History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 40

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650

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In 1794 John Sutton employed William Ellis, the deputy surveyor, to lay out a town on his tract, which he called Newberry. A draft is recorded in the front part. of Deed Book VIII, showing the lots, streets, and alleys. In a certificate Sutton declares that the plan is according to his " original proposition containing his pro- posals to adventurers and settlers in his said town," and then adds in a postscript. that "the two main streets-Market and Diamond-are fifty feet, and the street round the town thirty feet, and the alleys sixteen feet wide." He commenced the sale of lots at once. September 3, 1795, he sold one to William Ellis for £15, and on the 16th of August, 1796, one to Flavel Roan for the same price. The sales of other lots are also recorded, showing that he did a fair business for the time.

The first tavern opened in Newberry was by George Slone in 1795. It is now known as the Oberfell place. In those days it was a popular place of resort and was frequented by the prominent men of the time. Slone's old account book shows. many curious entries. A "gill" cost 52d, and there are many charges of this kind. The old tavern was accidentally burned in 1817, but the neighbors felt the loss so severely that they all turned in and assisted in rebuilding it.

JAYSBURG.

Lying immediately south of Newberry was the town of Jaysburg. The first set- tler was Joseph Haines, about 1773, who made some improvements. After the land was acquired from the Indians William Paul made application for a tract. His war- rant, which was dated October 26, 1785, granted him " district No. 1 of the New Purchase," and named the tract "Pleasant Grove." Paul sold his land to Abraham Latcha, December 1, 1787; after his death his eldest son Jacob purchased the claims of the other heirs and had a town laid out early in the year 1795 by William Ellis, and named it Jaysburg. Although it was not as old as Newberry, it imme- diately boomed ahead in anticipation of becoming the county seat. The lots were arrauged with a frontage of fifty-two feet and a depth of 208, on streets named Water, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth, running east and west; with Market and Queen running north and south. The alleys were named Church, Rising, Pine, Court, Strawberry, and Spruce. Lots were sold, £15 and £20 being the ruling price, and buildings hastily erected. For a few years the outlook was very encour- aging. John Dunlap opened a tavern, shops and stores were started, and every- body expected Jaysburg would be selected for the county seat. On the 13th of Au- gust, 1796, Latcha sold a lot for 55s to John Cummings and John Stewart, trustees, for an English school house to be erected thereon. Rooms for a. jail and court house were provided and the judicial machinery was set in motion.

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

But when the commissioners selected Williamsport as the place for the county seat Jaysburg immediately went into decline and soon passed away.

WILLIAMSPORT LAID OUT.

No one was more anxious for the county seat being located east of Lycoming creek than the Hepburu brothers, who owned the Mount Joy and Deer Park lands. They felt that it would greatly appreciate the value of their properties and they were not mistaken, although neither of them lived to witness the great improvements that followed. Judge Hepburn manifested the deepest interest in the scheme and urged Michael Ross to have a town laid out as speedily as possible. James Hep- burn lived at Northumberland and was engaged in the mercantile business. In April, 1794, the firm was Hepburn & Cowden, but it dissolved June 4th of the same year, both continuing business individually. James Hepburn died, January 14, 1817, in the seveutieth year of his age. Ross did not delay a moment. He employed William Ellis and Joseph Williams to lay out the town in 1795. It is not positively known what influences were brought to bear on the commissioners appointed by the Governor to select Williamsport as the county seat, but tradition says it was openly charged that lots in the new town were conveyed to them, or their friends, for making the selection. That there was some trickery in this business there is little doubt, and Jaysburg was beaten.

The original plot of the town was a rectangular figure containing 111 acres and divided into 302 lots, with streets and alleys crossing each other at right angles. A public square, according to English custom, was set aside in the center, and it has remained to the present day. Both Newberry and Jaysburg were laid out first, but Williamsport, the youngest, won the honors. One of the surveyors was the grand- father of S. N. Williams, a well known business man of to-day, and his name is per- petuated by a street which passes the jail on the west side. The original bounding lines may be more clearly understood by making them correspond with modern names as follows:

All the river front between Water street ( now Front street ) and low water mark, West street from Front to Fourth and Hepburn, to Hartman alley, thence to Market street, thence to the line of the present Philadelphia and Erie railroad, thence to East alley, thence to Fourth street, thence to Academy street, thence to Front street, aud thence to the place of beginning.

