USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 55
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 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88
Among the early settlers was Lewis (or Ludwig) Long, who settled in 1803 on the farm now owned by David McConnell. Mr. Long, at an early day, re- moved to the State of Ohio, but his sons, William, Michael, Daniel and John remained, and lived and died amid the scenes of their early exploits. They were all great lovers of the chase, the two former, especially, being hunters, of whose deeds of prowess and woodcraft a volume might be written. The tragic death of Daniel has already been noted. John was the other member of the family who was, for more than half a century, connected with the history of Pine Creek township. Though a farmer he was as fond as his brothers of hunting, and on one occasion, while on a bear hunt with his brother Michael and John Vasbinder, had quite an encounter with one of these animals. They had separated,-Mike, with the dogs, was on top of a ridge, the other two on the flat below him, when Vasbinder came across some bear cubs. He shot one, and the little thing cried out with pain, which brought its mother to the rescue. As she bounded past John Long, he called for Mike to let the dogs loose, and soon bear and dogs were rushing pell-mell down the hill. The infuriated animal was just reaching for Vasbinder's heels when he jumped over a large log, which the bear, not seeing, ran against, and by the time it recovered itself the dogs had hold of it, and the hunters soon dispatched the animal and saved Vasbinder's life.
Mr. Vasbinder lived to be an old man, but nothing could induce him to go bear hunting again. Another time, while camping out, John Long's dogs treed a bear, and he started with his rifle to shoot it. A trait in a bear is, that when pursued it will always run in the same direction, and to see to shoot it Mr. Long had to get between it and the rays of the moon; this always brought him in the way of the animal when he shot at it, which he did several times, that night. Once in getting out of its way, he lost his hat and the dog and bear, in one of their fights, trampled it into the snow, so that he never re- covered it. He finally succeeded in killing the huge beast.
A
PINE CREEK TOWNSHIP.
481
On one occasion, a friend of Mr. Long's, from Ohio, who was visiting him, wanted to see a wolf, and they went out in quest of one. Mr. Long could call them up by howling as they did, and soon had the satisfaction of showing his- friend a " big dog wolf," which the latter shot, but on going up to it he found that it was only slightly wounded. Mr. Long caught hold of it by the hind legs, and when it would snarl and turn around to bite, he would jerk it off the ground, his friend all the time trying to knock its brains out with the muzzle of his gun. The wolf snapped off his ramrod and left the marks of its teeth on the iron barrel of his gun, but finally he got in a blow that stunned the infuri- ated brute, and Mr. Long, letting go, grabbed up a pine knot and finished him. Mr. Long said he never liked to kill these old wolves, as they would bring a mate and rear their young upon the same ground, year after year, and up to the year 1858 he got cubs every year for which he was paid a bounty of ten dollars per scalp.
The hardest fight he ever had with a wild beast was with an otter, which he shot and wounded on the ice. After shooting it he ran up and caught it by the hind legs, when it flew around and tried to bite him, and the only way he had of killing it was to beat its brains out on the ice ; but the water was running over the ice, and he had to keep swinging it around his head and bringing it down on the ice, as he carefully made his way to the shore, when he dispatched it. At that time otter skins were worth twelve dollars apiece. There was nothing the hunters so feared as an encounter with a she bear or a wounded buck.
Mr. Long continued to hunt as long as his age permitted him. The farm upon which he resided for so long in this township is now owned and occupied by his son-in-law, Edward C. Shobert.
Among the earliest settlers in Pine Creek township were the Butlers,- David, Cyrus and Nathaniel. Their father, James Butler, was a native of Ver- mont, and died there in 1812, in the seventieth year of his age. He had served, during the Revolutionary War, in a cavalry regiment. His wife was Esther Wadsworth, niece of that Captain Wadsworth who so boldly saved the charter of the State of Connecticut, when it was demanded by Sir Edmund Andros, in 1685.1 Mrs. Butler died in Brookville, in the house recently torn down by C. C. Benscoter, esq. On her tombstone, in the "old grave-yard," is this in- scription : " Esther Butler, born in Hartford, Conn., December 25, 1759. Died June 29, 1840." She was an estimable woman, a worthy representative of the name she bore.
The Butler brothers came from their home in Connecticut, and after re-
1 " The lights were extinguished as if by accident ; and Captain Wadsworth, laying hold of the charter, disappeared with it before they could be rekindled. He conveyed it securely through the crowd, who opened to let him pass and closed their ranks as he proceeded, and deposited it in the hol- low of an ancient oak tree, which retained the precious deposit until the era of the English Revolu- tion."
-Goodrich's " History of America."
