History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 79

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Mercer County > History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present > Part 79

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).

John Ferguson, an Irishman, came with his sons John and James (Mrs. Ferguson having died prior to the family's leaving Westmoreland County) in the spring of 1798, and settled in the northeast corner of the township. He died in 1842. A daughter, by second marriage, is at present living in Sharpsville, an aged and respected citizen.

Richard Tunison, a native of New Jersey, came from Westmoreland County about 1798 or 1799, and located on a farm northwest of Greenville. This farm he occupied until his death, leaving a numerous progeny in the township.

Joseph Morford, a native of New Jersey, settled in West Salem Township, where his grandson, Dr. R. D. Morford, now lives, in 1798 or 1799. He was married twice, the first marriage yielding no children. His second wife, Eliz- abeth, was the daughter of Abraham Fell, by whom he reared seven children. He was a justice of the peace for many years, and became comfortably wealthy. He died in 1861 in his eighty-seventh year. His wife departed in 1868 in her eighty-third year.

Frederick Everhart, of Westmoreland County, came to Mercer County toward the close of the last century, soon after the Kecks, and married Catharine Keck, sister of Joseph, Peter, Abraham, Jacob and Daniel Keck, all of whom settled in the Shenango Valley in 1797. Everhart at a very early day started a pottery in West Salem Township, and carried it on to the time of his death.

609

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

He was a soldier in the War of 1812. His son Paul, born in this county in 1804, learned his trade from his father, and carried it on in Greenville until old age compelled him to abandon hard labor.

Richard and Andrew Brown settled in West Salem Township in 1800. They were of Irish extraction, and came from Eastern Pennsylvania. Both lived as neighbors in the region of Maysville, where they died, leaving several children each.

In the spring of 1800 Peter and John Loutzenhiser, accompanied by their father, Joseph, all natives of Germany, came from Westmoreland to Mercer County, whither their brother Jacob had preceded them a few years. Peter was a bachelor, and settled the lands now owned by James McElhaney and John Loutzenhiser, Jr., where he soon afterward died. John brought out his family and located near the southwest corner of West Salem, but after Peter's death he came into possession of the latter's property and removed to it. Both he and his father died on that place. Full sketches of the Loutzen- hisers will be found in the biographical department.

Joseph and William McClurg, natives of Ireland, were among the earliest settlers of the township. They lived northwest of Greenville. William died in 1858 in his eighty-second year, and Joseph in 1864, aged ninety.

John Mclaughlin and Nancy, his wife, both of Irish lineage, came to this township in April, 1800. On the 9th of August, 1801, John died, it being the first death in the township so far as any records show. His widow the next year married Peter Losse, of Ohio. The eldest son, Patrick, is well remem- bered in the township.

In 1801 John Speir, a Scotchman, came with his wife and three children from Beaver County, and located in West Salem, within sight of what is now Greenville. He died in 1813, leaving a family of eight children, the last sur- vivor of whom, James, died in July, 1888.

Adam and Catharine Miller emigrated from Maryland to this township in the fall of 1802, locating on the land now owned by Joseph Calvert and W. H. Johnston. Miller served in the War of 1812, and both he and wife died in this township, though they had lived in other parts of the county. They reared several children and have many descendants. One of their daughters, Mrs. Catherine Hunter, is still a resident of the township, where she was born in 1807, and another, Mrs. Boies, lives in Greenville.

Henry Lininger and his wife Catharine, natives of Virginia, came from east of the mountains about 1802, and settled on part of the farm now owned by his son Jacob. Two of the sons, David and Jacob, are residents of the township.

Edward Johnston came with his wife, Nancy, from Mifflin County, and in 1803 settled in the northwest part of West Salem Township. Johnston was a pioneer pedagogue, and taught the first school in that neighborhood, the log school-house standing on his own farm. He was a soldier in the War of 1812.

Jacob Artman, a native of Westmoreland County, came to West Salem Township and married Hannah Fry in 1809. In the natural order of events he must have been a resident of the township for some time previous. Short courtships and hasty marriages were not so popular then as now. They reared a family of seven children. After their marriage they went back to West- moreland County (in 1813) where they resided five years, returning then (1818) to their first home. Both died near where their children still reside.

Jacob Hommer (now written Homer) a German and an old Revolutionary soldier, came from Maryland with three sons and four daughters in 1809, and settled near the limits of what is now Greenville, in West Salem Township. Both died on the old homestead and are buried in a graveyard on their own farm. Their descendants are very numerous.

610

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Alexander and Margaret Hunter, natives of Ireland, came from Cumber- land and Fayette Counties, and settled a 400-acre tract in West Salem Township in April, 1812. Their descendants still occupy it. They had nine children. Hunter was a surveyor.