Michael Ross evidently attached great importance to the river front, for in his deeds he reserved all "fisheries and ferries" unto himself; and it is an important fact that all the land between Front street and the river belongs to his heirs to-day.

The first sale of lots, which took place on the 4th of July, 1796, was made the occasion for a public demonstration and an ox-roast. It is likely that speeches were also made, for the fact of securing the county seat would certainly warrant a display of eloquence to assist in commemorating the event on our uatal day. A large number of lots appear to have been sold, as the following abstracts from the deed books will show:

Michael Ross, gentleman, to John Adlum, July 4, 1796, lots Nos. 182 and 183, for £50, size 104 by 208 feet, on East Third street and East alley.

Also lots Nos. 288 and 289, Third street and North alley; also lots Nos. 195 and 196, on west side of East alley and Tom alley.

On same day lot No. 61, for £37 10s, on Pine street and River alley and Center alley; also on same day lot No. 10, for £50, to John Courson, on Front street and River alley.

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WILLIAMSPORT.

Also on same day to William Hepburn, Esq., for £182 10s, the following lots in Will- iamsport ; Nos. 25 and 26, on Front and Market streets and River alley; also two other lots on the north side of the Diamond and Tom alley, numbered 186, 187.

Also on the same day lot No. 65, for £37 10s, on the south side of Second street, to John Titsworth.

Also on the same day lot No. 13, for £50, to John Kidd, Front street and Pine alley.

Also on the same day lots Nos. 15 and 16, at Front and Pine streets, to Evan R. Evans of Sunbury for £100.

The sale of other lots followed in rapid succession. It has already been shown when the lots for the public buildings were sold and the peculiar circumstances sur- rounding the transaction.

ADDITIONS TO THE TOWN PLAT.

There have been many additions of territory since the borough and city were erected. The first was by Thomas Grant in 1815. His land lay east of the Michael Ross farm. Soon after this Andrew D. Hepburn laid out a few lots west of Hep- burn street, and called his addition " West Williamsport." Iu 1833 Jerry Church made an addition east of Academy street. An extensive addition east of Church's was made by John F. Cowen in 1850, and another by Lloyd & Updegraff, north of Church's and west of Cowen's. Among the important additions since that date have been J. and M. DuBois's, 1852; the Woodward, Vanderbelt, Hughes, Maynard, and Willard additions, 1853; the Scoville, Gilbert, Ross, Fleming, and Anthony additions, 1854; the Campbell and Armstrong additions, by Peter Herdic, 1855 and 1865, and the Hepburn, Maynard, and Woodward additions at various dates; Young- man's addition, 1858; Thompson's additions, 1867 and 1869, and the Watson addi- tion, by Peter Herdic in 1873.

Vallamont is a new suburban district on the northern limits of the city, which was given to it by Hon. H. C. McCormick. A syndicate of gentlemen purchased the farm belonging to the heirs of Hezekiah B. Packer in 1890 and laid it out in lots and drive ways as an addition to the city. A portion of the ground extends up the hill to the summit, affording a very fine view of the city and valley. Fine drive ways have been built aloug the side of the hill and over the summit, and the grounds, which are timbered, have been cleared of underbrush, making the groves very attractive to visitors and picnic parties. Neat cottage residences will be built on the most eligible sites, and other improvements made, which will make Valla- mont a very desirable place. The grounds of the Athletic Association are near by, where base ball and other sports are indulged in.

MICHAEL ROSS.

Although Michael Ross was the founder of Williamsport, comparatively little is known of his origin. It is claimed that he was living in Philadelphia in 1772 with his mother; that on the 11th of April of that year he and his mother entered into a written agreement with Samuel Wallis to accompany him to Muncy Farms. There he served until 1779, when he was in his twentieth year. Wallis owned large bodies of land, and Ross became a surveyor's assistant. At the close of his agree- ment Wallis gave him a high recommendation in writing and 100 acres of land, which probably was the foundation of his future fortune.

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

Mrs. Ross came with her son to the West Branch valley and died within the city limits. No papers or records have ever been found to show who the father of Michael Ross was-the boy who was destined to found a town in the New World. That he was born in Europe seems to be the opinion of his descendants, but whether his mother came as a "redemptioner" to this country is unknown. His name indicates Scotch origin, and his mother was probably German.

