History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 69

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288

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GREENE TOWNSHIP.

This township was erected in 1844, from territory previously included in West Salem. In 1856 the eastern part was cut off in the formation of Sugar Grove. The name was given in honor of Gen. Nathaniel Greene, who was born at Potowhommet, R. I., May 27, 1742. In 1775 he was elected briga- dier-general of the militia of his State, and commanded a division at the bat- tle of Trenton, in 1776. From that time until 1780 he served with distinc- tion, in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and as quartermaster general. He defeated the British at Springfield, N. J., in 1780; was in turn defeated by them at Guilford Court House, S. C., in 1781, and in an en- counter near Camden. In September, 1781, he won the hard-fought battle of Eutaw Springs, and freed the State from the enemy's presence, After par- ticipating in other lesser engagements, he returned to his native State. He died of sun-stroke in 1786. Gen. Greene is considered to have been one of the most capable military commanders during the Revolution.

The surface of the township is notably unbroken; with the exception of the country adjoining the Shenango, the entire township may be said to be uniform- ly level. In its mineral resources there is no special richness. The chief

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

wealth of the township lies almost exclusively in its adaptability to agricult- ural purposes. In this respect it has few superiors among the townships of the county. Farming and grazing facilities it has in abundance, but beyond these there is little to mention. The principal drainage is supplied by the Shenango River, which enters the northern boundary at Jamestown, flows through the township in a slightly southeastern course, and departs near the eastern extremity of the southern border. Big Run finds its head in the south, and flows in a southerly direction through West Salem Township up to the junc- tion with the Shenango, but its influence upon the drainage of Greene Township is limited. Some fine timber is yet to be found, which, however, is rapidly disappearing, and, unless checked, its destruction will soon be complete.

Early Settlers. - A tradition is current that a hunter named Smith settled in this township as early as 1797, and built a hut and made a small clearing in the forest. It is said he planted a crop of potatoes which never matured, because of the dense, overhanging shade surrounding his little improvement. Smith was probably a squatter, and disappeared at an early date.

The first permanent settlers came into this portion of the county between 1797 and 1800, but so many conflicting statements are made that it is impos- sible for the faithful historian to give the exact year each pioneer made his settlement. All of the following, however, were in the township prior to 1800, as their names appear among the recorded taxables of that year: John More- land and sons, Isaac and William, James Campbell, Christopher North and son Thoroughgood, Philip, John and Jacob Sherbondy, and Henry McLaugh- lin. The Morelands were natives of Ireland, but came here from Westmore- land County, and located west of the Shenango River. The father died in 1823, aged eighty-four years, and his widow, Letitia, survived him until 1838, dying at the ripe old age of ninety-six. Isaac Moreland was married in 1800, to Lillias Mossman, of West Salem Township, who died in 1845, aged eighty. He followed her in 1851, having also reached his eightieth year. William Moreland died in 1850, and his widow in 1857, aged seventy-three and seven- ty-eight, respectively.

James Campbell, the man in whose honor Jamestown was named, located on the site of that borough, in the history of which fuller notice is given him. Christopher North and wife, natives of Ireland, came into Greene Township late in the eighteenth century. His son, Thoroughgood, had preceded him from Westinoreland County a short time. They located on adjoining tracts, and both spent the remainder of their lives as residents of the township. Christopher's grandson now lives on part of this land. The original Christo- pher reared one son and six daughters, many of whose descendants are still living in the county.

Philip, John and Jacob Sherbondy, natives of Lehigh County, Penn., came from Westmoreland County. Philip settled on the farm where his son David resides. He reared nine children, and died in 1838, his widow, Elizabeth, surviving him a few years. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. John set- tled near the West Salem line. Henry Mclaughlin and family came from Fayette County, Penn. It is clamed his son Henry was born in this town- ship in November, 1798, and was the first white child born in this part of the county.

Samuel Rodgers, a native of Ireland, and his wife Mary, and family, came to this township from Fayette County, Penn., about the same time as the foregoing pioneers. He settled on the farm in Greene Township where his son Robert H. lives. They came via the Monongahela River to Pittsburgh, thence by the Ohio to the mouth of Big Beaver, thence up that stream and the Shenango to their destination, making the whole distance by water.