John and Mary Smail, natives of Germany, came from Westmoreland County to West Salem Township in 1812 or '13. They reared eleven chil- dren, viz. : Jacob, John, Samuel, George, Susan, Elizabeth, Polly, Sarah, Katie, Christina and Rachel. The parents died in West Salem, where their descendants are quite numerous.

Villages .- Maysville is a little village near the center of the township, and contains a store and cheese factory, owned by E. O. Brown, and also a blacksmith shop. The West Salem Baptist Church is a part of the village, and a good brick school-house furnishes full educational advantages for the youth of the vicinity. The first grist-mill in the township was built, in 1829, at this point by John Gravat. The water-power was furnished by Big Run, which flows through Maysville. In 1846 Thomas McMahan erected a saw- mill on the run, and two years afterward he built a steam grist-mill near the village. He operated this about twenty years and then sold it to Philip Schuster, who ran it until it was burned down. In 1873 John Mussell built a cheese-factory at Maysville, which was burned, and in 1875 Morford & Clark rebuilt it. This, too, was finally burned, and the present one was then erected by J. W. Woods. A post-office was established at Maysville February 16, 1852, with George E. Hasenplug as postmaster. It was discontinued Novem- ber 25, 1872. A complete list of postmasters will be found in a previous chapter.

Mossmantown was at one time quite a flourishing hamlet, located near the northwest corner of the township. A post-office, called West Salem, was es- tablished at this point August 11, 1851, James W. Mossman, postmaster. The office existed until November 4 1875, and nothing remains of this once busy little place to attest its former glory but the ruin of an old tannery ..

Shenango is located at the intersection of the N. Y. P. & O., P. S. & L. E. and Erie & Pittsburgh Railroads, about two miles south of Greenville, on a farm purchased, in 1866, of Rev. H. F. Hartman, pastor of the German Re- formed Church at Good Hope. The town was laid out by William Brigden in the year 1868, was first named "Atlantic City," but shortly afterward changed to Shenango.

The village contains, according to the census of 1880, 160 inhabitants. The men are nearly all employed on the railroads and in the shops, erected in 1882, and are, without exception, sober, industrious and thrifty.

A Union Sabbath School was organized at Shenango on the first Sunday in April, 1877, and for several years held its sessions in passenger cars of the S. & A. Railroad. The pioneer in this Sunday-school movement was Mrs. Ed. Richardson, wife of the master mechanic of the S. & A. Railroad, to whose efforts the Sunday-school owes its organization.

Churches .- Good Hope Church is the pioneer religious organization of West Salem, and one of the oldest in Mercer County. It had its beginning in 1805, when Rev. Michael Steck held services and preached to the families of Lutheran and Reformed faith living in this portion of the county. In 1806 he held confirmation services. He was succeeded by Rev. Stough, and in

1808 Rev. Andrew Simon commenced his visits to the settlement. Revs. Peter Kuebert and William Solson were next in the order of time. In Janu- ary, 1815, Rev. Henry Huet, a pioneer Lutheran minister, began visiting this congregation, and the following November made an arrangement to serve them every four weeks. He continued as pastor of Good Hope until 1827.

611

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

During his pastorate, in 1816, a site for a church was donated by Peter Klingensmith, and a log building, 26x30, erected the same year. Its first seats were rough boards laid on blocks of trees sawed the required length. It underwent various repairs, and supplied the needs of the congregation for more than half a century. It contained a small gallery at one end for the children to occupy during services. On the 2d of May, 1869, the corner stone of the present frame structure was laid; and the house, 35x50, costing about $3,000, was dedicated the following autumn.

Rev. Philip Zeiser, a minister of the Reformed Church, came in 1827, and in 1828 Rev. Michael Kuchler succeeded Rev. Huet as pastor of the Lutherans. These ministers preached alternately to the congregation until the spring of 1840, when Rev. Henry Becker succeeded Mr. Kuchler and served till April, 1847. Rev. Zeiser served till the spring of 1848, and his successors have been as follows: Revs. Benjamin Boyer, a veteran of 1812, H. F. Hart- man, Frederick Pilgram and J. M. Shick, the present pastor. The consecu- tive successors of Rev. Becker have been Revs. T. H. Hengist, Michael Kuchler, Jeremiah Fishburn, C. A. Fetzer and William Rehrig, professor of German at Thiel College.

