History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 63

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Northumberland County > History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania > Part 63

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Alexander W. Johnston, executor of Alice Johnston, executrix of Francis Johnston,

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by his attorney in fact, Ebenezer Greenough, to Roger Wolverton, administrator of John Cherry, deceased; deed dated November 22, 1831; consideration, five hundred sixty-two dollars, for the undivided, (now the divided) two thirds interest in the Samuel Clark survey .- Entered, May 19, 1832, in Deed Book Y, p. 265.

Jacob Tomlinson and Mary Tomlinson with John Cherry; agreement dated De- cember 6, 1803; contract mutual (five hundred pounds forfeit) for a division of the Samuel Clark survey hy a line "beginning at a stone corner near the road, thence north seventy-three degrees west thirty perches to a white-oak, thence south eighty-four degrees west thirty-four perches to a white-oak, thence south seventy-six degrees west sixteen perches to a stone, thence south one degree east to the back line."-Entered, July 12, 1830, in Deed Book X, p. 271.

Jacob Tomlinson, survivor, to John Housel;' deed dated May 12, 1826; considera- tion: five dollars, for all his interest in the undivided portion of the Samuel Clark sur- vey which was allotted to the Tomlinsons .- Entered, June 29, 1826, in Deed Book W, p. 41.

John M. Housel to John C. Boyd; deed dated June 15, 1826; consideration: one hundred dollars, for the Tomlinson portion of the Samuel Clark survey .- Entered, June 28, 1826, in Deed Book W, p. 40.

James R. Shannon, sheriff of Northumberland county, to Jesse Major; deed dated August 20, 1824; consideration: twelve dollars, for all the interest in the Samuel Clark survey belonging to Walter Brady .- Entered, March 1, 1826, in Deed Book V, p. 667.

Jesse Major and wife to John C. Boyd and John Housel; deed dated May 1, 1826; consideration: two hundred thirty dollars, for the Brady interest previously mentioned. -Entered, June 28, 1826, in Deed Book W, p. 38.

John M. Housel and wife to John C. Boyd; assignment dated June 15, 1826; con- sideration: one hundred dollars, for all his interest in the Brady interest.

John C. Boyd to David McKnight; deed dated June 7, 1836; consideration: five hundred dollars, for the undivided one half of his interest in the Samuel Clark survey, called Boyd's stone coal quarry .- Entered, August 4, 1836, in Deed Book Z, p. 670.

David McKnight to Richard Richardson; deed dated January 28, 1840; consider- ation: six thousand dollars, for the undivided one half of eighty acres of the one hun- dred six acres jointly owned by Boyd and Mcknight .- Entered, February 1, 1840, in Deed Book BB, p. 83.

Richard Richardson to John C. Boyd; deed dated April 10, 1841; consideration: twenty thousand dollars, for the undivided interest in the eighty acres .- Entered, June 25, 1841, in Deed Book BB, p. 542.

John C. Boyd to the Shamokin Coal and Iron Company; deed dated October 18, 1841; consideration: fifty thousand dollars, for ninety-six acres sixty perches of the Samuel Clark survey, all lying south of Spurzheim and east of Grant street .- Entered, December 30, 1841, in Deed Book CC, p. 140.

Felix Maurer, sheriff of Northumberland county, to William Platt; deed dated January 8, 1846; consideration : six thousand dollars, for the ninety-six acres sixty perches previously mentioned .- Entered, November 11, 1843, in Sheriff's Deed Book, BB, p. 363.

William Platt and wife to William L. Helfenstein; deed dated December 16, 1854; consideration: eight thousand dollars, for the ninety-six acres sixty perches previously mentioned .- Entered, April 17, 1855, in Deed Book LL, p. 266.

John Cherry with George Derk; agreement dated April 28, 1813; consideration: eight hundred dollars, to sell inter alia all the western end of the Samuel Clark survey -one hundred acres .- Entered, August 26, 1814, in Deed Book S, p. 372.

Sheriff of Northumberland county to John Speece; one hundred acres, sold as the property of George Derk .- Bellas vs. McCarty, 10th of Watts, p. 13, etc.

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John Speece to Philip Moore; one hundred acres- the western part of the Samuel Clark survey.

Sheriff of Northumberland county to Samuel Sigfried; deed dated August 17, 1829; consideration: one hundred dollars, for one hundred acres-the western part of the Samuel Clark survey-sold as the property of Philip. Moore.

