USA > Pennsylvania > Perry County > History of Perry County, Pennsylvania, including descriptions of Indians and pioneer life from the time of earliest settlement, sketches of its noted men and women and many professional men > Part 107
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"Beginning at the county line on top of the Tuscarora mountain; thence south thirty degrees east, nine iniles, one hundred and twenty perches through mountain land of Peter Shively, John Baker, David Kern, Jacob Kreamer, Peter Smith, John Long and others to the Cumberland County line; thence along said county line on the top of the Blue mountain to the Madison Town- ship line; thence along the said township line to the top of the Tuscarora mountain and Juniata County line ; thence along the county line and on top of Tuscarora mountain to the place of beginning.'
Accordingly it extends from Juniata to Cumberland County, those coun- ties being its northern and southern boundaries. On the west it joins To- boyne, and on the east, Madison. Much of the land in this township is like a garden spot, which accounts for those early pioneers warranting it as soon as the land office opened. The soil is underlaid with limestone. Of it the late Prof. J. R. Flickinger said: "The even crests of the Conoco- cheague on the north and west, and Bowers' Mountain on the south, in- close as rich and prosperous a vale as can be found in the state," and be it remembered that Mr. Flickinger had traveled Pennsylvania extensively and knew whereof he spoke.
The early settlers, mostly Scotch-Irish, began coming in as soon as lands were made available by the land office; later the newcomers were mostly of German origin. Of course, the opening of the lands to settlement had been anticipated, as many of the warrants were taken out on the very day the land office opened, February 3, 1755. As the old Indian trail, which later became the pioneer highway, led through this part of the county, it is natural to suppose that those who came and went knew of these lands long before. Ross and James Mitchell each took up over 100 acres in 1755; Robert Pollock and Ludwig Laird each took up over 200. The Endslow mill is located on one of these tracts, the first mill being built prior to 1778, in which year it was assessed in the name of James Miller. Its his- tory is covered in the chapter relating to "Old Landmarks, Mills and In- dustries." William Croncleton took up 145 acres in 1755; Abraham Mitchell, 244 acres in 1762; James Morrison, 194 acres in 1766, on which stands the northwestern section of Blain; the homestead now being in the possession of Harry Hall. Others who took up lands were Alexander Murray, Robert Murray, William Huston, John Montgomery, John and William Nesbit, William Forrest, Andrew Moore, John Whiting and Adam Boal, Peter Grove, John Rhea, Anthony Morrison, Ann Boal, Thomas Hamilton, Robert Miller, Allen Nesbit, Robert Adams, Alexander Rogers, George Kerscadden, William Harkness, and in Henry's Valley David Deihl, Philip Christian and others.
A chapter of this book is devoted to "The Famous Blaine Family," per- taining chiefly to the strain from which James G. Blaine, the statesman, sprung. These early Blaines took up much land in what was then Toboyne Township, but which is within the present limits of Jackson Township. Of the father's (James Blaine's) earliest holdings all the records are not available, but all that portion of Blain Borough lying west of Main Street and adjoining the part later taken from the Hall farm, once belonged to
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him. He also had owned the two farms owned in recent years by Samuel Woods. In 1756 he took up two additional tracts, one of 407 acres and one of 173. From him the Woods "mansion farm" passed to his son, James L., by will, who sold it to Captain David Moreland, in 1815. Moreland's sons in turn sold it to Francis Wayne Woods, the ancestor of the present generation. In 1778 James Blaine was assessed with a gristmill, a still and a negro.
As the elder Blaine's sons began life for themselves they too took up lands in the vicinity. Among those were Ephraim, Alexander, William and James. James Blaine was one of the owners of the farm owned at present by Clark Bower, at this time Perry County's representative in the General Assembly. In Mr. Bower's possession are deeds, etc., showing warrants for 272 acres in Toboyne Township surveyed and warranted to James Blaine and James Adams on February 3, 1755, and May 12, 1790. "The said James Blaine" later conveyed his share in the part first war- ranted to James Adams, thus giving Adams ownership to the whole tract. In 1800 James Adams conveyed it to John and Thomas Adams "free and clear of all restrictions and reservations as to mines, royalties, quit rents and otherwise, excepting and reserving only the fifth part of the gold and silver ore for the use of the com- monwealth to be delivered at the pit's mouth free of all charges." The deeds bear the dates of Janu- ary 17th and 20th, the latter trans- ferring that part to John Adams "for the sum of fifty pounds Penn- sylvania currency to him in hand paid." On June 1, 1816, Solomon Bower, grandfather of the present owner, purchased it, and for over a hundred years it has been in the possession of these three genera- tions of that family. James Blaine. one of the original owners of this farm, was a lieutenant in Colo- nel Frederick Watts' Cumberland County Militia in the Revolution, his brother, William Blaine, being a captain. In 1778 he was as- sessed with a still, which shows an actual residence. He died in the winter of 1792-93.
