History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 55

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424

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1st of June, 1772. They were from Lancaster, and came up the Susque- hanna in a canoe. Frick had formed the design of building a brewery, and Hoffman, who was a carpenter by occupation, accompanied him to perform or superintend the work of its erection. A log house was accordingly con- structed, on Market street opposite the Burr House, now the site of a brick building erected in 1835-36 by John Leisenring, and there Frick made his residence. What progress he made in the brewing business can not be ascer- tained. On the opposite side of the street Hoffman erected a log house at the site of the Burr House, to which he brought his wife immediately after its completion. There he dug the first well in the borough, and planted the first fruit trees; of the latter there were two, an apple and a pear tree, both of which were brought from Lancaster. Under careful husbandry they flourished; the pear tree still bears fruit, after the lapse of more than a cen- tury, which is sufficient evidence of the good judgment of Hoffman in its selection. The apple tree was of an early bearing variety; its fruit was of a large size and yellow color and matured in August. The first birth of a white child at "the Point" is said to have been that of Elizabeth, daughter of William Hoffman, and occurred at this log house. During the year immediately following his settlement here he was busily engaged in the con- struction of houses for those who arrived later. It is not known that he was actively engaged in the Revolutionary struggle, but a brother, from Fred- erick, Maryland, was a batteau-man in Sullivan's expedition. He continued to reside at Northumberland until his death, in 1821, and was interred in the graveyard in the rear of the Lutheran church. Three sons survived him: William, who moved to Elmira, New York, and died there at an advanced age; Joseph, and Jacob, carpenters and pump-makers by trade; and three daughters: Elizabeth, the eldest of the family, who married a Mr. Brown and moved to Elmira; Mary, who married Thomas Everard, and Deborah, who married Richardson Huzzey.

Some very interesting particulars regarding the town in 1775 may be gleaned from the journal of Rev. Philip V. Fithian, a Presbyterian clergy- man who made a missionary journey through the West Branch valley in that year. He arrived at Northumberland on Saturday, July 1, 1775, and notes in his journal under that date the numbers of canoes, boats, etc., plying about; as the result of his first impressions of the place he says: "In short, this town in a few years, without doubt, will be grand and busy." He held his first services on Sunday, July 2d, and mentions among those by whom they were attended William Cooke, sheriff of the county; "Mr. Martin, a gentleman who came lately from Jersey;" John Barker, a lawyer; John Scull, deputy surveyor; and the wife, daughters, and niece of Colonel Samuel Hunter, the commanding officer at Fort Augusta. Reuben Haines, proprie- tor of the town, then resided here, and showed Mr. Fithian the lot he in- tended to give the Presbyterian congregation. He left on the following

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Thursday, but returned again on Monday, July 17th. On this occasion he mentions having called at Martin's to see the papers, and hearing Dr. Will- iam Plunket and several other gentlemen discuss the aspect of political affairs. He was also a member of a huckleberry party, of whom the ladies were "Mrs. Boyd, a matron, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. McCartney, Miss Carothers, Miss Martin, Miss Lusk, and a strange young woman, Miss Manning." They ascended the Blue Hill, and he speaks of the prospect from that elevation in glowing terms. A plot of the town accompanies the journal, showing a row of houses along the North Branch and another along the West Branch, with none in the center.

During the Revolution the town was practically abandoned. The "Great Runaway" virtually depopulated the region to the north, and, with no defens- ive barrier between them and the enemy, the people sought refuge at Sun- bury and points farther down the river. The place was again occupied in 1784 and 1785, and the return of the former inhabitants of the West Branch valley with large additions to the population was followed by an era of growth and prosperity. In 1796 there were nearly a hundred houses in the town.

Northumberland was seriously considered as the location of the county seat in 1772, and disputed land title appears to have been the principal rea- son why it was not selected. When a change of the State capital from Lan- caster was first agitated, the claims of the northern and central portions of the State were urged in behalf of Northumberland, which would have been chosen but for the opposition of the member from Northumberland county at a decisive moment. Thus, on two different occasions, has the place narrowly escaped having greatness thrust upon it.