Administrator of Samuel Sigfried to William McCarty; sale dated April 19, 1832; consideration: five hundred sixty-five dollars, for the undivided half of one hundred acres-the western part of the Samuel Clark survey .- Entered in Orphans' Court Docket, No. 7, p. 300.

Samuel Sigfried to Alexander Jordan; deed dated February 4, 1830; consideration : fifty dollars, for the undivided half of one hundred acres-the western part of the Samuel Clark survey .- Entered, June 15, 1830, in Deed Book X, p. 243.

Alexander Jordan and wife to William McCarty, Thomas Davis, and Joseph Warner; deed dated January 5, 1831; consideration: forty-five hundred dollars, for the undivided one fourth of one hundred acres-the western part of the Samuel Clark sur- vey .- Entered, July 7, 1836, in Deed Book X, p. 643.

John Cherry to Benjamin Campbell; deed for one hundred acres-the middle portion of the Samuel Clark survey .- Entered in Deed Book S, p. 372.

Jacob Mckinney, sheriff of Northumberland county, to William McCarty, Thomas Davis, and Joseph Warner; deed dated August 18, 1830; consideration: two thousand dollars for one hundred acres, sold, April 24, 1830, as the property of Benjamin Camp- bell and in occupation of John Templin .- Entered in Deed Book X, p. 353.

William McCarty and wife, Thomas Davis and wife, and Joseph Warner and wife to Alexander Jordan; deed dated March 7, 1838; consideration: twelve hundred fifty dollars for the undivided one fourth of one hundred acres of the Samuel Clark survey, bounded on the north by J. Brady, on the east by John C. Boyd, on the south by Will- iam Green, and on the west by other lands of the grantors .- Entered, June 17, 1840, in Deed Book BB, p. 280.

Thomas Davis and wife, Joseph Warner, and William McCarty, by their attorney in fact, Joseph Warner, to William L. Helfenstein; deed dated February 6, 1850; con- sideration, nine thousand dollars, for three fourths of the western part of the Samuel Clark survey and two other smaller tracts, excepting certain specified lots .- Entered, Juue 17, 1858, in Deed Book OO, p. 411.

The researches of Dr. J. J. John have developed some very interesting particulars regarding the transfers immediately preceding Boyd's purchase in 1826. Walter Brady, sheriff of Northumberland county, 1815-18, sub- sequently became embarrassed financially, and the upper part of the Clark tract, of which he was then the owner, was attached upon an execution in- volving eighty-three dollars fifty cents, entered in favor of Michael Zuern. It was several times offered at sheriff's sale and at length found a purchaser, August 19, 1824, in Jesse Major, a gentleman of uncertain occupation, variously accredited as a burglar, counterfeiter, and horse thief. Tradition asserts that he had been but recently released from jail, and happened to be passing by at the time of the sale; no one seemed disposed to bid on the property, and, having made an offer of twelve dollars, he was forth- with declared to be the purchaser. To the surprise of every one present he produced the money in gold; but to a person unaccustomed to the acqui- sition of property by honorable means its possession was more of an in-

上 - IF G Kernan_VY

J. J. John

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cubus than a pleasure, and after making several visits to his purchase he next endeavored to sell it. About this time Mr. Major evinced a strong desire to own a horse-an aspiration not foreign to his nature, but which, proba- bly for the first time in his life, he was prepared to gratify according to the ordinary methods of purchase. As Dr. J. J. John aptly expresses it, he offered his "kingdom for a horse." Having found several specimens of coal in the creek, between Clay and Webster streets, he induced a black- smith at Paxinos to give them a trial; they were accordingly placed on the charcoal fire, but had no sooner become hot than fragments exploded in every direction, and the new fuel was pronounced a failure. Undismayed by this, he continued to exhibit his mineral samples in the course of his peregrinations over the country, and, while his efforts as a real estate agent were doubtless persevering, and did more to attract public attention to this locality than anything else at that time, they were not rewarded with im- mediate success. At length, in the spring of 1826, Major found himself one evening at the hotel of Joseph Snyder, in Rush township. Mr. Snyder had an old gray horse, not a very desirable specimen to the ordinary observer, but sufficiently so in the eyes of Major to prompt him to suggest the trans- fer of his land to Mr. Snyder and take the horse in payment. The propo- sition was respectfully declined, but Snyder directed the impatient and im- pecunious real estate owner to John C. Boyd, who, he said, was disposed to speculate. Major promptly interviewed Boyd, and as the result of their conference his double purpose was accomplished-he sold his land, at the consideration of two hundred thirty dollars, and secured a horse, valued at fifty dollars. And, with the object of his ambition at last attained, Mr. Major had no further connection with the history of Shamokin. The growth of a town in its incipient stages was not calculated to interest a man of his tastes.