One James Blaine, who was a resident of that part of Toboyne Township which later became Jackson Township, married a daughter of General William Lewis, an iron master of Berks County, and in connection with his father-in-law he built Hope fur- CLARK M. BOWER. nace, in Mifflin County. In 1804 they built Mount Vernon forge, in Perry County, and as late as 1817 it was operated by Blaine, Walker & Company. He was also a member of the famous Blaine family.
Ephraim, who later became Commissary General of the Colonies, took up 119 acres in 1763, which is now in the possession of Harry D. Stokes
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
and others. It is from Ephraim that the line of descent passes down to James G. Blaine. Alexander Blaine warranted 131 acres in 1766, which is now owned by Lewis Stambaugh. In 1793 he warranted an additional tract.
From the date of the township's birth, in 1844, until 1880, the elections were held in the schoolhouse on Church hill. They were then changed to the present location.
Robert Robinson, in his narrative, mentions the killing of a daughter of Robert Miller, just outside their fort, in harvest time, 1756. Robert Miller, who took up 300 acres of land in what is now Jackson Township, in 1766, is probably the same man.
The large steam tannery, in Henry's Valley, was erected about 1850, by I. J. McFarland. He sold it to James Marshall, who owned it for many years. In 1859 Samuel and Joseph M. Lupfer purchased it. They operated it for ten years, when they sold to Ahl Brothers. This firm operated it until 1877, when operations ceased. It is located about ten miles south of Blain. In 1814 Bailey Long is assessed with a gristmill, but by 1820 it had passed to Joseph Woods. The Endslow mill's history appears in the chapter devoted to "Old Landmarks, Mills and Industries." The erection of the Beaver tannery was before 1835, a description of which will be found on page 269. In 1857 a foundry was started by John Baltosser and Win. Hollenbaugh, and was operated until 1863. It was located along Houston's Run, and manufactured stoves. Some of the stoves are still in use, thus showing skilled workmanship.
As early as 1790 there was an old schoolhouse back of the orchard on the George Trostle farm, now owned by Foster Dimm. It was still stand- ing in 1810, and is spoken of as one of the most primitive in the county. William Shields, John Morrison and James McCulloch were among its teachers. On the Peter Brown farm, now owned by Thomas Adams, on the bank of Sherman's Creek, near the mouth of Brown's Run, stood an old log schoolhouse, part of the chimney yet remaining. This building was in use before 1820, when Perry County yet was a part of Cumberland. To it came pupils from above New Germantown and from points as far as the foot of Bowers' Mountain. There was another on the Black farm, at Mount Pleasant, dating back to before 1800, the lands being donated by George Black. This farm is now owned by George Anderson. The pres- ent building is at the same site. (See cut on page 322.) This school had over fifty pupils and two of the teachers were Anthony Black and a Mr. Johnston. Two of the schoolhouses of this township were named Bull Run and Manasses Gap. Their names came about through a contention as the proper location for a school building, which was finally decided by building two buildings instead of one. This was about the time of the Second Battle of Bull Run, and as the one building was close to a natural gap in Chestnut Ridge at Manassas, a wag suggested that the buildings be named Manassas Gap and Bull Run, and the school board adopted the names. There is a small settlement south of Blain known as Beavertown.
According to the mercantile appraiser there are but two business places in Jackson Township, Ernest Eberhardt, general store, and S. W. Gut- shall, oils.
Henry's Valley, although once well populated, never had a church, al- though there was a Lutheran organization there and regular services held in the schoolhouse for a long time. It was organized November 24, 1860. There were about forty members. Christian Henry and John Snyder were the first elders, and Henry Snyder and Daniel Henry, the first deacons. It was connected with the Blain charge. Before its organization Rev. J. Evans, of Newville ; Rev. I. J. Stine and Rev. Philip Willard, of Loysville, preached occasionally. The old graveyard still remains, surrounded by the
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Tuscarora State Forest, the signs of a former occupation gradually dis- appearing.