No conflagration of general and widespread destructiveness has ever vis- ited Northumberland; many of the houses are therefore of the substantial type of architecture that prevailed several generations ago, and among those whose appearance indicates age it would be difficult to determine which is to be given recognized precedence. An old house on North Way, now leased by the borough authorities for the purposes of a poor house, is generally regarded as the oldest, but there is not sufficient evidence of the fact to form a positive | conclusion. In the early part of the century it was used as a hotel. The stone house on North Way at the corner of Wheatley alley is also a land- mark of undoubted antiquity. It was occupied at the beginning of the cent- ury by James Hiatt, who died on the 2d of March, 1815, at the age of sixty, and is buried in the old Presbyterian burial ground.

The house erected by Rev. Joseph Priestley on North Way is perhaps the most interesting of the surviving specimens of eighteenth century architecture. It was begun in 1795 and finished in 1797, under the immedi- ate supervision of the Doctor's wife. The main building is two stories high, with one-story extensions at either end: that on the east was occupied by the

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Doctor as a library and laboratory, while the other was used for domestic purposes. The house throughout is exceptionally convenient in all its arrangements, large apartments, wide halls, and dressing rooms in connection with the different apartments on the second floor being among the distin- guishing features. On the roof there was an observatory, which long since disappeared. The original color was white. The Priestley family were suc- ceeded in the occupancy and ownership by Judge Chapman, who resided here during his judicial incumbency and until the close of his life. It was subsequently the residence of Charles Kay, son of the Rev. James Kay, who amassed a fortune in Philadelphia as one of the founders of the well known publishing house of Kay & Brothers.

At an early period in the present century there stood a market house on the square in Market or King street. It was built in the style common at that day. The local artillery company met for review on the square in the rear.

PROMINENT EARLY RESIDENTS.

In a list of the taxables of Turbut township prior to 1775 each of the follow- ing persons is accredited with a house and lot: Hawkins Boone, John Boyd, John Carothers (tanner), John Chattam (blacksmith), John De France, Thomas Dean, John Freeman, William Forster, Philip Frig, William Hoffman, Rob- ert King, William Kennersley, Cornelius Lamerson, Aaron Levy, William McKinn, Robert Martin, Peter Martin, and John McAdams. As Northum- berland was then the only town in Turbut township, it is fair to presume that this list includes the names of its principal inhabitants at that time.

Captain John Boyd was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1750, and became a resident of Northumberland in 1773. On the 16th of October, 1776, he was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Twelfth Pennsylvania regiment, and subsequently promoted first lieutenant; in July, 1778, he was transferred to the Third regiment, in which he became captain lieutenant. He was a member of the "forlorn hope" that inaugurated the assault upon Stony Point in 1779. Retiring from his regiment, January 1, 1781, he took command of a company of rangers in Bedford county, and was taken prisoner at the Raystown branch of Juniata while crossing the Alle- gheny mountains. After spending a year in Canada under duress he was exchanged and returned to Northumberland, where he spent the remainder of his life. Among the civil positions with which he was honored were those of member of the Supreme Executive Council, register and recorder of North- umberland county, and inspector of internal revenue under President Wash- ington. He died on the 13th of February, 1831. His brother, Lieutenant William Boyd, of the Twelfth regiment, was killed at the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777. Another brother, Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, was killed by the Indians, September 12, 1779, in Sullivan's campaign.

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Lieutenant John Carothers was commissioned as an officer in the Twelfth Pennsylvania regiment, October 16, 1776, and killed at Germantown, October 4, 1777. He left a widow, who died in 1785, and one son.

Lieutenant Robert King was commissioned as an officer in the Twelfth regiment, October 4, 1776, and transferred to the Third, July 1, 1778. In the autumn of the latter year he returned to the county, and was a member of Hartley's expedition to Tioga. In 1840 he resided in Mifflin township, Lycoming county, at the advanced age of eighty-eight.