482
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
maining some time in the city of New York, made their way to Jefferson county. Cyrus located in Brookville and the other two in Pine Creek town- ship. David came to Pine Creek in 1816. He was employed on the Susque- hanna and Waterford turnpike, and as there were no white women in the neighborhood except the Barnett family, he was cook for the rest of the men employed on the section east of Port Barnett. The "Barnett girls," who baked the bread for the men, made a calico dress and cap and sent it to the pseudo cook, who donned the feminine garments, and while busily engaged at his unwonted task and habited in his unwonted garb, was accosted by a trav- eler with, "Madam, can you tell me where this road leads to?" "Yes ; this is the right road ; just follow the blaze on the trees," said " Madam," nervously, as he saw the stranger glance very suspiciously at the heavy cowhide shoes that showed below the rather short dress.
David Butler settled and cleared the farm upon which his son David and his mother and sister, Mrs. Chloe Wadsworth Hallet, now reside, building the present house about fifty-three years ago. He married Catharine Fey, of Clearfield county, who now, in the eighty-third year of her age, is the only one of those early settlers who yet remain. Mr. Butler died August 12, 1860. Of their eleven children a daughter died in infancy, and Colonel Cyrus Butler, the oldest son, was killed in Clearfield county during the war, (an account of which has already been given) ; the rest are all living. Mr. Butler was one of the first Methodists in Jefferson county,-one of the pioneers, as will be seen in a history of that denomination, and was a good citizen in every sense of the word. He also held several offices in Pine Creek township, being elected at the election held March 20, 1829, both supervisor and fence viewer.
Nathaniel, the youngest of the three brothers, on his arrival in this county, worked for a while on a saw-mill on the North Fork, situated about the head of the present mill dam of T. K. Litch & Sons. In 1827 he was married to Rebecca Barnett, daughter of Joseph Barnett, the first white child born in Jeffer- son county. He removed to the farm, upon which he resided until his death, in 1828. Mr. Butler was one of the foremost citizens in the county, and was ap- pointed county treasurer in 1841, and in 1830 was elected township auditor. Mrs. Butler died June 17, 1875. She was an excellent woman, and took great delight in recounting to the younger generation the history of the early days of the county, among which she was reared. She remembered the Indians well, and told of one poor squaw who sickened and died, and was buried near Port Barnett, telling how grateful the poor, dusky stranger was for the delicacies that she and her sisters carried to her during her illness. Nathaniel Butler died in March, 1878, being at the time seventy-eight years of age. His family consisted of five sons, three of whom, Samuel, James and Charles are living, all residents of this county.
In addition to those already mentioned there appears to have been the fol-
483
PINE CREEK TOWNSHIP.
lowing persons residents of the township, up to 1818 : Jacob Mason, Richard Van Camp, Freedom Stiles, George Reynolds, Henry Graham, William Brooks, James Potter, Henry Fey, Jesse Kelsey, Samuel Dixson, Elisha Dickes, William Lucas, James Monks, Benjamin Carson, Jacob McFadden, Samuel States, John Hice, Henry Lott, Joseph Clements, Charles Sutherland, Robert Dickson, Innis Van Camp, Frederick Frants, John Mason, George Evans, Robert Knox, William Hayns, Izrael Stiles, Hulett Smith, John Tem- pleton, Joseph Greenawalt, whose names all appear in the official records of the county.
Farms .- There are some good farms in Pine Creek, which have been re- claimed from the wilderness by hard work and sturdy blows by the pioneer settlers, and those who came after them.
One of the first that is reached on leaving Brookville, on the Ridgway road, is the old Mccullough place, settled by Joseph Mccullough. He was one of the first to settle in that neighborhood, and raised a large family of children, nearly all of whom settled in Jefferson county. This farm, now owned by John, and part by Harry Mccullough, sons of Joseph, are good farms, with good buildings. Next comes the farm first settled in 1803 by Lewis Long, and then owned by John Lattimer, who sold to Hamilton Moody, and which is now owned by David B. McConnell. This farm, which is one of the best in the township, with good buildings, formerly contained one hundred and thir- teen acres ; but since Mr. McConnell became its owner he has sold forty acres to Barton Hutchens. One of the features of this place is an excellent market garden of over an acre in extent. The land is all cleared, and in an excellent state of cultivation, except thirty acres of woodland.
The Nathaniel Butler farm, on which Mr. Butler settled in 1828, is now owned by Elijah H. McAninch. This farm contains about two hundred acres, all cleared. It is under good cultivation, and has good orchards. Mr. Mc- Aninch has erected good buildings, and much improved the property since it came into his possession. He raises some of the finest stock in the township.