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

The Hoover family were among the early settlers of the township. The paternal grandfather, Abner F. Hoover, came from Philadelphia, about 1800. He settled on what was known as the "King Claim," containing 400 acres, situated in the southwestern part of the township. He had twelve children. His death occurred in 1854.

Rev. John Betts, of Lancaster County, Penn., whose father, Andrew Betts, settled in Crawford County, near the State line, in 1800, located soon there- after on the land in Greene Township where his sons, John K. and Calvin, now live. Rev. John died December 26, 1863. He was the father of twelve children. Many of his descendants still reside in Mercer and Crawford Coun- ties. Andrew Betts, brother of the above, settled in 1807 on the farm where his son Thomas now lives, in Greene Township. He served in the War of 1812. He reared quite a large family, several of whom live in Mercer and Crawford Counties.

Many other pioneers took up lands in Greene Township late in the eight- eenth and early in the present century. Among those we find the names of John, William and Benjamin Snodgrass, Adam Hill, Hugh McGill, a Revolu- tionary soldier, John and Mary Latta, Thomas Bole, John Mahan, James Mc- Curdy, John Atchison, Robert McDowell, John Reichard, Hugh Kithcart, Robert, Irwin and William Carr, and others equally worthy of mention. Like most of the early settlers the majority of these were Irish or of Irish ancestry, and nearly all have descendants in this section of the State.

A Protestant Methodist Church was organized at an early date in this township. For some years the congregation occupied a log school-house erected in 1832. In 1853 a new house was built upon lands donated by Noble McCormick and his wife. The congregation had disbanded once, but was subsequently reorganized to do more efficient service.

HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP.

The township which heads this sketch was formed from parts of Salem, West Salem, Delaware and Pymatuning Townships, May 24, 1856, agreeable to a petition presented to the court by numerous citizens November 22, 1854. The viewers, whose report, when confirmed by the court, established the bound- aries of the new township, were David Findley, John Carnes and James C. Brown. The name "Hempfield " was given out of respect to James Kam- erer, through whose agency the formation of the township had been chiefly secured. He had formerly been a resident of Hempfield Township, in West- moreland County, and hence suggested the title which is at present used to designate the township in question.

The surface of Hempfield is what would be termed level. Compared with that of French Creek it might even be called flat, although there are places in the township having considerable elevation above the adjoining plains. The soil is rich, and agriculture is fully as far advanced in this township as in any other in the county. In point, of drainage there is not much to be said beyond the fact that the chief stream is the Little Shenango, which enters from the north and flows in a southwestern course until near the borough of Green- ville, where it makes a turn to the southwest, and discharges its contents into the Big Shenango. In addition to this stream there are several small tributa- ries to it which serve to increase the drainage facilities. The natural resources of the township, considered from a miner's standpoint, are not particularly. valuable. There are deposits of coal, but not in sufficient quantity to repay working.

Pioneers .- In the history of the early settlement of what is now Hempfield

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Township, one name is found to deserve special recognition. That name is Andrew Christy, the first settler. Early in the fall of 1796, in company with Jacob Loutzenhiser, Joseph Keck, Daniel and Peter Klingensmith and others, he departed from his old home in Westmoreland County, and pushed northward on an exploring expedition. The object of the exploration was to fix upon suita- ble locations for new homes. While engaged in this the party passed through what subsequently became West Salem Township, Mercer County. Here the Klingensmiths settled. Christy and Loutzenhiser, however, went farther east, the former selecting a tract lying within the present boundaries of Hempfield, and the latter a tract near the site of Greenville, though he first settled on the site of Orangeville. The land which Christy occupied lies about two miles southeast of the present borough of Greenville. It is related that he secured his land by deadening a number of trees that stood upon it. after which, with many hardships and fatigues, he returned to Westmoreland County to pass the winter. In the following spring, accompanied by his father, John Christy, his brothers, John and Samuel, and two sisters, he returned to the site of the trees he had deadened, and at once began the work of clearing off a homestead. The difficulties and perils of this sort of life cannot be even surmised in these days of perfected civilization. Christy was a bachelor when he arrived in his new home. But despite the fact that his neighbors were few, he resolved to become a benedict, and he found a spouse in the person of Miss Susan Will- iamson. The marriage ceremony was performed in May, 1803, Rev. Samuel Tait officiating as clergyman, and was the first service of the kind held in the township. Happily, though, it was by no means the last. While Andrew set- tled east of Greenville, the other members of the family settled south of it, in the same township, on the Callen farm.

