, Michael and Jacob. He had also three daughters .. Catharine married Samuel Horn, Elizabeth married Samuel Mccullough, Polly married John Horn. The children of John Shape, Jr., were Peter, Resin, George, William, Stephen, Katy, Polly, Julia, Betsey, Debby, Jennie and Minerva. These peu- pie, as their names indicate, arc of German descent. Their ancestor resided for a short time in Eastern Pennsylvania pre. vious to his emigration to Greene county.
At the same place I met Cephas Baldwin, whom I have known for the last twenty-five years, who gave me some ac- count of the Brooks family, to one of whom he is at present married, as follows : Enoch Brooks settled at the head of Fonner's Run fully sixty years ago. He had four sons-Henry, William, Cephas and Enoch. Two of them were in the Union army during the late war. Old Mr. Brooks also had three daughters-Esther, Judith, (the wife of Mr. Baldwin) and Lydia.
At the same place I also met A. J. Barker, a son of George
225
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Barker, who informed me his grand-father, Edward Barker, set- tled on the old homestead at Nineveh in 1802 ; also that his aunt Lucy Baker had married N. K. Lightner. He informed me of a sad affair that took place at the old Pettit mill, a short dis- tance from Deer Lick. A young man named Sylvester Cary, son of Abel Cary, was at work in this mill, when he was caught by a revolving shaft, drawn in and hurled around until almost divested of his clothing, scalp, &e., and was crushed to death. Soon after this calamity the dam was swept away by a flood. The old mill house can be seen at Swartz's Station as a memento of the past and as a reminder of the misfortunes of many that: were once connected with it.
A VISIT TO AN OLD GRAVEYARD .- During the summer of 1882, I arrived at Deer Lick, a station on the Waynesburg & Washington Railroad. Finding I would have to wait two hours for a train, I walked to West Union Church, situated in Greene county near the dividing line between this and Wash- ington county. This church is in connection with the Cumber- land Presbyterian denomination, and was organized about the year 1832, soon after the missionaries, as they were called, ar- rived in this section of country. I was anxious to stand by the grave of my old friend, Wm. Stockdale, who, I suppose, was buried here. But I sought in vain for his name on the numer- ous head stones and monuments in that city of the dead. Yet I found many names of persons I once had known in the prime of life, which led my thoughts in a multitude of directions in a few minutes. The first was the name of Mrs. Sophia N. Hack- ney, who died January 24, 1866. This lady I had known as Miss Sophia Neeland in Fayette county in 1851-55, a daugh- ter of John Neeland who resided in Luzern township, near Hiestresburg, in what was usually called the Bend of the river. I had never heard of her death until I saw it on the "cold mar- ble." Another name was that of Rev. George Mattocks. This
15
226
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
young man was almost a graduate of Waynesburg college, a kind, obliging, pleasant youth, of considerable promise, who after he was licensed to preach, went on a tour in the service of the Christian commision. Soon after his return he fell a vic- tim to disease which ended his earthly career in 1864. Going a step further, I read the name John Mattocks, once an elder in this church, with whom I was once acquainted. He died very suddenly in the prime of his life. On the largest monument in the enclosure was the name of Timothy Ross, who I believe was the father of Benjamin Ross. On the headstone of John Mattocks I saw an old ambrotype likeness which although it has occupied that nitch for over twenty years it is still a strik- ing likeness of the deceased. Going on through this city of the dead, I found the names of Rachel Dunn, Joseph Dunn, Daniel Dunn. I also found the grave of Walter Robertson, as strange a piece of humanity as I ever knew and yet it is admitted on all hands that he was a good man; and if so, his strangeness all departed before reaching that happy land. A step or two fur- ther brought me beside a head stone where I read the name Wmn. Robertson. I knew a Rev. Wm. Robertson. Could this be he ? was the question that presented itself to my mind. I had no means of deciding and passed on to examine the graves of Stephen McVay, Silas McVay and others. Desiring other in- formation I called on old Mr. Meeks, immediately below the church, when I was informed that Wm. Stockdale and wife were burried at the Presbyterian church of Upper Tenmile, with which they were connected before the coming of Cum- berland Presbyterians to Western Pennsylvania. Indeed Mr. Stockdale was one of the four men who signed the letter of in- vitation requesting missionaries to be sent to this region of country. Still seeking further information, I proceeded to the house of Daniel Loughman, Sr., who resides within a few feet of the county line. His spring of water is one of the largest and
227
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
best, in the bounds of my knowledge, supplying the wants of his family, quenching the thirst of multitudes of horses and cattle that resort to the large trough by the side of the road; also filling to overflowing the water tank of the Waynesburg & Washington railroad. Mr. Loughman's wife was Miss Rachel Stagner, of German descent, who was born in the State of Maryland forty miles from Baltimore, from which place she came to live at the big spring, right on the edge of Greene county. .