On the 16th of September, 1828, the church authorities received a deed from Peter Klingensmith and Jacob Keck for something over four acres of ground adjoining the original lot, for church and cemetery purposes, the con- sideration being $10. A subscription paper was circulated by Rev. Kuchler for the purpose of raising funds to clear off the timber and fence the land. From this old document, written in German and dated April 19, 1828, we copy the following names of pioneers, most of whom belonged to the congre- gation: Jacob Hum, Jacob Keck, Daniel Keck, Frederick Everhart, Jacob Artman, John Loutzenhiser, Abraham Frey, Philip Ziegler, Joseph Keck, David Loutzenhiser, Joseph Hommer, Samuel Kamerer, George A. Blank, Jacob Kamerer, Peter Harnit, Conrad Bittenbanner, Adam Barnhart, Peter Klingensmith, John Frey and Andrew Campbell, each of whom subscribed $1. The following gave fifty cents each: Samuel Loutzenhiser, Solomon Klingen- smith, Joseph Morford, John Keck, John Loutzenhiser, Jr., Jacob Frey, Solomon Lininger, Jacob Hommer, Jacob Klingensmith, Abraham Klingen- smith, Casper Willyard, Paul Everhart, Aaron Blank, Andrew Lininger, John A. Bean, Jacob Layman and Peter Keck. The following gave twenty-five cents each: Jacob Keck, Jr., George Keck, Jacob Klingensmith and Peter Willyard. The foregoing embraces the great majority of the families who belonged to Good Hope, though Henry Lininger and wife, Adam Kamerer and wife and Henry Bortz and wife were also pioneer members of the con- gregation. Though hoary with years, Good Hope is still vigorous and pros- perous.

West Salem Baptist Church may be said to have had its inception in 1807, when Rev. Thomas Jones, of the Sharon charge, organized a Baptist society in this township. It was connected with Sharon until a separate organization was effected, nearly twenty years afterward. During this period the principal place of worship was a small log building on the site of the Baptist cemetery, where the first burial occurred in 1803. Revs. Joshua Wood, Samuel MeMil- len, Sidney Rigdon and George McCleery were the consecutive successors of Mr. Jones. This church was regularly organized September 16, 1826, at the house of John Loutzenhiser, Joseph Nelson acting as moderator, and Elders Henry Frazer and Jesse Brown conducting the exercises. The following members signed the covenant on the day referred to: Richard Morford, Pat- rick Mclaughlin, John Gravat, George Burns, Margaret Loutzenhiser, Mar-

612

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

garet Canon, Lucinda Calvin, Elizabeth Burns, Elizabeth Mclaughlin, Mary Brown, Sarah Speir, Rebecca Bodwell, Alanah Brown, Jane Watts, Edward Kirby, fifteen in all. Within a few years there were added by letter or baptism, upon profession of faith, Mary Gould, Sarah Carson, Susan Gra- vat, Mary Gravat, Martha Simpkins (died August 25, 1829), Eliza Wakefield, Sarah Runyan, Sarah Stern, George Brockway, Azariah Dunham, John Lout- zenhiser, Peaceable Brown, John Morford, Margaret Gravat, Rachel Burns, Sarah Ann Loutzenhiser, William Westby, Jane Westby and others.

The early meetings were held at private houses, viz. : those of John Lout- zenhiser, Patrick McLaughlin, Alanah Brown, George Brockway, Richard Morford and others. This continued to be the case until 1840, the time of the erection of the first church edifice. It was a small frame building, unpaint- ed, and is now used as a wagon-shed by Rev. Nimrod Burwell. The second house, a comfortable frame structure, 41x51, was erected in 1856, on a lot bought from Richard Morford. The cost of the structure was $1,400. In the list of preachers we find the names of Elders Frazer, Churchill, Woodworth, J. H. Hazen, Sanford, Jacob Morris, William Leet, William H. Mckinney, J. W. Snyder, D. W. Swigart, Allen Peckham and T. B. Marlin, the present pastor. The membership has had many experiences to test it, and at present numbers over seventy.

The Evangelical Association Church, worshiping in a house near the home of Jesse Shoemaker, was organized about 1836, by Rev. John Seibert, an evangelist of his denomination in this region, at a private house. There were about a dozen members, consisting of Solomon Shoemaker and wife, Jacob Hazenplug and wife, Joseph Foulk and wife, George Shoemaker and sister Mary, Adam Barnhart, Daniel Keck and wife, Michael Frey and wife, and several others. For many years, in fact up to 1854, the preaching was all done at private houses. At the date referred to the present house, a frame, 30x38, was erected; Rev. Jacob Weikel was pastor at the time. The site was donated by George Shoemaker and Reuben Bortz. It is impossible to give the complete list of preachers, as no records could be found from which to obtain them. In the list, however, are Revs. Bucks, Miller, Staver, Goetz, Nievel, Hollinger, Weikel and Day. The present membership is about thirty, who are principally residents of the vicinity.