The father of Mrs. Christy, John Williamson, was a native of Carlisle, Cumberland County. In the fall of 1798 he purchased the land of Jacob Lout- zenhiser, which lay east of the present boundary line, and began a clearing. His family, however, was yet in Cumberland County, and he returned to secure it. On the 11th of June, 1799, the Williamson family entered into possession of their new Shenango Valley home. The father, John, was of a practical turn of mind, and signalized his entrance by at once beginning the erection of a saw-mill. The mill-wright who assisted him, one James King, became impressed with the idea that stones could be so attached as to form a grist-mill annex. This idea was speedily carried out, and in a little time the first grain ever ground in this portion of the county was being reduced to meal. In 1800 Williamson erected a separate mill, this being exclusively for grist. These two mills met with wonderful success, and were among the most valuable pioneer enterprises established in the county, and served to render Williamson's name forever memorable in local annals. Ask a citizen of Greenville to point out the location of the old Williamson saw and grist-mills, and he will quickly take you a short distance east of the Pacific mills, above the dam, and satisfy your curiosity. Williamson was unable, it appears, to complete the payments for his land, and in 1806 the farm fell back into Loutzenhiser's possession. The former, though, at once secured another tract of John Eckles, and removed his family thereto. This second venture was successful. The farm was eventually paid for, and has been the family home- stead ever since.

In addition to these two prominent pioneers, the following were very early residents of Hempfield: Hugh Donaldson, who settled in 1798 on a tract of land adjoining Williamson's on the east; James Stinson, who took up land about the same time east of Donaldson's; Thomas Bean, who settled as early

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

as 1798; Robert Bole, also in 1798; Hugh Brown in 1799, and James Dumars, who settled south of the Williamson farm in 1800.

Alexander Dumars, a native of Ireland, came from Westmoreland County

in 1800, and settled two miles east of Greenville. He became justice of the peace in 1810, and held the position until 1838. He was the father of seven children, all of whom left descendants. His wife died in 1811 and he in 1854. He was a Democrat, a Mason, and therefore a strong hater of anti-Masonry. Mr. Garvin relates the following incident concerning him, which shows the tenor of those times:

"'Squire Dumars had a case before him. Allen Hill prosecuted Joseph Nesbit for damages done by his cows in his cornfield. The parties to the suit appeared. Nesbit claimed that it was Hill's fault, that he would not keep up a fence around his field, that he had himself worked to repair and put up his fence, and had also sent hands for that purpose, but that Hill would do nothing to preserve his own grain. The Squire said: 'If that is the kind of a man Hill is, he ought to be loaded with powder and blown to hell.' The wily Irishman, Nesbitt, immediately said: 'If that is the judgment of your honor, please give us an execution, and let us have it carried out at once. ' "'

William McMillen entered the township in 1800. His wife, Nancy, died in 1816, leaving four children. He then married Margaret, daughter of Will- iam McClimans, a pioneer of West Salem, who bore him several children. Many of his descendants resided in the county. Timothy Dumars located in the township the same year, and in 1803 John Sims built a tannery on the Donaldson farm, which business he afterward abandoned as unprofitable. Jacob and Samuel Kamerer came in 1812. Sketches of both will be found in the biographical chapters.

Salem Presbyterian Church is one of the pioneer congregations of its sect in Mercer County. It was organized in the year 1800, and for a time was known as Upper Salem. It is located in Hempfield Township. The preaching which resulted in the organization is said to have occurred on the banks of the Shenango, near the site of Greenville, and was done by those veteran Presbyterian missionaries, Revs. Tait and Stockton. Subsequently the preaching was transferred to a tent which was pitched near the site of the present church. The first pastor was Rev. Samuel Tait, who officiated in con- nection with Cool Spring. He was ordained to such relation November 19, 1800. The first eldership embraced Robert Mann, James Stinson and Samuel Williamson. In June, 1801, Mr. Tait relinquished his charge of Upper Salem to give his time to the Mercer congregation, which was more conveniently located. In June, 1813, Mr. Tait having relinquished Cool Spring, again be- came pastor of Salem, and continued in such capacity until the year 1826, when he began to devote his whole time to Mercer. On the 13th of October, 1828, Rev. James Alexander was chosen pastor of Salem in conjunction with Green- ville and Big Bend. In that capacity he labored until June 25, 1834. On the 12th of April, 1836, Rev. James G. Wilson assumed charge of Salem and Greenville, and performed pastoral functions until the time of his release in 1851. Between this date and that of 1857 Rev. James H. Callen and T. P. Johnson were in charge. In 1858 Rev. James Coulter, and in 1859 Rev. David Grier, were pastors. Rev. John W. McCune became Grier's successor, and on his death Rev. George W. Zahniser took charge of the church. The pastors of the Greenville Church have since ministered to this congregation.