THE TOWN PLAT.

The speculative tendencies that had induced Mr. Boyd to purchase the Shamokin tract also caused him to dispose of parts of it, and thus an inter- est (but of what nature does not appear) passed about the year 1830 into the hands of Jacob Graeff, of Reading. It was with him that the idea of laying out a town originated. In 1830 he had a part of the land surveyed and one street was opened through the brush, but beyond this the attempt was not followed by any immediate or definite results. It was reserved for Mr. Boyd to found the town on a permanent basis. In 1834 the Danville and Pottsville railroad between Sunbury and the gap was placed under con- struction; it was the prospect of railroad facilities for the transportation of coal and of increase in population naturally incident to the establishment of railroad facilities that decided Mr. Boyd in making a second attempt to found a town. The plat was accordingly surveyed on the 1st of March, 1835,

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by Kimber Cleaver, an engineer on the Danville and Pottsville railroad, assisted by Ziba Bird, who was then operating a saw mill at Locust Gap, and his son, Joseph Bird, afterward a prominent citizen of Shamokin and North- umberland, who carried the chain. The street cut out by Graeff was still distinguishable. The part laid out included the Major tract; it received the name of Marion, but a town in the West having that designation had recently proven a failure, and in his quest for a more propitious title Mr. Boyd wisely selected Shamokin. This was probably suggested by the creek. It is an Indian word, and signifies "Eel Creek" or "Eel Pond." At the earliest period in the history of this region to which authentic information relates, the name was applied to an Indian town at the site of Sunbury. From this circumstance, in all probability, it attained a wide popular significance as the unofficial designation of the purchase of 1768. In 1789 it was substituted for Ralpho as the name of an extensive township including the eastern part of the present territory of the county, and shortly after the opening of the Centre turnpike became a postoffice designation as applied to the hamlet of Snufftown, now Paxinos. Although the choice of Mr. Boyd doubtless com- manded considerable respect, it was not at once accepted in popular usage, and not until 1840, when the name of Coal postoffice was changed to Shamo- kin, was it finally and permanently engrafted upon the place.

The lower part of the Clark tract was platted as a town by McCarty, Davis, Warner, and Jordan about the time that Boyd laid out Marion. It received the name of Groveville, in honor of Mrs. William McCarty, nee Grove, but both places were more generally known as Newtown for some time.

In order from the west, the principal streets of the borough extending north and south are First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Market, Seventh, Eighth, Grant, Marshall, Orange, Liberty, Washington, Rock, Shamokin, Franklin, Pearl, Vine, Cherry, and Lombard. In order from the north, the principal streets extending east and west are James, Kase, Packer, Cameron, Dewart, Sunbury, Commerce, Independence, Shakespeare, Spurz- heim, Clay, Webster, Race, Chestnut, Spruce, Pine, Mulberry, Willow, Wal- nut, Arch, Church, Elm, Spruce, Pine, State, and Montgomery. Lincoln street extends from Market to Spurzheim parallel with Shamokin creek, which was turned into its present channel on the 20th of September, 1872.

The principal additions to the original town plats within the borough limits are the Cameron addition, on the north, Baumgardner's and Graeber's, on the east, and Cruikshank's, on the southeast, while Springfield adjoins on the east, Uniontown on the northwest, West Shamokin on the west, and the Bellas addition on the south.

PIONEERS.

The Cherry family was early represented in this locality, and is said to

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have suffered in the Indian depredations of the Revolutionary period. The name of James Cherry appears as a taxable in Shamokin township in 1788; he was probably the first settler, and cleared land at Luke Fidler, Spring- field, and elsewhere, residing at a house subsequently known as Irich's. By the division of the Clark tract in 1803 John Cherry was assigned the lower or western portion. Joseph Cherry settled on the plat near Eagle Run brewery, where vestiges of his improvements were visible long after his resi dence there had terminated. Prior to the war of 1812 Abraham Cherry built a saw mill on Shamokin creek opposite the Cameron colliery, and near it stood an old dwelling house, for many years a landmark in this section. Another member of this family had a distillery on the hill east of Shamokin.