Then we come to the place where Mr. Graham says " Fudge Van Camp built his cabin." This man, who was the first of the colored race to set his foot within the bounds of Jefferson county, that cold wintry day in 1800 when he and his companions almost perished by the way, seems to have been a provi- dent sort of a fellow, for it is recorded of him that he brought apple seeds with him and planted them upon this place from which was raised the first fruit ever grown in Jefferson county. This farm soon passed into the hands of Samuel Jones, a son of Peter Jones, and at his death became the property of John Clark, whose wife is a daughter of Mr. Jones. The farm originally contained two hundred and eighteen acres, but about twenty years ago it was divided, and Joshua Jones, a son of Samuel, became owner of one-half, Mr. Clark re- taining the old Jones homestead. The buildings are old, but in good repair.
484
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
These two farms are both good, and yield good crops of grain and hay, with good orchards of fine fruit.
The next farm is where William Vasbinder settled in 1802 or 1803, and which for many years has been known as the Kirkman homestead. Mr. Thomas Kirkman has sold it to his son-in-law, Charles Frost. This is an ex- cellent farm of over two hundred acres ; buildings good.
The Harris place, for a great many years the home of Thomas Harris, sr., was first settled in 1802 or 1803 by Adam Vasbinder. It is a good farm of eighty acres, well cultivated. James Harris purchased this farm of his father a year or two ago. Thomas Harris, now one of the oldest citizens of the county, was born at Clithero, Lancashire, England, June 29, 1805, and em- igrated to the United States in 1842, locating in Philadelphia in April of that year. The sea voyage consumed six weeks. Mr. Harris remained in Phila- delphia until 1849, when he removed to Brookville, where he lived two years, until he purchased the farm now owned by his son James. His wife, nee Ellen Whitaker, was also a native of England, and was born in Yorkshire October 22, 1806, and came to this country with her husband and family in 1842. She died on the farm in Pine Creek, January 17, 1878. Of their eight children John died in Brooklyn, N. Y., and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery; Mrs. Anna Fetzer resides in Greenville, Mercer county; Mrs. Mary McLain in Brookville; James on the old homestead ; Mrs. Sarah Kirkman in Brookville ; William in Ringgold ; Mrs. Ellen Carrier in Brookville ; and Thomas R. in Warsaw township. Mr. Harris now resides with his daughter, Mrs. McLain, in Brookville, and is in the eighty-third year of his age. In a grove of pines on this farm is an old grave-yard, where some of the old settlers were buried.
Just beyond the borough limits, on the " Creek road," is the place known as the " Cummins farm," where Dr. C. P. Cummins resided during his residence in Brookville, as pastor of the Presbyterian Church. It formerly belonged to William Jack, and is now owned by the children of Ira C. Fuller.
John S. Barr owns the next place in this vicinity. It is the place settled at an early date by John Roll, then owned by Peter Ostrander and David Mason. Mr. Barr, since he purchased the property, has greatly improved it, and it is now, with its good buildings and pretty lawn, one of the nicest farms in the township. Three large apple trees planted by Mr. Roll, are still living.
The Jacob Hoffman farm was first improved by Charles Sutherland. Mr. Hoffman, whose age will not allow of such active work as farming, has retired, and the farm is now in the hands of his sons, John and Ferdinand.
Parliament Hutchins owns the farm originally settled by Joseph McCul- lough. He has it under good cultivation, with excellent buildings.
The L. S. Geer place, now owned by A. L. and C. M. M. Geer, was or- iginally settled by Daniel Long, who was residing upon it when he was killed by the Greens in 1843.
485
PINE CREEK TOWNSHIP.
John Geer owns a good farm with good buildings, and in this neighbor- hood is to be found the farms of Wadsworth and Perry Butler, Jeremiah Oiler, John Alford, J. Dunham, Joshua and William D. Knapp, G. Wank, J. Miller, J. McMillen and Cornelius Stahlman. Mr. Stahlman owns a tract of timber land also in this part of the township. Henry Parker's farm adjoins that of John Clark, and is well improved, with good buildings.
Leaving Port Barnett by the pike going eastward, we first come to the farm of Oliver Brady, containing one hundred and fifty acres. It is one of the very best farms in the township, with good buildings. It is part of the Barnett property, and was first improved by Andrew Barnett. Mr. Brady has resided here since 1855. Adjoining this is the old Long place, already mentioned, then comes the Baum farm, first settled by a man named Talmadge, who sold to John Baum. It is now owned by Mrs. Joanna Baum. C. G. Baum, Mrs. Hatten and W. A. Andrews own small farms in this vicinity. William D. Kane, the present county treasurer, owns the farm improved by his uncle, Quinton O'Kain, in 1843. It contains ninety-five acres, the last of the orig- inal purchase of four hundred acres. Mr. Kane raises excellent fruit. George Ossewandle, sr., Andrew Ossewandle and George Ossewandle, jr., own farms in this neighborhood.
