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 122
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William Patterson, the progenitor of the Patterson families in that sec- tion of the county, settled in 1753 on Laurel Run, and Francis Patterson had a sawmill there in 1814, and later an oil mill, and in 1825 Thomas Pat- terson was in possession of both and also a chopping mill. It was at this location where Fahnestock, as stated above, erected his scythe and edge tool factory, about 1838. About 1840 Solomon Hengst conducted a foun- dry at that point for several years. John Waggoner, of Kennedy's Valley, was once the owner and he was the man who changed the oil and chopping mill to a gristmill. It was later owned by William A. and James F. Lightner.
The two John Dunbars-father and son-took up tracts as early as 1763 and 1768. On one of these Dunbar tracts Rev. J. W. Heim built a stone gristmill about 1830, which his administrator in 1852 sold to Joseph Bixler. It later passed to Anthony Firman and George Weaver in turn, and is known as Weaver's mill to this day, being now owned by the Tressler Or- phans' Home since January 1, 1919.
William McClure warranted 264 acres in 1763, which he sold to Martin Bernheisel prior to 1794. He had six children by his first marriage, the first-born being Alexander, who settled near where the Centre Presby- terian Church is located. He became the father of the celebrated editor, A. K. McClure. To William McClure, by his second marriage, there were born ten children. After the death of Martin Bernheisel the old MeClure tract passed to his son Adam, who in 1810 sold the place to the poor di- rectors of Cumberland County, and went West. This is to-day the site of the Perry County Home, the history of which appears in the chapter de- voted to "Academies and Public Institutions."
Bell's Hill derives its name from James Bell, who in 1768 took up 223 acres on and near it. James Galbreath in 1750 took up 400 acres. Simon Girty (father of Simon Girty, the renegade), who trespassed and was evicted by the provincial authorities, later became a tenant upon this Gal- breath tract, the owner living in Carlisle. This property passed to Charles Stewart, whose heirs in 1800 sold it to George Waggoner, where he lived until his death in 1824. In 1810 he built a sawmill upon Montour's Run, which was in use until 1884. A bark and sumac factory was built in 1850 and operated until 1864.
Obadiah Garwood, who in 1767 was assessed with 125 acres, and in 1779 with a sawmill, lived in Kennedy's Valley. Robert Garwood in 1782 was assessed with a gristmill. About 1785 John Wagner purchased the prop- erty, including the small stone mill. In 1814 he had there a gristmill, saw- mill and distillery. He resided there until 1834, when he died. He was the
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father of ten children, his son Benjamin buying the Roddy mill about 1839, from whence it derives its name. Benjamin Roddy died, and his brother Moses purchased it. John Waggoner, another son, bought the Patterson mill and ran it. John Waggoner, the father, had also built a mill in 1805, at Bridgeport, later known as Snyder's mill, and now owned by B. P. Hooke. To give an entire list of these early settlers would fill a book in itself, but among others were the following pioneers: James Blaine, in 1785, 300 acres; John Carrothers, in 1766, 300 acres, later known as the Caldwell still house tracts; John Simonton, in 1755, 400 acres; William Anderson, in 1786, 200 acres; James Smith, in 1768, 300 acres; Michael Kinsloe, in 1795, 200 acres, and in 1800, 200 acres adjoining. David Carson, in 1762, took up a tract which he later sold to Peter Sheibley, from whom the many Sheibley families in Perry County have descended. Mr. Sheib- ley was the father of twenty children.
On Sherman's Creek, on the line of Spring and Tyrone Townships, Thomas Ross, an elder of Centre Presbyterian Church, located 200 acres in 1762, and Jonathan Ross, 150. Mount Dempsey was once known as Scott's Knob. Prior to 1775 it was owned by John and Christian Tussey, and changed hands several times until 1792, when it came into possession of Charles Dempsey, from whom it takes its name. In 1813, Philip Fos- selman built a stone tannery on a branch of Montour's Run, and carried on the tanning business until 1832, when he sold to Jacob Shearer, who operated it until 1856, when the business was discontinued. In 1849 Mr. Shearer went to California, from where he shipped great quantities of hides to be tanned at this small plant.
In Kennedy's Valley, several miles from McCabe's Run, Colonel William Graham, in 1842, erected a tannery on land formerly belonging to Abra- ham Wagner, and operated it until 1849, when he sold it to James L. and John L. Diven. They operated it until 1867, when it again came into pos- session of Colonel Graham, who was in business there until 1872, when it was no longer run. James Baxter took up two hundred and seven acres and erected a tannery before 1820, which he ran for several years, selling it to John Titzel in 1828. He conducted it until about 1855, when it was abandoned.
About 1790 Peter Sheibley removed from Berks to Perry County terri- tory, settling in Tyrone Township. He received payment for his farm in Berks County in Continental money, which soon became worthless. He had been a private in the Continental Army, and lived until December, 1824. He was aged eighty-four years.
Occasions where three brothers marry three sisters are rare indeed, yet one such instance is recorded in Perry County. Jacob Briner, of Berks County (grandfather of George S. Briner, now of Carlisle), married Mag- dalena Hammer about 1806, and with his brother George came to what is now Perry County and located about two miles south of Loysville, where they began farming. Some time later George Briner returned to Berks County and brought with him the second Miss Hammer. After a lapse of another two years Peter Briner, who had joined his brothers, returned to Berks County and brought along back as his wife the third of the Ham- mer sisters.