The Tomlinsons, Solomon Dunkelberger, and William Ducher were also among the early settlers at the site of Shamokin. Of the Tomlinsons but little is definitely known, and that is not to their credit. Solomon Dunkel- berger built the first house upon the present site of the borough; it was a log structure, and was situated where the brick residence of Benjamin F. Lake now stands. William Ducher is said to have been murdered; in 1824 the Brady tract was described as "bounded by lands of Benjamin Campbell, late Benjamin Tomlinson, on which there is a stone coal quarry; a small part of the land is cleared, on which is erected a small log dwelling, occupied by the widow of the late William Ducher, deceased."

On the same day that Cleaver began to survey the town plat, Ziba Bird had the lumber for a house hauled from his saw mill at Locust Gap, and at once inaugurated building operations. Parts of the framework had already been put together and the remainder was sawed and mortised ready for use. Alexander Caldwell was one of the teamsters. The house was set on posts in the ground, and had no stone foundation. It was commenced on the 1st of March, and had so far approached completion as to be occupied as a dwell- ing on the 5th of April. It occupied part of the site of the National Hotel, corner of Shamokin and Commerce streets, and forms the front part of that structure. Mr. Bird then began the erection of another house on the opposite side of Commerce street; after its completion he moved into it, and finished the first by the addition of a cellar and foundation walls. The following let- ter, published in a Philadelphia paper and unearthed by Dr. J. J. John, con- veys a fairly accurate idea of the appearance and extent of the place at that time :-

Shamokin P. O., July 9, 1835.

I have just returned from a short ride of six miles to the termination of the graded part of the western section of the-allow me to call it "Girard railroad"-being accom- panied by the assistant engineer, Mr. Totten, to whose polite attentions I am much in- debted for much of the pleasure of the trip through the mountains. The road from this point (which is on the Shamokin creek, thirteen miles east of Sunbury) passes np the creek, principally through an almost uninhabited country-the population, at least, is very sparse. Some three or four miles up we came into the Shamokin coal region,

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by the mines of which the country below, as far as Sunbury, is supplied, and from which, when the road is completed, large quantities will be sent to the Susquehanna river for exportation. On arriving at Mr. Boyd's mines, near the terminus of the graded part of the road and amidst the solitary mountains, we were gratified to see a large two-story dwelling house, a large store, barn, and other out-houses erected and nearly completed in a neat and handsome style. But if our surprise was great at ob- serving such buildings in such a place, judge what it must have been when, on our return, we met five or six wagous loaded with furniture, women, children, cats, dogs, and chickeus, and accompanied hy cows, calves, sheep, and pigs, wending their way up the railroad to these very buildings, where, Duddy informed us, he was about to open a tavern. From whence his guests were to come I could not, for the life of me, con- ceive, at least until the road should be completed to his place and the mines should be worked. The next building erected, I suppose, will be a blacksmith shop, when the place will have all the attributes of a town in a new country, and will be entitled to a postoffice.

In 1836 there were five families at Shamokin. Ziba Bird and Joseph Snyder resided at the Boyd town plat, and Dr. Robert Phillips, James Porter, and Jacob Mowry at the lower part of the town.

John C. Boyd, the founder of Shamokin, was born in West Fallowfield township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1793, youngest son of John and Mary (Cowen) Boyd; the former was a soldier in the Continental Army dur- ing the Revolution, brigadier general in the State militia, and member of the legislature. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, but left the farm to enter the office of his brother, a broker in Philadelphia, for whom he subsequently traveled as agent and collector. In 1820 he married Hannah, daughter of General Daniel Montgomery, of Danville, and shortly afterward removed to that place, where he opened a store. In 1824 he relinquished merchandising and located at the "Boyd farm," two miles above Danville on the opposite side of the river. There he built a grist mill and mansion house, and purchased adjoining land until he owned nearly a thousand acres. In the midst of his extensive agricultural operations he was also connected with vari- ous enterprises designed to promote the development of the internal resources of the State, notably the Danville and Pottsville Railroad Company and the Susquehanna Canal Company, in both of which he was a corporate member. His early mining operations and the circumstances under which he laid out the original town plat of Shamokin have been detailed in the preceding por- tion of this chapter. He was also largely interested in the old Shamokin furnace, and experienced serious financial loss by the failure of that enter- prise. The remaining years of his life were spent in an arduous struggle to retrieve his fortunes, and he had about reached a point where his embarrass- ments would have terminated, when his death occurred, August 18, 1856. Seven children survived him: Mary L., who married William Neal, of Blooms- burg, Pennsylvania; D. Montgomery; H. Eliza; James; J. Alexander; Chris- tiana J., who married Colonel William M. McClure, and Joseph C.