The "Mile Hill " property is one of the prettiest located places in the town- ship. It is just one mile west from Emerickville, and derives its name from the traveler being able to see all the road for that distance. It was originally a portion of the Jeremiah Parker lands, and then became the property of the Portland Land Company, who in turn sold three hundred and seventy acres, comprising this property, to Joseph E. Hall and E. H. Darrah, in June, 1857. It was heavily timbered with magnificent pine, which the new firm at once began operations upon. The first boarding-house was kept by Samuel Lyle, who was succeeded by Mrs. Julia Darling. In 1865 Joseph E. Hall sold his interest in the property to W. R. Darrah, and then E. H. Darrah sold the east half of the tract to Henry Buzzard, who resides upon it. W. R. Darrah sold his half to B. F. Taylor, who in 1887, disposed of it to Mrs. Hettie Haines.
Benewell Kroh owns one of the best farms in the township, upon which is one of the finest orchards to be found in the county. The George Ford place, on the Warsaw line, is also an excellent farm, with good buildings and excel- lent fruit. D. Mason and Henry J. Kroh own farms in this part of the town - ship. The Patrick Smith farm, that of William Ohls, and Joseph Stahlman, are all situated north of Five Mile Run.
West of Emerickville there is quite an area of waste land, so rugged and utterly unfit for cultivation that no one has ever been hardy enough to attempt to settle upon it. There is considerable unseated land in the township, the principal tract being the Sulger lands, which contains over three thousand acres. P. P. and H. W. Carrier, James Humphrey and Clark & Darrah are the prin- cipal owners of the rest of the unseated. 58
486
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
The first to settle in the vicinity of Emerickville was Isaac Packer, who located on what is now the Peter Baum place about 1830. He erected a log house and kept a hotel in primitive style. Henry Vasbinder was also one of the first to settle in this vicinity, on what is now the John Emerick farm.
The principal farms around Emerickville are: John Emerick's, which was cleared by Hance Vasbinder, then owned by John Emerick in 1834. Mr. Emerick has now twenty acres of this farm, and Emanuel Schuckers one hundred and twenty-four acres, upon which he has good buildings. The land is under excellent cultivation, and yields good crops of hay, oats, corn, etc.
E. Weiser farms fifty-eight acres, with good buildings thereon. It was cleared by Weiser and Jacob Weidner, in 1860. Good spring crops and a fine yield of hay are raised on this farm. Joseph Schuckers in 1882 purchased the farm originally cleared by Artemus W. Purdy. It was successively owned by Robert Darrah, John K. Smith, John Emerick, Charles Murphy and E. Schuckers. Mr. Schuckers has since he purchased it added to it sixty acres purchased from Sarah P. Moore in 1886. The improvements are good, and this is one of the best farms in the township. The James F. Moore farm, now owned by his daughter, Sarah P. Moore, was cleared by Mr. Moore about 1830. It is a good farm of over one hundred acres, with a good house. The William Moore farm, cleared and improved by Archibald McMurray, in 1840, and sold by him to James F. Moore, is also a good farm, with pretty good buildings. The James Murphy farm, now owned by Mrs. Susannah Emerick, was cleared and improved by Mr. Murphy in 1840. The farm of Joseph Zim- merman, first improved by his father, Joseph K. Zimmerman, who came to the place from Schuylkill county, in 1845, is a good farm with good buildings. George Zetler now owns the farm cleared in 1845 by David Ishman, who sold it to George Ossewandle. It is under excellent cultivation, with good build- ings. The John Cable farm, improved by Daniel Cable, the Gerson Doney farm first settled by John K. Smith, the farm of Mrs. Emeline Fails, the Levi Cable farm, the Milliron farm, the Ishman farms, August Huntzinger's place, and that of Perry Britton, are all in the neighborhood of Emerickville.
John Emerick, now in the eighty-fourth year of his age, came to this part of the township in 1847, and bought the farm originally improved by Hance Vasbinder. Mr. Emerick only owns a small portion of this place now. Sarah Emerick owns seventy acres and Henry Emerick forty-two. The farm im- proved and owned for a number of years by Jacob Kroh, which is one of the best in the county, is now known as the Peter Baum property. Izrael Snyder owns a good farm near Baum's.