FIRST WHITE CHILD BORN IN THIS COUNTY .- While such di- versity of opinion exists with reference to the question who was the first permanent white settler in Greene county, I might introduce another question, that may possibly present an equal variety of opinions, and that is who was the first white child horn on the territory of this county ? I answer this question by saying that the strong probability is that Abraham Armstrong is entitled to this distinction as his father John Armstrong was one of the very first men who settled on Muddy creek in 1.6: before the Indian title had been extinguished by the treaty of Fort Stanwix. This first child Abraham was born in a tem- ;orary log hut soon after their arrival. The original John Armstrong seems to have been a man of considerable means and soon proceeded to erect a hewed log house, the first in the county, in which his remaining nine children were born. This house was undoubtedly the most commodious in the settlement and in consequence of this was selected as the place in which the afterwards renowned Dr. MeMillian preached in the month of August, 1775. This old house stood until a few years ago, when it was superseded by an elegant and permanent mansion house in which the present Joseph H. Armstrong and his fam- ily still reside. Mrs. Armstrong, the lady of this house, is a grand-daughter of James Flenniken who settled in this imme- diate neighborhood between 1767 and 1770 in company with the
228
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Swans, VanMeters, Hughes, etc. This hillside farm now con- tains one hundred and twenty five acres and is situated in Cum- berland township.
On the 31st of May I was introduced to Daniel B. Jacobs, who at my request furnished me with a few items of the history of himself and family, as follows : He was born in the State of Maryland, on the exact location now occupied by the Loconing Iron Works, in 1809. When but two years of age his father removed to a farm now owned by Jessie Lazear re- cently owned by the late Armstrong Grim, on the Thomas fork of Wheeling Creek, about two miles above Ryerson's Sta- tion, near the spot where the Davis family was murdered by the Indians. Here as a boy Mr. Jacobs early met and com- bated the stern realities and hardships of frontier life, abound- ing in adventures, privations and trials too tedions to enumer. ate. One of his hair-breadth escapes was as follows: One even- ing while he and his little sister were hunting the cows, they had wandered a long distance into the forest, when the doy that accompanied them began to act strangely, now sniffing the air, now uttering a low whine, then raising his bristles to a ful. roach on his back, then running among the feet of the children until it was with difficulty they could proceed, until coming to an open place in the bushes they were horrified at the sight of a large panther with snarling teeth and arched back, lashing his sides with his tail, as though about to spring upon thenr. but the presence of the dog evidently caused him to hesitate With great presence of mind the children stood their ground, while the dog, although trembling in every limb, showed no signs of retreat, but like the frightened youngsters stood look- ing the savage beast in the face, until that Divine declaration "the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth," was verified and the panther sullenly retired over awed by the human gaze, although it came from the faces of
229
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY,
two half grown children. Mr. Jacobs, although he began poor, is one of those men who verify the truth of Solomons declara- tion that the hand of the diligent maketh rich. In 1837, he removed to lands. of Francis Gray on Archer's Run, and from thence to the four mile bridge near the site of the old Round school house. Two of his sons Francis and William own and occupy farms on the head waters of South Tenmile, near the line between Richhill and Center townships. His son Henry owns two farms usually called the McCracken and the Huston farm. ITis son Warren D. Jacobs still resides with his father four miles below Waynesburg, while his only daughter, Nancy 's the wife of John N. Loar and landlady of the hotel at Graysville, known far and near as the Brick. Mr. Jacobs seems to have and always had a rein of dry humor about him that sometimes rendered him a kind of a practical joker, as the fol- lowing will illustrate: IIe at one time had the misfortune of. being compelled to live beside one of those men who might be justly denominated a "bad neighbor." As this man's fences were exceedingly bad, of course his stock soon became 'breachy' especially one large black mare which seemed to delight in trespassing on the premises of Mr. Jacobs, eating his grow- ing corn, wallowing down his grass, wheat, etc. In vain he plead with his neighbor to keep her away, or at least to put a yoke on her, but all to no purpose, except that the man one day in insolent anger exclaimed, "yoke her yourself if you want her yoked." Mr. Jacobs replied "well, then I will.' This declara- tion gave the neighbor no uneasiness as he knew an ordinary yoke would have no restraining effect upon her. But Mr. Jacobs knew "a thing worth two of that." He quietly caught the mare, led her into the woods, where he selected a small hickory sap- ling, shaved it off smoothly, bent it over in the shape of a yoke fastened it around her neck, and, after furnishing her with an abundant supply of grass, departed, leaving the hickory bush
.