Kimber Cleaver, the distinguished engineer by whom Shamokin was laid

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out, was a native of Roaring Creek township, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he was born on the 17th of October, 1814. He began his career as an engineer during the construction of the Danville and Pottsville railroad, located at Shamokin shortly after the town was laid out, and was a member of the firm of Fagely, Cleaver & Company until 1844. During this period he was also connected with the Mount Carbon railroad, constructed a map of the Middle anthracite coal field from personal surveys, and located the route for a railroad from Shamokin to Pottsville. He was principally engaged in professional work in Schuylkill county from 1844 to 1850, and in the latter year laid out Trevorton. He was chief engineer in the survey and construc- tion of what is now known as the Herndon branch of the Philadelphia and Reading railroad, and was subsequently connected in a similar capacity with the Philadelphia and Sunbury railroad; he also performed a large amount of very important engineering work at the various collieries of the Shamokin coal field. In politics he was closely identified with the Native American party, of which he was the candidate for Governor, surveyor general, and canal commissioner of Pennsylvania, member of Congress, etc. The sugges- tion of the Atlantic cable was originally due to him, and a variety of ingen- ious and useful inventions also emanated from his fertile brain. He died on the 19th of October, 1858.

Ziba Bird was born in Warren county, New Jersey, a son of James Bird, who immigrated to Rush township. There he engaged in farming on Little Roaring creek and was so occupied when he formed the acquaintance of John C. Boyd, who induced him to take charge of his mining operations at Sha- mokin. He was thus one of the earliest residents of that town. He erected the first buildings that occupied the sites of the National and Vanderbilt Hotels, two double houses on the south side of Commerce street between Franklin and Pearl, and probably others. When the town began to decline after its first period of prosperity he returned to his farm, and afterward removed to Red Point, on the Susquehanna river below Danville, where he died. Mr. Bird was three times married, and was the father of nineteen children.

Joseph Snyder, the pioneer hotel keeper of Shamokin, settled in Rush township, Northumberland county, in 1818, and engaged in farming, but subsequently became proprietor of a hotel at Paxinos, whence he removed to Shamokin in July, 1835, as described in the letter previously quoted in this chapter. The "large two-story dwelling house" referred to by the writer stood upon the present site of the Hotel Vanderbilt and has been partly in- corporated in that structure; here John B. Snyder, the first white child born at Shamokin and oldest native resident of the town, was born on the 3d of April, 1836. Having met with but little encouragement Mr. Snyder resumed business at Paxinos, whence he again returned to Shamokin, but relinquished hotel keeping several years later to accept the office of resident land agent,

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which position he held for some years. He was born in New Jersey, October 10, 1796, and died at Shamokin, February 1, 1867.

Benjamin McClow was born near Bear Gap, Northumberland county, June 25, 1812, son of Joseph and Mary (Campbell) McClow. He was brought up in the vicinity of Elysburg and learned the trade of carpenter. In 1835 he came to Shamokin and was employed at his trade until the fol- lowing year, when he took charge of a saw mill on Coal run. In the spring of 1838 he erected his present residence at the corner of Pearl and Commerce streets, and brought his family thither in June of that year. Here he has resided almost continuously ever since.

Jacob Mowry came to Shamokin in 1836 and took up his residence in a small log house of which the site is now covered by the refuse from the Came- ron colliery. In the spring of 1838 he built the first house in the lower part of Shamokin, and engaged in business as a butcher. During the years 1836-37 he was principally employed in exploring the surrounding region and locating the outcrops of the coal veins of this basin. It was he who " drove " the first drifts in Buck ridge, now known as Big mountain, and also the first drifts in the ridge opposite the old furnace. Subsequently he engaged in hotel keeping, farming, etc. Mr. Mowry was twice married, and was the father of nineteen children. He died on the 9th of April, 1875, in the seventy-third year of his age.

Jonas L. Gilger arrived at Shamokin on the 20th of March, 1838, and is one of the oldest residents of the borough. During the first three years after he came here he was employed as a journeyman carpenter by George Martz, under whom he worked on the construction of the furnace, railroad shops, the first blocks of miners' houses, etc. He then engaged in business individually, and was for some years a builder and contractor on an exten- sive scale. He built the first Methodist and Lutheran churches, and was associated with Stephen Bittenbender in the construction of the First Pres- byterian church. He was elected burgess in 1866, serving one term, and served as school director fourteen years.

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History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 63

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