All the farms in the vicinity of Emerickville are well tilled, and show thrift and good management on the part of the owners. The apple seeds planted by Fudge Van Camp, and the three trees that sprang up from seeds sown by his fellow-traveler, Roll, on the spot now occupied by Adam Miller, followed soon
487
PINE CREEK TOWNSHIP.
after by the fruit trees planted in the flat by the Barnetts, where James Hum- phrey's orchard now is, have yielded an hundred fold, for Pine Creek is famous for its excellent fruit; on all its farms where there is any pretense made in the way of living, are to be found good orchards and apples, pears, plums, cher- ries and grapes are raised in profusion, and of excellent varieties, while every hillside, woodland pasture and ravine furnish blackberries in luscious profusion.
The stock in Pine Creek is generally native or common, very few thorough- bred animals being found, John Clark, E. H. McAninch, David Butler and W. H. Miller being the only ones who have improved stock. Some fine Jersey cattle are to be found on their farms.
Geology of Pine Creek .- The most noticeable feature of the geological for- mation of Pine Creek township is the massiveness of the Homewood and Con- noquennessing sandstone. The former is extensively quarried for building purposes, and is found over fifty-five feet thick ; the latter, of a greyish white color, and micaceous, is found seventy feet thick in the cut at Garrisons; un- like the Homewood, it is irregularly bedded, and in weathering breaks into small fragments.
By some the first coal discovered in Pine Creek is said to have been dug out of a run on the Harry Mccullough place, by a colored man named Doug- lass, while it is also claimed that it was first found by David Butler, on his farm. The principal coal banks in the township are those of William Carberry (first opened by Nathaniel Butler). This vein is from 3' 2" to 3' 6" thick, with a hard slate roof, and fire-clay floor. The David McConnell bank is said to be 5' thick, with an upper seam from 2' to 3' thick. John Mccullough's, David Butler's and P. Hutchen's banks are about the same in size and quality as the others. The coal is the Brookville seam, and the coal is all of a fair quality, good for home consumption, but containing too much iron pyrites to make it of value for shipment.
The most extensive coal operations in Pine Creek were made a few years ago by the Jefferson and Rocky Bend Coal Companies and by Abel Fuller, in the vicinity of Fuller Station. These works were first opened about the year 1872, by Perkins & Co., of New York, on land owned by Lindsay Moore, part of the Holden tract. It was then purchased by Captain John M. Steck, of Brookville, and Corydon Karr, of New York, and was run by Adams & Moul- ton, of Buffalo, N. Y., for about two years, then leased to Elias Rodgers & Co., with Howard Nicholson, manager.
The coal first mined was bright, firm and black, and was analyzed by the Buffalo Gas Company, as follows : Gas, 9,000 cubic feet ; coke, 37 bushels ; candle power, 13.6. The coal was about 5' thick, and is pronounced by W. G. Platt in his geological report to be the Mercer upper coal. After getting the mine in good order, and admirably arranged for shipment, the coal was found to not realize the expectations formed by the outcrop, the bed being
488
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
found "faulty," and the coal hard to mine and yielding rather indifferent fuel, and the mine was abandoned. It is still owned by the Rocky Bend Company.
The Abel Fuller mine on the right bank of Sandy Lick was the same in every respect as that described above.
The Freeport lower coal is twice opened on the Reynoldsville road in the vicinity of Peter Baum's hotel, where it was found 5' thick.
There are very few exposures of limestone in the township, and it has not been used to any extent. Iron ore is found on the Joshua Knapp farm, but it has not been investigated.
Valuable deposits of excellent fire-clay are found in Pine Creek, along Sandy Lick. James L. Brown, of Brookville, made the first shipment of fire- clay from Jefferson county. In 1878 William French picked up, in the cut near the railroad at Bell Port, a substance resembling in texture a Turkish whetstone. He took a sample to James L. Brown, who pronounced it fire- clay. They then sunk a shaft on the hill at Bell Port, and were rewarded for their labors by going through a five-foot solid vein of fire- clay. Mr. Brown then purchased the property of Mr. Crawford and commenced develop- ments, and soon other discoveries were made, the result of which was a sale of a half-interest in the property to James Erskine, of Youngstown, O., and John McMath, of Clearfield. Improvements were made, giving the firm of Brown, Erskine & Co. capacity for mining and shipping twelve carloads of clay per week. New openings have been made and the firm is now shipping from three different mines. The clays vary in thickness from two to eleven feet. These deposits are very uncertain and limited to a small area. In the Bell Port mine there are four qualities of fire-clay. Experience alone determines their use. We give below an analysis, by Mr. McCreath, of Harrisburg, of their No. I hard clays, which, with proper mixtures and well manufactured fire-brick, finds a ready market for the steel trade :
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.