Colonel John Bull, a native of Providence township, Montgomery county, first appears in the miltary history of the State as captain in command of Fort Allen (now Weissport, Carbon county) in June, 1758, and accompanied Forbes's expedition to Fort Duquesne later in the same year. In 1775 he was appointed colonel of the First Pennsylvania battalion, but resigned, Jan- uary 20, 1776. At the organization of the Board of War, March 14, 1777, he was one of its constituent members, and on the 16th of July, 1777, he was appointed adjutant general of the State. He superintended the construction of the batteries at Billingsport in 1778, put down the chevaux de frize in the Delaware in 1779, and was commissary of purchases at Philadelphia in 1780. He resided at the present site of Norristown, the county seat of Montgomery county, and was in affluent circumstances until the destruction of his prop- erty by the British. At the close of the Revolution he located at Northum- berland, where he died on the 9th of August, 1824, at the age of ninety-three. He was a candidate for the legislature in 1802, but was defeated by Simon Snyder; in 1808 he was the Federalist candidate for Congress in the district of which Northumberland county formed part, but was again defeated. In 1803, 1804, and 1805 he was elected to the Assembly.

Colonel Bernard Hubley was commissioned as first lieutenant in the Ger- man regiment, August 15, 1776, and promoted captain, February 24, 1778. While his regiment was stationed in Northumberland county he was in com- mand of Fort Rice and Fort Jenkins for a time; at the close of the war he located at Northumberland and engaged in the brewing business. He was commissioned as county lieutenant, December 21, 1789, and was also connected with the local militia in various other official capacities. The first volume of his History of the Revolution was published at Northumberland in 1807. He died in 1808.

Lawrence Campbell, the first burgess of Northumberland, was a native of Ireland. He immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1784, located at Northumber- land in 1792, and died at that place, November 8, 1834, at the age of sixty- eight years, several months after the conclusion of his sixth term as burgess. Rev. Joseph Priestley,* whose residence at Northumberland has probably

* This sketch is derived from the " Memoirs of Dr. Joseph Priestley, to the year 1795, written by himself; with a continuation, to the time of his decease, by his son, Joseph Priestley;" printed by John Binns at Northumberland In 1805.

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given to the place a wider celebrity than any other circumstance in connec- tion with its history, was born at Fieldhead, near Leeds, Yorkshire, England, . March 13, 1733. His early education was obtained under the tuition of Reverends Hague and Kirby, and at the age of sixteen he had acquired a fair knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. In September, 1752, he went to the academy of Daventry, where he spent three years, entering the minis- try as assistant to the Rev. Mr. Meadows, of Needham Market, Suffolk, at the conclusion of his academic course. There he remained three years; dur- ing this period his first published work, "The Doctrine of the Atonement," was issued. The following three years, 1758-61, were spent at Nantwick, where he wrote an English grammar and "Observations on the Character and Reasoning of the Apostle Paul." From 1761 to 1767 he taught elocution, logic, Hebrew, and the civil law in an academy at Warrington. During this connection he met Benjamin Franklin at London, and, as the result of this association, began a series of experiments in electricity.

In September, 1767, he removed to Leeds, having accepted an invitation to take charge of Millhall chapel. Here the first of his controversial treatises was written; he also published an "Essay on Government," "A familiar Introduction to the Study of Electricity," a "Chart of History," etc., etc. His house adjoined a brewery, and observations of fixed air produced in the process of fermentation led to a series of experiments upon the nature of the atmosphere, ultimately resulting in that discovery with which his name will always be associated. He began these experiments with but limited knowl- edge of chemistry, but this apparent disadvantage undoubtedly contributed largely to his success, as he was thus thrown entirely upon his own resources and led to devise new apparatus and modes of operation. His first publica tion on the subject of air appeared in 1772; it was a small pamphlet on the method of impregnating water with fixed air. In the previous year he had already procured good air from saltpetre; he had ascertained the use of agi- tation and of vegetation, as the means employed by nature in purifying the atmosphere for the support of animal life, and that air vitiated by animal respiration was a pabulum to vegetable life; he had procured factitious air in a much greater variety of ways than had been known before, and he had been in the habit of substituting quicksilver in lieu of water in many of his experiments. Of these discoveries he gave an account in his paper before the Royal Society in 1772, which deservedly obtained the honor of the Cop- ley medal. In this paper he announced the discovery of nitrous air; he showed the use of a burning lens in pneumatic experiments; he related the discovery and properties of marine acid air; he added much to the little theretofore known of air generated by animal putrefaction and vegetable fer- mentation, and determined many facts relating to the diminution and dete- rioration of air by the combustion of charcoal and the calcination of metals. It was not until June or July, 1774, that he made the full discovery of deph-

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logisticated* air, which he procured from precipitate per se, and from red lead. He announced this discovery publicly at the table of M. Lavosier at Paris in October, 1774, and about the same time repeated his experiments before the scientific chemists of Paris.