The United Brethren have had an organization in West Salem for many years. A church building was erected before the war on the farm of David Stull, which was finally burned down during that exciting period. A new structure was then built northeast of the old site, which was widely known as the "Swamp Church," because of its location. The building was removed a few years ago to its present site near Rock Ridge Cemetery, where a small congregation worship, with Rev. Foulk in charge. This was at one time quite a flourishing church, but its glory has apparently departed.

Grace Church, of the Evangelical Association of North America, located at Shenango, was built in the summer of 1883, and was dedicated November 11th, of the same year. The first members were William J. Weikel and his wife, Mary Ann. The first pastor was Rev. T. B. Zellers, who served about one and one-half years, and was succeeded by the Rev. I. H. Voght, near the close of whose pastorate an organization was effected. The next pastor was the Rev. G. W. Brown, who served the full term of three years, and was suc- ceeded by the Rev. A. B. Day, who assumed charge in May, 1888. The present membership is twenty-eight, and the society is in a flourishing con- dition.

613

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP.

The above named township was erected in February, 1846, the territory comprising it being taken from Lackawannock and Neshannock Townships, the latter of which was subsequently detached from Mercer in the formation of Lawrence County. The new township was greatly diminished by that forma- tion, and now it is probably the smallest subdivision in the county. It forms one of the extreme southern tier of townships that face on the Lawrence County line. It is bounded on the north by the two Lackawannocks, on the east by Springfield, and on the west by Shenango. Its surface is rolling, and the soil is very fertile, perhaps equal to any in the county. The drainage system is a fairly satisfactory one. The main stream in the township is the Little Neshannock, which heads in Jefferson Township and flows in a directly southern course through the region in question. An important tributary of this, called the West Branch, rises in Hickory Township, flows southeast through a portion of Shenango and the southwestern corner of Lackawannock, and at length joins the parent stream near where it departs into Lawrence County, thus traversing a large portion of Wilmington.

Much of the land which subsequently became Wilmington Township lay in the third district of donation lands. These latter were tracts which were granted to the survivors of the Revolution and their descendants, by the commonwealth, as a reward for their services and sacrifices. Few, indeed, of these veterans, ever realized much from the gifts so received. In the majority of instances, the claims were either sold at prices fabulously incommensurate with the value of the land, or passed into the control of some of the many land-speculating firms who seized upon any opportunity of securing territory, with which to carry on their business, with the most astonishing avidity. Many a humble pioneer, whose scanty means had been expended in the pur- chase of a land title from some of these corporations, found, when only too late, that the money he had parted with brought him in return no legal claim to his home. There frequently came up to his cabin other victims, who had also purchased the same land.

The early settlement of Wilmington is connected very intimately with that of Lackawannock. The reader is therefore requested to refer to the pages devoted to that township. So far as is now definitely known, the first settlers were a company of young men, who arrived early in the spring of 1798, and began to take up claims. The names of these were John McCrumb, John Waugh, John Hughson, William Hughey, Robert Wier, James Hazlet and John Blair. Each of these began settlements, and after clearing off a small portion of ground, erected a cabin and prepared to meet the necessities of a pioneer life with as much fortitude and perseverance as they could command. They were in a peculiar position. Near them were no fellow-workers with whom they could join company and share confidence. They knew not when they would be joined by others, and they had to encounter not only the direct perils of their life, but were forced day by day to meet the little vexations and indirect annoyances which such a border existence always calls forth. That they did this in cheerfulness and with patience, is evidence of the obligations which the present generation really owes to them.

Samuel Blackstone settled in Wilmington Township in 1798. His son James was born in that township November 2, 1798, and in 1822 married Nancy Waugh, locating in East Lackawannock Township, where his descend- ants still reside.

Hugh Means, another early settler, whose name is frequently met with while tracing the history of Mercer County, arrived with his family in 1800,

614

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

and located on the old homestead. There were a large number of boys in the family, and these have since become the founders of a regular community of Means.' Five years later James Young, a Revolutionary veteran, came to the township, and settled upon the farm subsequently occupied by his son John. Among the other settlers might be mentioned Joshua Cook, Christopher Irwin, Benjamin Junkin and Isaac Donaldson. All these were prominently identified with the best interests of the region they helped to settle. Their names are found on the court records in many instances, and even when not thus recorded, it is safe to say that they left an imperishable impress upon the history of the township's development.