The first edifice was a log structure, and stood a little below the site of the present church, which is the third in order of erection. It is said the early

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

preachers were paid in various kinds of produce. Samuel Caldwell, Sr., was, for a number of years, treasurer of the congregation, and hence performed the duty of collecting the grain and sending it to the preacher in charge.

Here too is the old Salem Cemtery, that had its inception with the erection of the first church building. Many of the pioneers were buried in this ground, and its hallowed associations are a part of the sacred memories clus- tering around old Salem.

HICKORY TOWNSHIP.

Hickory Township, the second largest in the county, and one of the wealthiest in point of mineral resources in the northwestern portion of the State, was erected into a separate organization in 1833, from portions of She- nango and Pymatuning. The physical features of the township form an agree- able study. Nowhere in the county can a richer or a more picturesque expanse of upland and vale, of hills rising from surrounding plains, and of valleys nestled down among the elevations be seen. The pasturage afforded by the lands lying along the banks of the Shenango River is unsurpassed any- where in the vicinity, and the soil, fertile and mellow, ranks the township among the most productive regions, agriculturally speaking, in Mercer County. Added to these are the valuable internal treasures of rich coal deposits, that

give employment to hundreds of the township's population.

In the matter

of drainage, the whole story is summed up in the statement that the Shenango River enters the township at near the central point of its northern boundary, flows in a southwesterly course along the western extremity, and then departs in a southeastern direction to its junction with Beaver Creek, at New Castle. This stream, with its many small tributaries, furnishes ample drainage facili- ties.

Pioneers. - The attractiveness of the land lying along the banks of the Shenango early claimed the attention and won the admiration of the explor- ing parties, which from time to time passed through the fertile regions of the Shenango Valley. The excellent facilities of drainage, and the abundant water supply, which in time of extreme drought was a very necessary recom- mendation, quite fully characterized the territory lying within the present limits of Hickory Township as an excellent location for settlements. In 1796 or 1797 Thomas Canon settled on the farm afterward owned by John Welch. Here he began a clearing, and prepared to take up a residence. One year after he was joined in his pioneer undertakings by William Campbell, afterward a sturdy old veteran of the War of 1812. The same year this party of civiliza- tion-spreaders was re-enforced by the advent of James Smith, who, in com- pany with eight others, whose names are not known, entered the region; also the Robb family, consisting of Andrew and Rebecca Robb, and their seven children, by name Andrew, William, Joseph, Margaret, Mary, Nancy and Rebecca, settled the farm subsequently owned and occupied by John Rainey.

Col. Henry Hoagland was a native of Holland. He first located in Virginia. He served in the Revolutionary War, and afterward settled in Washington County, Penn. In 1798 he came to Mercer County with his wife, Catherine, and family, and took up his residence on the west bank of the Shenango River, one mile north of the site of Sharon, where he resided until his death, October 12, 1818. He took a deep interest in the early militia, and was captain, major and colonel, successively, of a Mercer County regiment. He reared four sons and five daughters, and his descendants are still numerous in the county. He was one of the organizers of the pioneer Baptist Church in his neighborhood. His sons, John and Richard, died in Hickory Township, on the farms still occupied respectively by their children.

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Daniel, Bashara and John Hull settled in Hickory Township in 1798 or 1799. Daniel and John reared families, and died on their homesteads. Bashara removed to Iowa, where he died. John married the daughter of Capt. John Elliott, a soldier of the Revolutionary War, who settled on the banks of the Shenango before the Hull family arrived. For some time after John Hull came to Hickory Township he kept " bachelor's hall." The pot in which he prepared his corn mush had a little piece broken out of the rim. On one occasion, when he returned home very hungry from the pursuit of game, he looked into his pot for his mush. Lifting off the lid, he found a rattlesnake coiled nicely upon the top of the mush which was expected to furnish his sup- per. A strange prejudice interfered against his eating that mush on that occasion.