Church of the Brethren. This church was formerly known as the Ger- man Baptist Church. The building is known as the Three Springs Church, because of there being three springs near it, and the congregation is known as Perry Congregation. There is but one other congregation of this faith in Perry County, Mt. Olivet, in Oliver Township. The congregation at Three Springs was organized by Elders Peter Long and John Eby, both of whom located west of New Germantown, in 1843. The former came from Huntingdon County, and the latter from Cumberland. They became the first elders. About the same time Jacob Swartz moved from Juniata Township, where there were some people of the same faith, and became the first deacon. The first services were held in the homes of the mem- bers, and the communion services, which are known as Love Feasts were held in the barns, using the barn floors for that purpose, while the com- municants sat on the mows. The first one was held at the barn of Elder Long, in September, 1843. They worshiped thus until schoolhouses became more plentiful, when the services were held in them, but the communion services was still held in barns until the church was built. The pastorate at that time embraced all the territory west of the Juniata River, and the different ministers, who served without pay, were chosen from among their own congregation by vote. They were Peter Long, John Eby, Jacob Span- ogle, David Poole, Abraham Bowman, Jacob Harnish, Daniel P. Long, Isaac Eby, Edmund Book, Josiah Eby and David Roth. The elder is the highest office in the church. Edmund Book served from 1892 until his death in 1914. The present resident minister is David Roth, and Charles Steerman is the pastor. The pastors are paid a salary, but the resident ministers, very rarely, if ever, are paid. The church house was built in 1876 on land donated by Samuel Book. Later his son, Edmund Book, enlarged the grounds by donation. The building committee was Edmund Book, B. F. Shoemaker and Isaac Eby. Andrew Trostle was treasurer of the fund.
Manassas Union Church. . Manassas Union Church is located on the Newville road, about two and a half miles south of Blain. After much consideration as to whether a union church should be built or not, a final community meeting was called for December 1, 1870, at Manassas school- house. At this meeting all five denominations who had members living in the vicinity agreed to assume their share of the debt incurred in building a union church. The site chosen was near the old "still house" on lands then owned by David Rowe. The building committee was William A. Boyd (Lutheran), John Wilt (German Reformed), James A. Woods (Presbyterian), David Rowe (Methodist) and Barnet Roth (German Bap- tist). The committee began work at once, and the church was dedicated the following spring. The five denominations continued to worship there at intervals until 1901, when the building needed a new roof and other repairs. The Presbyterians, then having no members in that vicinity, do- nated their share to the other denominations, who repaired it.
Jackson Township surrounds Blain Borough, where most of its citizens worship.
JUNIATA TOWNSHIP.
Juniata Township, as originally formed, contained all of Tuscarora and Oliver Townships and parts of Miller and Centre. It was the fifth town- ship to be formed in the territory now comprising Perry County. It was taken from Rye Township, which then extended clear across the county from the Cumberland to the Juniata County line.
At the present time its boundaries are as follows: On the north by Tuscarora, on the east of Oliver, on the south by Centre, and on the west
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
by Saville. Through it flows Buffalo Creek, and on the south Little Buf- falo Creek divides it from Centre Township, its lands being drained by both creeks. The most conspicuous physical feature of the township is Middle Ridge, whose gentle slopes are everywhere under cultivation and dotted with prosperous farm buildings and homes. Along its very top westward for many miles runs the Middle Ridge road.
Juniata Township was formed in 1793, or twenty-seven years before the creation of Perry County. At the January sessions of the Cumberland County courts, in 1793, two petitions were presented, signed by a large number of citizens of Rye Township, stating that they "labored under many and great disadvantages by reason of the great extent of said town- ship, and praying the court that the said township may be divided by a line along the top of Mahanoy Mountain from the line of Tyrone Town- ship to the Juniata River." The court granted the request of the peti- tioners and named the township Juniata, by reason of its bordering the Juniata River. Bloomfield Borough was taken from Juniata before Centre Township was formed.
In the western end of the township, extending into Saville, are lands early patented by the pioneers, one of 329 acres being granted to John D. Creigh, in August, 1791, who sold it to Jacob Miller in 1812. In 1788 Job Stretch owned the land of the Tressler farm; Robert Garrett, the lands on Buffalo Creek below Milford, later owned by B. F. Miller and George Campbell; James Keenan, near the old Middle Ridge Presbyterian Church, a farm on which he kept a small store, and Alexander Stuart, the farm known in the community as the James Stephens farm.