230
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY,
of which the yoke was made, still growing in the ground. After long hunting the neighbor found his mare; he was very indig- nant, and talked loudly about whipping the man who had so successfully yoked the mare. However two considerations restrained him; first, he ordered Mr. Jacobs to do it ; secondly, there was something in the appearance of the broad shoulders and brawny arms of Mr. Jacob's which seemed to intimate that prudence was probably "the better part of valor."
Near the western line of Richhill townhip still resides James Dailey who was born in Trumble county, Ohio, in 1801, where he remained for fifteen years among surroundings that were common at that day on all the extreme frontiers of civilization. Wild animals in abundance roamed through the unbroken for- ersts, and were hunted by the settlers for the double purpose of obtaining the flesh for food and ridding the country of their dep- redations. One of these hunts is remembered by Mr. Dailey. He was a boy of some ten summers. His father came in one morning, saying there were bear signs just back of the barn. Taking down the trusty rifle from the buck horn hooks, he di- rected his son to follow him, which he did for considerable dis- tance without seeing the object of their search. His father .called out "stop ;" and almost immediately the report of the gun was heard; and as yet the boy had seen no living object. The father dropped his gun, and ran forward with his hunting knife to bleed his victim which proved to be a young female bear. The wounded animal commenced a most piteous cry. closely resembling those of a young girl. The boy supposed they were the cries of a girl, and they would both be arrested for murder. He commenced running with all possible speed. through the woods, in an opposite direction from home. When his father discovered this he gave chase, overtook and brought back the boy, whose fears were only removed by seeing that it was really a bear, and not a girl that was shot. In 1816,
231
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
old Mr. Dailey left the Western Reserve and removed to Washington county, where he was married to Miss Rebecca Applegate, near Williamsport (Monongahela City.) They re- moved to Greene county in 1847. These persons were the pa- rents of thirteen children, all but two of whom grew up to adult age. Their names were Calvin, Robert, Mary, Sarah, John, James, Elizabeth, Susanna, Rebecca, Elisha and William of these Elisha, Sarah and John reside in Greene county, Pa., while Robert is in Idaho.
I have been favored by my old friend Rev. John McClintock, pastor of New Providence Church, with a history of the con- gregation over which he has so long presided, and of the peo- ple to which he has so long ministered. This church has been known by three names ; first, as "Muddy Creek," because situ- ated on the waters of the stream, and in accordance with a custom among the Scotch-Irish fathers of naming their churches after the waters on which they were situated. Hence the older churches in Fayette, Washington and Greene counties were Dunlap's Creek, George's Creek, Mingo Creek, Pigeon Creek, Raccoon, Chartiers, Miller's Run, etc. This old church was also known as the "Glades," in consequence of being situated on the verge of a smooth, level tract of land on which the wa- ter stood to that extent that the large timber died ont, and in its place there grew up a tangle of hazle bushes, alders, etc. This was the "Glade." How it come to be called New Provi- dence I am not informed, but suppose it was a name-sake of some church that might be denominated "Old Providence," or perhaps the fathers had reference to some special act of Di- vine Providence that they wished to commemorate. Be this as it may this church has a history almost coval with the his- tory of the territory that now constitutes the county of Greene. For in the year 1770 William Crawford is said to have become a resident of this immediate vicinity, Jesse VanMeter, James
232
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Hughes and Charles Swan having arrived the year before. Mr. Crawford's wife was a daughter of David Kennedy, of Cham- bersburg, Pa., who was a Presbyterian of the old Scotch-Irish stamp, and was not disposed to adopt the maxim, "When you are in Rome do as Rome does ;" but who, on the contrary, al- ways carried their religion with them, and the more fiercely their opinions were assailed the more brilliant the flame of their devotion grew. The organization of this church, like many others at that early day, was no doubt effected without formal- ity, and consequently the exact date cannot now be ascertained. But it was undoubtedly previous to 1789, for at that date we find this church uniting in a call with the South Fork of Ten- mile (Jefforson) for the ministerial labors of Rev. James Hughes, which call he declined to accept. It is evident from the Presbyterial records that supplies had previously been sent to this church-Rev. James Powers one day; Rev. John Mc- Millin preached