After acquiring the tract of 280 acres from William Winter, on which the town was afterwards laid out, Ross found it necessary to locate here. He found a log house or cabin, which had been abandoned by a squatter, on the site of the present residence of L. L. Stearns, which he occupied for several years, or until about 1800, when he built a two-story brick house, which stood on the site of the present resi- dence of J. V. Brown, East Third street. This was the second or third brick house in the new town, and it was deemed meet and proper that the proprietor should own and occupy such a mansion.

The wife of Michael Ross was Anne, daughter of Christian Courson, whom he mar- ried about 1793. They had two sons and three daughters. Michael Ross, the father, died June 20, 1819, in the sixtieth year of his age; Anne his wife, July 31, 1818, in her fifty-fifth year. William, the eldest son, died unmarried, December 23, 1818, in his twenty-fourth year, and soon after he had graduated at a medical college as a physician; John, the second son, also unmarried, died July 6, 1833, in his thirty-seventh year. Of the daughters, Elizabeth, the eldest, married Peter Wykoff Vanderbelt, and died July 3, 1828, in her thirty-seventh year; Margaret, the second, married James H. Huling, and was instantly killed by a locomotive while she was crossing the Philadelphia and Erie railroad track at Market street, Will- iamsport, July 25, 1872. She was eighty years old; Anna, the third, married Maj. Charles Low, and died, January 30, 1882, in her eighty-second year.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME.

There has always been a difference of opinion between the descendants of Michael Ross and William Hepburn regarding the origin of the name of Williams- port, and much has been said and written on the subject without a satisfactory con- clusion. Without attempting to settle this annoying question, we offer the following remarks by Joseph H. McMinn, who has given the matter a great deal of thought- ful consideration, as the best statement of the theories that are offered, leaving the reader to take his choice as he may be impressed by the force of the narrative:

Michael Ross could not help being familiar with the long cherished scheme of the State authorities, for opening a channel for inland navigation to connect the eastern and western waters of the State by way of the Susquehanna river. The survey was made in 1790 by William Maclay, John Adlum, and Timothy Matlack, who made a voluminous report which was after- wards published by the State. No actual work was ever done excepting with occasional appro- priations when some rocks were blasted out to allow the passage of arks and keel boats, until the fact was recognized that it could not be made a navigable river, after which the Pennsyl- vania canal was undertaken to accomplish the object by slack water navigation.

But Michael Ross lived before these latter day developments, and was a firm believer in the navigation of the river, so that he naturally expected to see his town become a United States port of entry, and this sentiment was voiced in the familiar name given the village, "the Port," its earliest recorded name; and it may be here stated that for years after the prefix Will- iam was used, the name was written William's Port, as two words and with capitals.

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WILLIAMSPORT.

As to the word Williams, there is still more difference of opinion: The descendants of Michael Ross claim that the name was bestowed hy him in honor of his beloved son William, for whose future he indulged the keenest ambition, and so called his town William's Port.

The friends of Judge William Hepburn claim, that as he was instrumental in having the new county erected and the county seat located, he being the State Senator from Northumber- land county at the time, and the first president judge of the new county, that in recognition of his valuable services the citizens proposed to call the town Hepburn's Port, but that he mod- estly objected and suggested William's Port, which was finally adopted.

Again .- There was a surveyor of local repute named Joseph Williams, who lived on our present High street at the intersection with the road leading to Wildwood cemetery, in a house that is yet standing, who was a highly esteemed friend of Michael Ross, and was engaged to lay out the new town. In his honor the street alongside the jail was called William's street. The descendants of Joseph Williams maintain that his name was the one prefixed to the word port to serve as the name of the town. The probability is that all three of the individuals named exercized an influence, perhaps without effort, in having the first name adopted for the modest little village that has grown into such importance as to extend over and absorb all the various localities that once aspired to the separate honor of being the county seat.

THE FIRST IMPROVEMENTS.

The first house in Williamsport was a log structure erected by James Russell in March, 1796. It stood on the corner of Third and Mulberry streets, and was 32x26 feet, the longest part fronting on Third street, and two stories in height. The first story was divided into four rooms; two rooms 15x13 feet fronting on Third street, and two, 15x11, looking northward into what was then a forest of timber. A large brick chimney ran up through the middle of the building, affording a fire place for each of the front rooms. The stairway ascended from the rear room next to what is now Mulberry street. The second story was divided into three rooms, and a large garret, which served as a store room and sleeping apartment. The house had a shingle roof put on with hand-made nails. James Russell opened an "Inn " in his house, and it was the only place for some time where travelers could be entertained. This hastily constructed log building was not only the first house in Williamsport, but the first tavern, and remained as a landmark until it was destroyed by the great fire of 1871.