In a sketch of this nature it is impossible to pursue his subsequent inves- tigations; enough has been said to show that in the brief space of two years he announced to the world more facts of real importance and wide applica- tion in pneumatic chemistry than all his predecessors had previously made known. His attention was called to the subject purely by the accident of his proximity to a brew-house at Leeds, where he had ample opportunity to observe and determine the properties of fixed air; one experiment led to another, ultimately resulting in the discoveries upon which his philosophical reputation is principally founded.

After a residence of six years at Leeds, he entered the service of the Earl of Shelburne, with whom he traveled in Europe. In 1780 he became pastor of a dissenting congregation at Birmingham, where, in 1789, he became involved in a controversy regarding the "test act;" his expressed approval of the French Revolution provoked a violent attack from Burke in Parliament, and, to such an extent had his political views aroused the hostility of the Birmingham populace, that, on the 14th of July, 1791, his residence was burned by a mob. This called forth a number of addresses, among which were several invitations to become a member of the French Convention. During the next three years he resided at London and Hackney, but, finding the hostility of his enemies unabated, he decided to leave England, and em- barked for America on the 7th of April, 1794. The considerations that induced his location at Northumberland are thus stated in his "Memoirs:"-

At the time of my leaving England, my son, in conjunction with Mr. Cooper and other English emigrants, had a scheme for a large settlement for the friends of liberty in general near the head of the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania. And taking it for granted that it would be carried into effect, after lauding at New York I went to Phil- adelphia, and thence to Northumberland, a town the nearest to the proposed settle- ment, thinking to reside there until some progress had been made in it. The settle- ment was given up; but being here, and my wife and my self liking the place, I have determined to take up my residence here, though subject to many disadvantages. Philadelphia was excessively expensive, and this comparatively a cheap place; and my sons, settling in the neighborhood, will be less exposed to temptation and more likely to form habits of sobriety and industry. They will also be settled at much less expense than in or near a large town. We hope, after some time, to be joined by a few of our friends from England, that a readier communication may be opened with Philadelphia, and that the place will improve and become more eligible in other respects.

In the spring of 1795 he began the construction of a house suitable to his requirements, and pursuits; it was completed in 1797, and still stands in a

*This term was introduced to scientific nomenclature by Priestley; "dephlogisticated air" is oxygen gas.

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good state of preservation on North Way, with a lawn sloping to the canal. Here he resumed his experiments and studies. He was offered the profess- orship of chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania, but declined, although he delivered two courses of lectures in Philadelphia. He corresponded with Presidents Jefferson and Adams, and, although a voluminous writer on polit- ical economy, never participated actively in civil affairs in this country, of which he never became a naturalized citizen. In religious belief he was a Unitarian, and established at Northumberland the oldest church of that denomination in central Pennsylvania; he was also active in promoting the educational interests of the community and was one of the founders of the old Northumberland Academy, the first school of advanced grade in this part of the State. The last years of his life were free from the controversy and care that entered so largely into his experience, and thus he died, in peace and quietness, on the 6th of February, 1804. His remains are interred in the Northumberland cemetery.

The centennial anniversary of the discovery of oxygen was celebrated at Northumberland in June, 1874, by a meeting of about fifty of the most prom- inent scientists of the United States and Canada. David Taggart delivered the address of welcome, and Professor Chandler, of Columbia College, New York, presided. Appropriate memorial exercises and scientific addresses were the features of the program. Cablegrams were interchanged with the Priestley Memorial Committee of Birmingham. This convention and the demonstrations of a similar nature in England attracted wide attention.

Of Frederick Antes, William Cooke, William Wilson, Thomas Cooper, and Seth Chapman, all of whom were judges in the county courts and resided at Northumberland, extended mention is made in this work in the chapter on the Bench and Bar, where sketches of early resident lawyers also appear. The early physicians-Doctors Allison, Young, Lathey, Jackson, and Rodrigue -receive corresponding mention in the chapter on the Medical Profession. -

EARLY MERCHANTS AND HOTELS.