his second sermon west of the mountains, at the house of John Armstrong, one of the first, Elders in this church. This sermon was delivered in the month of Au- gust, 1775. McMillin's first western discourse was delivered a day or two before at the Log Cabin Church, near New Geneva, Fayette county, which church was called "Mount Moriah." The names of Revs. Thaddeus Dodd, James Dunlap, Joseph Patterson and John Brice, appear on the minutes of the old Presbytery of Redstone, as occasional supplies. From Septem- ber 1789 until 1790 these people were supplied with preach- ing by Revs. James Dunlap and James Hughes ; also by three young men who were licentiates, viz : John McPherrin, John Brice and Robert Marshall. About this time Rev. Robert Finley from North Carolina, was employed as a stated supply. In the year 1791 Rev. Jacob Jennings was appointed to sup- ply this church part of his time, up to April, 1792, at which! date New Providence and Dunlap's Creek Churches were uni-
233
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
led as a pastoral charge under the care of. Rev. Jennings, who was descended from the pilgrims who came over in the May- flower. He, himself, was born in New Jersey, where, after re- ceiving a liberal education (for that day) practiced medicine for about twenty years, when he became a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, from which he afterwards changed his ecclesiastical connection and became a member of the Pres- bytery of Redstone, in connection with the Presbyterian Church. His sons were Obediah, Kennedy, Ebenezer and Jonathan, the first-named being, for many years, a member of the Lar at Washington, and afterwards a prominent minister in the P'iesb, tery of Ohio, which was formed by the Synod of Virginia in 1793, embracing all the territory west of the Mon- ongahela river, with all the Presbyterian ministers located upon i , which, as will be seen, embraced the congregation and min- ister of New Providence. In October, 1798, permission was . given to this church to unite with George's Creek and Tent Churches in presenting a call to Rev. James Adams, which was accepted, and Mr. Adams was ordained and installed as pastor of these three churches on the 16th of October, 1799 In consequence of the intervening river that was often impass- able, Mr. Adams was released from the care of the New Prov- idence Church at the expiration of two and a half years. Hc continued his labors on the eastern side of the Monongahela up to 1814, when he was dismissed from his charge, after hav- ing served George's Creek, nine years ; Tent, fourteen years, and Sandy Creek, eleven years, Personally, I am somewhat funiliar with the history of Revs. Jennings and Adams, al- through I have never seen either on of them, but have seen both their widows. When I was brought to Dunlap's Creek in 1328, George M. French was just about removing from the old Dr. Jenning's farm, near Meritstown, to make room for Col James C. Simonson, and right there and right then I saw old
234.
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
Mrs. Jennings. When we removed to George's Creek in 1829, among the first calls my aunt received was one from Mrs. Bath- sheba McClelland, wife of General Alexander McClelland, who was accompanied by Mrs. Adams, widow of Rev. Adams, deceased. October 20th, 1802, New Providence Church uni- ted with the church at Jefferson in asking for the services of Rev. Cephas Dodd as stated supply for one year. Again on the 19th of October, 1803, Mr. Dodd is appointed to supply the churches of New Providence, Jefferson and Ruff's Creek, the whole of his time, until the next meeting of Presbytery, when an order was passed for his ordination. Soon after his settlement over these churches Mr. Dodd was united in mar- riage with Miss Ruth Flenniken, daughter of James Flenniken, one of the first ruling Elders in this church. This woman and her husband I have seen, and also their children, Dr. Thaddeus, Dr. Elias, and two daughters-the wives of William Llewellyn and Dr. S. S. Strouse. A call was presented to Presbytery un the 20th of October, 1807, from the united congregations of New Providence and Jefferson for the labors of Mr. Moses Allen, who was ordained and installed on the 24th of the De- vember following, and seems to have served until 1817. The next minister at this church was Rev. Boyd Mercer, who was appointed stated supply for one year. October, 1820, this church united with Jefferson in securing the labors of Rev. George VanEmon as stated supply, which application was changed on the 18th of April, 1821, into a call, which was ac- cepted, and he was installed on the last Monday of September, 1821. This relation continued for fourteen and a half years. I have seen this man frequently and heard him preach : Init alas ! his messages have all been like the seed sown by the wayside, except the little incident recorded in the second chapter of this history. In October, 1835, Rev. James Baker was chosen as stated supply for two years. This man I seen
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.