There was but one early mill in the vicinity, and that was the one built in the year 1804 by Hugh Means. It was a small, clumsy, inefficient concern compared with our modern giants of industry, but it served a good purpose, and saved the early residents many a weary journey through the forests and over hills to farther removed places of grist-grinding. It had but one run of stone. This was operated by power furnished by a small water-wheel, which the creek near which it was located revolved in a slow and creaky manner. In this old establishment the first township election was held.

Of the game that used to be seen in this vicinity, a writer says: " Game was very plenty, deer, bears, etc., abounding, and wolves and snakes being profusely plenty, wolves becoming so bold as to kill stock almost in the door- yards, and carrying it off before the very eyes of the settlers. One man is related to have killed six bears in one day, although that particular feat was not very remarkable. He ran across an old she-bear and three cubs in the woods, and being successful in killing the mother at the first fire, soon dis- patched the cubs, they refusing to leave the body of their parent. Then, on his way home for help to drag the carcasses to his house, he spied another bear asleep in the fork of a tree, and dropped him with another lucky bullet; while on his way back with help he killed the sixth. This incident at least shows how plentiful these animals were."

WOLF CREEK TOWNSHIP.

This township is one of the six original ones. It included all of what are now Liberty, Wolf Creek and Pine Townships until February 17, 1851, at which time the former and the last named were taken out and erected into new and distinct organizations. It forms one of the extreme eastern tier of town- ships that face on the Venango County line. It is bounded on the north by Worth and a portion of Jackson, on the west by Findley, and on the south by Pine Townships. Its shape is that of a trapezoid. The surface is quite well diversified, portions, especially in the southern part, affording an interesting view to the spectator. In some places there are pleasing undulations, while in others the surface is comparatively level, without particular charm. The soil is fertile, and from it good crops are produced. The township is an agri- cultural one, and as such ranks among the first in the eastern part of the county, thus evidencing that its soil must at least be up to the average. The drainage is good. Wolf Creek, with its many little tributaries shooting off in all directions, each of which penetrates the adjacent country and filters through its soil, furnishes the basis of a system that is, perhaps, equal to any in the county. The water facilities thus afforded are utilized in numerous ways. Hitherto we have spoken of the external wealth. It now remains to say that the internal treasures are not one whit less valuable. Rich coal measures underlie nearly all the township. From these an abundant supply of good fuel is obtained. Owing to the cheapness and general distribution of coal

615

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

throughout the neighboring regions, the market for Wolf Creek's mines are, in nearly every instance, purely local. The healthfulness of the climate is beyond dispute. The township has enjoyed immunity from almost every species of contagious disease, other than those natural to all localities. Indeed, the health of the inhabitants, when no extraneous causes enter into calculation, is fully equal to that of any other portion of the county.

The lands which afterward comprised Wolf Creek Township was mostly what is known as "donation lands."" That phrase, and the one "depreciation lands," originated in this way: During the Revolution the soldiers supplied by each colony were paid in continental currency, a kind of paper inflated scrip that readily depreciated in value as the exigencies of the war sank lower and lower the colonial credit, until it became almost worthless. When the contest was over, and independence won, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania determined to extend its bounty to the remaining veterans who had fought so gallantly in behalf of liberty. To do this two measures were passed by the Assembly, one giving a certain portion of the public domain as a donation for services rendered-whence arose the term "donation lands"-and the other issuing warrants for lands to all who suffered loss in the depreciation of the continental currency -- whence came the phrase "depreciation lands." In the settlement of these lands much trouble arose. The survivors of the war were in many cases indisposed to encounter the perils and hardships of settling in a new country, and as their land was located in a new region, they merely retained the ownership, without endeavoring to realize any other benefits. In some few instances they settled themselves, in others they disposed of their title to intending settlers; but in the majority of cases they simply let the land lie idle and unimproved. When the influx of settlers ensued, from 1796 to 1800, as no ownership to the soil could be detected from any evidences manifest on the land itself, many new-comers usurped claims for which they had at no time any legal right. But the truth of the old adage, that "posses- sion is nine points in law," was never more clearly demonstrated than in the region of which we speak, for when the proper owners arrived, either in person or by proxy, as in the cases where the soldiers had sold their titles to those who purposed forming settlements on the land, an inevitable conflict ensued, in which the clash of conflicting interests was audible for many years after the commencement of the land-title troubles. Indeed, much troublesome and vexatious litigation followed, causing ill-feeling and engendering much ill-blood. This, of course, was not confined to Wolf Creek Township, but extended over the entire region known as Northwestern Pennsylvania. It is mentioned here simply as explanatory of what is implied in the phrase "donation and depreciation lands."

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.

History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 79

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