A map of the Susquehanna river, drawn in 1701 by Isaac Taylor, surveyor of Chester county, locates J. Letort's store at the site of Northumberland. He was a French trader, and probably carried on a thriving business with the Indians in the exchange of such commodities as a savage population could assimilate for peltries, etc. This was doubtless the initial commercial venture of the West Branch valley.

No definite particulars have been learned regarding merchandising at Northumberland before the Revolutionary war. When the population re- turned after the close of that struggle the first merchants were probably William Wilson and John Boyd. Josiah Haines, Dr. Benjamin F. Young, Peter Faulkner, Hepburn & Cowden, James Towar & Company, William Mc- Clelland, and Robert Irwin were prominent merchants prior to 1800. Wil-

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son and Boyd continued in partnership until April 10, 1802. In the Gazette of January 1, 1794, Peter Faulkner informs the public that he has just received a consignment of goods from Philadelphia, for which grain would be taken at market prices; he offers seven pence per bushel for ashes, and twenty shillings per hundred-weight for " black salts." In the issue of the same paper for April 16, 1794, Hepburn & Cowden offer a reward of fifty dollars for the apprehension of certain "malicious, evil disposed persons," who, on the 30th of March previously, had rolled upwards of one hundred bushels of salt, one wagon, and one cart from their landing into the river, and cut loose a boat. This firm dissolved partnership, June 4, 1794, both con- tinuing business individually. Some idea of the mercantile business at that date may be obtained from the following enumeration of articles advertised in the Gazette in 1801 :-

Superfine, second, and coarse cloth, mixed, plain, striped, and white cassimeres, striped, plain, blue, and brown nankeens, chintzes, calicoes, ging-mufflins, and dimities of all kinds, large and small umbrellas, velvets, thickset and fancy cords, satin, lus- trings, Persians, and Sarsonets, calimancoes, moureens, taboeens, and durants, Irish linens, checks, and bed ticks, iron and copper tea kettles, German and cradliug scythes, sugars, coffee, aud tea of almost all kinds, sherry, madiera, and port wines, Jamaica spirits, French brandy, with a few barrels of old whiskey, best Spanish and American cigars, with a number of other articles.

James Hepburn, by whom this advertisement was inserted, conducted business at a log building on the corner of North Way and Duke street. He died on the 4th of January, 1817, in the seventieth year of his age.

John Cowden, who served as postmaster of Northumberland from 1795 until his death, January 12, 1837, was engaged in merchandising nearly the whole of that time. His business establishment passed to William Forsyth in 1835; the latter was succeeded in 1844 by his son, William T. Forsyth, who continued in business until 1884.

Samuel McClintock and John Guier were also among the merchants of Cowden's day. The former resided on Water street just above Queen, and one of his sons is a prominent lawyer at Wilkesbarre; the store of the latter was at the intersection of Water and Queen streets.

Ephraim P. Shannon, son of Samuel Shannon, who settled at Northumber- land prior to 1800, was a native of this place and for some years one of its prominent business men. His store was at the corner of Queen and Front streets, where he erected the brick building afterward incorporated in the Van Kirk house. He was born, February 4, 1797, and died, August 27, 1851.

Daniel Brautigam, a native of Philadelphia, where he was born, March 30, 1788, was in business for some years, individually or in partnership with others, at a stone building on the northeast side of Queen street between Water and Front, now occupied by Straub's feed store. He was appointed prothonotary of Northumberland county, January 29, 1836, and filled that position until February 5, 1839. He died, March 10, 1863.

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Clyde & Porter was the caption of a well known business firm about the period from 1825 to 1840. William Clyde, senior member, was a native of Ireland, and a chairmaker by trade, pursuing that avocation in partner- ship with his brother Thomas at a log house still standing on Queen street between Front and Second. Thomas died, July 21, 1822, at the age of fifty-one years. Porter was the nephew of William Clyde. Their business was transacted in the brick building at the corner of Front and Market streets where Miss Lyon now resides. William Clyde died, April 7, 1841, at the age of sixty-five years.

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History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 55

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829- Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424