Early in the century William Welch settled on land a part of which after- ward became the site of Wheatland. A part of the old homestead was sub- sequently owned by his son John, who lived there for a long number of years. The same period witnessed the arrival of Archibald Rankin, who settled near the edge of Lackawannock Township. John Hammel and James Young were his neighbors, they having arrived about the same time. Rev. James Satterfield, a graduate of the old theological school of Rev Dr. McMillan, of Canonsburg, entered the township soon after, and while waiting until a house could be built upon his land, which lay near by, lived in a small building which had previously been used by William Welch. His house was completed in 1803, and stood on the brow of the terrace of the Shenango. Its location was exceptionally fine, and the early minister much enjoyed to sit in his door and gaze out over the waters as they flowed peacefully and silently by. The property was occupied many years later by his son James.

John and Mary Morford setttled in Hickory Township in 1803 or 1804. He had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His son Richard married his own cousin, and reared a large family. He was married twice, and left numerous descendants.

Vance and Mary Stewart, with one child, James, came into Hickory Town- ship in 1805. They were Irish, and crossed the mountains from Huntingdon County with a pack-horse. They located near what is now Hickory Corners. They had eleven children, all of whom became heads of families. Both died on the old homestead, aged fifty-five and sixty-seven respectively.

The year 1805 marks the advent of William Hunter, who, with his father, David, came from Huntingdon County and settled a short distance east of what afterward became the village of Neshannock. There were six children in the family. Robert Milliken, a native of Ireland, came from Huntingdon County, Penn., to this township in 1810, and in 1816 settled where his son James lives. His wife, Nancy, was a daughter of James Sample. James Sample, also a native of Ireland, came from Huntingdon County with his family about the same time as Milliken, and settled in Hickory Township. He was twice married, and left several children by his first wife, all of whom are dead. He died in 1822 on the farm where his grandson, James K. Sample. re- sides. Other settlers continued to come in, and it was not long until the clear- ings had grown and covered nearly all the township.

Churches .- St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, located immediately north of Hickory Corners, had its inception in the settlement in that vicinity of a few German Catholic families, between 1845 and 1860, who were principally engaged in mining coal. Among the earliest of these were Martin Scholl, Nicholas and Peter Rommelfangen, Michael and Matthias Schumacher, Clemens Dach, Nicholas and John Kahl, Matthew Koch and Michael Knapp. Rev. Andrew

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Skopez is believed to have been the first priest who held services in the settle- ment, celebrating mass at the house of Martin Scholl prior to 1850. He was followed in succession by Revs. J. Reiser, J. J. Gallagher, Andrew Schweiger and Joseph Gobbels, resident pastors of the Greenville congregation, who occa- sionally visited Sharon and the German settlement at Hickory Corners, and held services in private houses. The Redemptorist Fathers, of Pittsburgh, also occasionally visited this settlement between 1850 and 1860. In 1859 Rev. F. J. Hartmann began his visits, and the following year commenced erecting the present frame church, which he completed in 1861. He, however, held serv- ices in it in 1860, and the church was dedicated under the name of St. Rose of Lima. A half acre of land was donated by Clemens Dach, as a site for church and cemetery, and Father Skopez afterward purchased of Mr. Dach an additional acre. Soon after the church was completed Father Hartmann took up his permanent residence in a part of the building, but subsequently erected a dwelling-house adjoining the same. He remained the pastor of St. Rose until August, 1870, and during this period built up a large and flourish- ing congregation, but the decline of the coal business in that locality finally necessitated the removal elsewhere of a large number of its members. Rev. Andrew Skopez became pastor in Angust, 1870, and ministered to St. Rose congregation until his death in the fall of 1887, being at the time one of the oldest priests in the diocese. St. Rose was then attended by Father Clarke, of Sharspville, until September 1, 1888, when its first resident pastor, Father Hartmann, again took charge of the parish, which now embraces about forty families.

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 69

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1288

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288