James Russell was an Irishman by birth and came to America in 1774. He died soon after completing his public house, leaving a young widow and six children, who conducted the inn for a short time. In 1804 she married Joseph Dumm, and they conducted the house for more than half a century. It came to be known as the " Affie Dumm House," because Miss Eva (better known as Affie) Dumm, by the second marriage, was born under the roof of the venerable "Inn," and she lived there until it was destroyed. She married a man named Auchey, but he died soon after; she was always known as Affie Dumm. She died, March 1, 1876.

After the erection of the Russell Inn other buildings soon followed. The second was on Third street nearly opposite the book store of A. D Lundy & Company. It was built in 1796 by John Moore for a hotel and was known by the sign of the White Horse. Its dimensions were 24x30 feet and two stories in height. Of course it was built of logs. Nicholas Gale and Joseph Hall were among the early land- lords. About the year 1820 it was converted into a store and kept for a number of years by Ralph Elliot and his two brothers, John and Robert. Elliot sold it to Jasper Bennet, who occupied it as a store. Subsequently it was purchased by C.

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

D. Eberman for a tobacco manufactory, but it was consumed by the fire of August 20, 1871.

The third building, also of logs, was erected about this time on the south side of Third street, between Pine and Market square. It was two stories high with two rooms in each story. It is not remembered who the builder was, but it subsequently became the property of Joseph Foulk, and then of Jacob Welper, who sold it to David Trainer.

The fourth house in the borough was a story and a half log building erected by Jacob Hyman, on what is now the northwest corner of Mulberry street and the canal. It was constructed of small round logs, and was built in the summer of 1797.

In 1801 Mr. Hyman erected the frame of a house on a spot adjoining his cabin, with the intention of building for his family a frame honse; but before it was erected, he sold the frame skeleton to Mrs. Rebecca Low who had it moved up to the north side of Third street, between Academy and Mulberry, and there completed.

About 1798, Mrs. Heston-who subsequently became the wife of William Wil- son-built a large log house on the north side of Third street, opposite what is now the book store of A. D. Lundy & Company. From the deeds it appears that this house and lots Nos. 23, 25, and 27 were sold by Michael Ross to Sarah Whitacre, June 6, 1799, for £40; that July 29, 1806, she sold the property to James Winter for £750; and August 9, 1809, Winter transferred it to Sarah Whitacre and Rebecca Wilson for £750. The early history of this building, with a description of the same, are given iu an advertisement which appeared in the Lycoming Gazette of December 20, 1809:

SIGN OF THE FOX CHASE.

To be sold or let .- A valuable public house in the borough of Williamsport, which has been occupied as such for a number of years past. and from its extensive accommodations and valuable custom, it is certainly an object to any person who is or wishes to be engaged in a public line; a store and tavern have heretofore been kept in it by the subscriber, and latterly a tavern by James Winter. Said house is two stories high, fifty-two feet front by twenty-nine deep, a kitchen one and a half story, good cellar, well of water, garden, etc., and stabling to contain twenty-one horses. Terms of sale or lease will be made known by the subscriber, in the bor- ough of Williamsport, and possession given the 1st of April ensuing.

December 20, 1809.

WILLIAM WILSON.

November 9, 1819, Rebecca Wilson and Benjamin Courson, executors of Sarah Whitacre, sold it to Henry Hughes for $2,000. In 1822 Hughes tore down the old log house and erected in its place the present two-story frame, which is now the property of his daughter, Mrs. Mary H. Toner, widow of Samuel Toner. The orig- inal log structure was probably the fifth house in the old borough. When kept by Mrs. Heston and subsequently by the Winter family, it was the main stopping place for the judges, lawyers and others. when court was in session. The rear part of a portion of the property is still used for stabling horses, and a public house is kept in the front part ou the corner of the alley. Mrs. Toner uses the western end for a private dwelling. Henry Hughes kept a hotel for a long time in this venerable building, and he served as postmaster from April 20, 1819, to May 24, 1839, a period of over twenty years. The postoffice was in a corner of the bar room, in a little enclosure which presented a quaint appearance. The mail at that time was carried in a pair of saddle bags. Henry Hughes was a native of County Derry, Ire-

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WILLIAMSPORT.

land, where he was born, January 23, 1782, and died in Williamsport, February 22, 1846.