The village known as Milford was first known as Jonestown, and was laid out about 1814-1816. It then became Milford, later Juniata, and now Wila, the post office known as Juniata being discontinued for a very short time and then reestablished with the name of Wila, as a suburb of Altoona, which had long wanted to use the name of Juniata, immediately pre- empted it when it was discontinued. Many consider the temporary closing of the post office at this point to have been a ruse to use the name Juniata elsewhere. The little village is romantically located on the banks of Buf- falo Creek, two miles from Newport, on lands warranted to William Park- inson, in 1755. The tract comprised 161 acres, on which was located a sawmill and pond. To present and past generations this site is known as Toomey's mill. Edward Riggins was the owner of the Toomey gristmill at Milford, in 1841, when Emanuel Toomey entered it to learn the mill- ing business. In after years he leased the mill for a three-year period, but never owned it. His son, Jerome Toomey, one of the best millers in the county in his day, purchased it in 1880, and operated it until 1896, when his son, Thomas I .. Toomey, the present owner, purchased it. The founder of Milford was Joseph Jones, great-grandfather of D. Meredith and Alvin Jones, late of Newport; also of John A. Jones, a cavalryman under Fitz- patrick, and a law student at New Bloomfield, who was killed in action at Solemn Grove, North Carolina. The farm known as the Jacob Fleisher place was taken up by Job Stretch, who was loyal to the mother country in the Revolutionary War, and who suddenly left for Canada when things got "too warm."
Milford was one of the earliest settlements in the county. Prior to 1823 Dr. John Eckert was already practicing medicine there, he having died in that year. He was a German, said to have been very successful, and was probably the first physician located there. Then for ten years there is no record of there being any physician there. About 1834 Dr. John H. Doling moved from Newport to Milford, where he practiced until his death in 1857, excepting for a short period when he got the "gold fever"
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and went to California. Of powerful physique he has left a record for wonderful strength. Prior to 1841 for a few years Dr. Ward practiced there, and then removed to Carlisle. Before 1847 Dr. Philip Whitesides practiced there. In that year he removed to Newport, where he practiced until 1856. The Drs. Simonton, who had practiced at Ickesburg, also practiced at Milford for a time prior to their removel to Illinois. In 1857 Dr. Joseph Eby settled there, but removed to Newport in 1860. During the carly years of the War between the States Dr. Fetzer was located there. From then on, excepting for a short period in 1881, when Dr. O. P. Bol- linger located there, Milford has ceased to be the location for a physician.
One of the oldest schoolhouses in this township as now constituted was on a line running from the upper part of Middle Ridge to Saville Town- ship. Another was on the Jefferson Super farm, now owned by George H. Super, and was known as "the Eight-Square schoolhouse," by reason of its being built in octagon shape. Its location was two miles southeast of Donnally's Mills, where the road to Newport crosses the road to Markel- ville. The contract was let May 12, 1838, to Jacob Swartz, who built it for $140. The directors were to haul the sand and stone and Mr. Swartz was "to build of stone in a good and substantial manner of an eight-square fig- ure, ten feet in the story, and each square to be ten feet in the inside, from corner to corner, to be eighteen inches in thickness, a twelve-light window in each square, to be well floored, and well nailed with brads." It was a noted meeting place, but was torn down almost a half-century ago. Lydia Stewart was the first teacher in 1839. Dr. Super, one of the two Perry County boys who became college presidents, first went to school in this building. The farm on which it stood was warranted by Squire Monroe.
Less than a mile south of Milford, at the top of Middle Ridge, on the road leading from Carlisle to Sunbury, was an old tavern known as the "White Ball Tavern," which was kept by Philip Clouser in 1812. Clouser at that time owned a large tract of land adjoining. This hostelry was dis- continued about 1840. South of it, on Little Buffalo Creek, John Koch (Kough) kept the "Blue Ball Tavern," which was a popular resort for "shooting matches." From the "Blue Ball" tavern a horn notified the "White Ball" tavern, during the Second War with Great Britain, that a mounted messenger or dispatch rider from Washington was passing, so that on his arrival at the top of the ridge a fresh mount was saddled and waiting. Springing from one horse to the other he proceeded to Reider's Ferry (now Newport), where a ferry flat awaited his arrival. There being no telegraph or telephone lines in those days, messages were relayed from the War Department at the National Capital to the army at Niagara by speedy horses. The route from what is now New Bloomfield seems an odd one to have taken, but it must be remembered that Newport and New Bloomfield were nonexistent and the highway connecting those towns was then not even dreamed of.
William Fossehman built a tannery near St. Samuel's Church, in 1866. Robert Stephens, who lived on Hominy Ridge, occupied a stone house and operated a tannery, but the trend citywards and the modern tanning oper- ations on a huge scale have left the once busy place deserted and almost a ruin.
Juniata Township was the home of James Stephens, a brother of An- drew, who was the father of the noted Alexander H. Stephens, Vice- President of the Confederacy. Their father, Capt. Alexander Stephens, had taken the two boys, James and Andrew, along to Georgia, when he emigrated there in 1794, but James returned to Perry County and settled in Juniata Township, where he owned 300 acres of land in 1820, the year of the county's erection. He married Elizabeth Garrett and was the father
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
of nine children, and his brother, Andrew, in the South, was the father of eight. The sons of James, tall, and erect, are remembered by many of the present generation. They were full cousins of the noted Alexander H., but were loyal Northerners. The noted Southern commoner, when a young man, visited his uncle, James Stephens, in Juniata Township, an account of which appears in the chapter devoted to Alexander H. Stephens, elsewhere in this book. Descendants of James Stephens yet reside in New Bloom- field. From James, who returned North, descended Prof. James A. Stephens, a noted earlier educator, and his son, Robert Neilson Stephens, the famous author.
Markelville. In February, 1763, the lands on which Markelville is lo- cated were warranted to Edward Elliott, and named in the warrant as "Pretty Meadow." In April, 1769, the adjoining tract was warranted to John Peden, who came from Lancaster County, and was named "Down Patrick." The "Pretty Meadow" tract contained 120 acres, and the "Down Patrick" 142 acres. The "Pretty Meadow" tract was sold to William Wal- lace, an innkeeper of Carlisle, in 1782, and he came into possession of the other tract through the will of his sister, Martha Peden. In John Peden's will, dated August 1, 1775, is this clause: "And I allow, in case my child dies, that my wife, Martha, shall have that plantation lying in Sherman's Valley, known as 'Down Patrick,' she to pay twenty pounds to the other executor, to be put to use for the support of a minister in Donegal." By her will, dated a year later, it passed to the innkeeper. There is no record of any improvements until 1775, when part of it was under cultivation by some squatters who had been driven off by hostile Indians. Not until 1776 or 1777 did Elliot and Peden clear and cultivate land there. Tradition says these lands were settled earlier but there records do not bear it out.
Wallace transferred the lands to James McNamara in 1793, and he erected the first house in the place, and later a mill, and it came to be known as "McNamara's Mill." McNamara sold the tract to Valentine Smith, from whom his son, John Smith, acquired twenty-two acres, in- cluding the grist and sawmill, and the lands upon which Markelville is located. From Smith it passed to John Weary, and from him to William Bosserman, in 1834. It then came to be known as Bosserman's Mill, and a post office was established bearing that name. Then the property was sold in two parcels, the lands principally going to John Leiby, who, in 1853 sold to George Markle, whose building operations and public spirit gave his name to the town. The mill, on the other hand, passed to George Leonard, who, in 1868, sold to David Bixler. The next owners were A. S. Whitekettle, whose title dates to 1886; Heury K. Frymoyer, 1894; Yearick & Dock, 1898, Mr. Yearick later becoming sole owner; Gordon Brothers, 1900; J. T. Alter, 1900, selling almost at once to Linn H. Boyer ; Win. A. Patton, 1911, and Lloyd D. Stambaugh, the present owner, in 1915.
Jonas Lesh kept the first store there. Other early storekeepers were Thomas Black, Peter Ouran, William Bosserman, George Leiby, George Markel, Jr., Daniel Sutman, and later A. S. Whitekettle and Miller E. Flickinger. The present Markelville inchides the site of "Little Vienna," which was patented by Alexander Myers in 1800, and contained 365 acres. In 1815 he planned and laid out the "future city" on lands just south of the Lutheran Church. In March of that year he had public auction of lots and succeeded in selling eighteen, each of which contained thirty-one perches. But three houses were built upon them, as follows: One by a tailor named John Smith, another by George Folk, and the third by Isaac Frantz. A right-of-way was reserved to Buffalo Creek for the residents and a public road provided, but with the death of Myers also died the dream of the great city to be located there.
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