Some time in 1798-possibly earlier-Thomas Huston built a log house on the northwest corner of Third street and the square, and opened a tavern, which he conducted for several years. It was first known by the sign of the "Rising Sun." About 1811 Huston sold the hotel to a man named Pickle, who subsequently sold it to Jacob Heiveley, aud it was afterwards known as the "Heiveley House." It was burned March 4, 1865.

The first birth in the settlement was that of William Russell, son of James Russell, keeper of the Russell Inn, born September 23, 1796. When he became a young man he went to Canada, where he remained for thirty years, and then re- turned to the place of his nativity to die. The next birth was probably that of Will- iam Calvert, which occurred November 25, 1797, in Moore's tavern. At this time there were only four log houses in the town called Williamsport!

The first brick building within the original limits of the town was built in 1799 on Front street, between Market and Mulberry, by Andrew Tulloh, who used it for a short time as a law office. It is No. 31 Front street. A second story was added to it years ago. The bricks were manufactured on the banks of Grafius run where that stream crosses Hepburn street. A few months later another kiln was burned here for the brick house of Michael Ross. The second brick house within the lim- its was built by William Wilson, about the year 1810, on the south side of Third street, on what is now the site of the First National Bank. It was kept by Mr. Wil- son as a hotel and was known by the "Sign of the Buck." Mr. Wilson was famil- iarly known as "Congress Billy," from the fact that he was a member of the Lower House of Congress. This house was subsequently kept by James Cummings and later by Thomas Hall. It was a popular place in early days and the leading men of the time stopped there. In April, 1842, it was burned, but was rebuilt by Mr. Hall the following year. After his death it was sold to Charles Doebler, who conducted it as the United States Hotel for some time, when he sold it to his son, Valentine S. Doebler. Under the management of "Tine," as he was familiarly called, it be- came the leading hotel in Williamsport. About the time of his death, (1866,) it was sold to the First National Bank, which institution still owns it.

FIRST TAXABLES.

When the borough was organized in 1806 there were sixty taxable inhabitants within its boundaries, ten of whom were single freemen, as follows: Richard Hays, James J. Nollis, John Kidd, Elias Winters, Samuel Coleman, Thomas Alexander, William F. Buyers, James Heylmun, Joseph Foulke, and Abraham Hooper. The list is certified by Joseph Foulke, who was clerk. The largest amount of tax this year was $7.70, which was paid by Michael Ross, the founder; the next was $4.25, paid by Andrew D. Hepburn. The smallest sum was four cents!

The tax duplicate for 1806-07, the first for the borough, shows that the assess- ment amounted to $86.70. It is important as showing the first taxable inhabitants of the town, and a transcript is herewith given: Thomas Alexander, William F. Buyers, Joseph Boone, Widow Biss, James Cummings, Elizabeth Calvert, Dr. Sam- uel Coleman, Robert Collins, Joseph Dumm, Amos Doan, John Doan, John Eldridge,

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

Thomas Emmons, Joseph Foulke, Samuel E. Green, Jacob Hyman, Thomas Hous. ton, Esq., Andrew D. Hepburn, Charles Houston, Thomas and Richard Hays, Mor- decai Heylman, Conrad Haller, David Hunter, Elizabeth Freeman, John Kidd, John Levergood, William and Thomas Murray, John Murphy, James Moore, Robert Mc- Elrath, Robert McClure, Richard McEwen, Michael Ross, John Shaffer, Alexander Sloan, John Turk, Jerry Tallman, Richard Titus, Stacy Throp, Thomas Updegraff, Peter Vanderbelt, James Winter, Apollos Woodward, Jacob Waters, Ed. Wilkinson, James Watson, David Young.

In 1807 the tax amounted to $89.693, and the following taxables were added: William Brindle, Peter Scates, Anthony Harris, Jonathan Steiner, John McConnell, Joseph Lenover, Nathan Bailey, George Strawbridge, William Pidcock, John Cal- vert, John Murphy, and John Biss. Mordecai Heylman was the first clerk of council.

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History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 40

Author: edited by John F. Meginness Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1650

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650