In a very early day there were four brothers, John, Henry, Jonathan and George. Rhinesmith, who located in Tyrone Township, and from them have sprung the numerous Rhinesmith families of Perry County and else- where.
In 1826 John Bernheisel erected a clover mill, in which clover-seed and sumac were ground, upon his farm, located in Tyrone Township, between Elliottsburg and Green Park. Some time between 1830 and 1840 he added
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a sawmill. In 1874 his son, Sololmon Bernheisel, changed the mill to a gristmill, refitting it with steam in 1878, and as such it was in tise until the latter part of the century. Martin J. Bernheisel, of the next generation, operated the mill after the death of his father.
The first schoolhouse of which there is record in Tyrone Township was at the Lebanon Church, at Loysville, which was built about 1794. Rev. D. H. Focht, in his historical work, says of it:
"A short time after the church was built a large schoolhouse was erected on the same lot of ground and near the church. A partition divided the school- house inside and a large chimney occupied the centre. One end of the house was occupied by the teacher and his family and the other by the school. For many years a sort of congregational school was kept there."
That old schoolhouse was in use until 1837, when the first public school built there took its place. In 1853 the Loysville Academy was begun in the basement of this church, and later merged into the Tressler Orphans' Home. Of the Landisburg schoolhouse we have spoken in the chapter de- voted to that town. There was a schoolhouse as early as 1815 in the vicin- ity of Rheem's foundry, at Green Park. In 1842 a brick house was built. There was a log house west of Sherman's Creek, near the Morrow farms, and one near Patterson's mill. Near the Church of God there was a frame house long in use, and in 1851 one was built on the Waggoner farm, north of Landisburg. There was one in Kennedy's Valley, on the Crull farm, and one on the old William Allen farm. The one at Bridgeport was built of brick before Spring Township was organized.
Loysville. Besides Landisburg Borough, which lies within its borders, Tyrone Township has two other towns which are not incorporated, Loys- ville and Green Park, the largest being Loysville. It was early known as Red Rock.
Loysville is laid out on parts of two original tracts, the east part being on the McClure tract, warranted in 1763, and the west part on the John Sharp tract, warranted the same year. Martin Bernheisel and Michael Loy later came into possession of them, and donated several acres for church and school purposes. At this point the Lutheran and Reformed Church, a parsonage, and a parochial school stood. On July 20, 1840, the directors of the poor of Perry County surveyed a block of eight lots, 60x150 in size, on the County Home tract, on the east side of the road leading to Heim's mill, and named it Andesville. Martin Kepner, Robert Dunbar and Andrew Welch were early business men. A hotel was opened by James Gracey. In 1822 Michael Loy gave a half acre of ground for the Loysville cemetery.
A post office named Andesville was established about 1842, but a few years later the name was changed to Loysville, in honor of Michael Loy. Early postmasters were Jacob Rickard, David Kochenderfer, George F. Orrel, David K. Minich, Samuel Shumaker, Isaac P. Miller, Davis S. Asper, Joseph Newcomer, John W. Heim.
Michael Loy, Jr., who died in 1846, provided in his will that his execti- tors, George and William Loy, should lay out a row of lots from where the Lutheran parsonage stood, to the New Bloomfield road. These lots were laid out about 1848. John Ritter purchased a number of lots, and on two of them he built the present brick hotel, in 1852, now in possession of Wm. H. Power. His son, Benjamin Ritter, occupied this hotel from 1852 to 1884, when it passed to the hands of the third generation, George E. Ritter, later sheriff, becoming the proprietor.
The history of the Lutheran and Reformed Churches appears in the chapter entitled the Earliest Churches. The pastorate of Rev. John Wil- 68
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
liam Heim, of Lebanon Lutheran Church, covered the period from May, 1815, until his death, December 27, 1849. The church erected a monument at his grave and celebrated its centennial at the same time, in 1894, largely through the efforts of Rev. W. D. F. Scott, Samuel Ebert and Jacob Wolf.
Loysville Castle, No. III, Knights of the Golden Eagle, was instituted here February 13, 1907.
The Women's Welfare Club was organized at Loysville in January, 1921, with the following officers: Mrs. Wm. T. Morrow, president; Mrs. George Kell, vice-president; Miss Ida Kleckner, secretary, and Mrs. Rob- ert Eaton, treasurer, who are the officers at this time (1921). Shortly after organizing, the Welfare Club went in for improved streets through the town, and arranged with the State Highway Departmens to jointly make a crushed limestone highway through it. The work is about completed. Future plans are for the improvement of the town-which is not a borough-and aid in case of an epidemic. This organization has started well and has a fertile field, as a town of that nature does not have the organization of a borough to cover many matters needing attention.
The history of the Loysville Academy, the Soldiers' Orphans' School and the Tressler Orphans' Home, which developed from one to the other, appears under "Academies and Institutions." The group of buildings are visited by thousands annually.
In 1896, Dickinson, Gilbert & Keen opened a creamery here, which was a pioneer in its line. It has operated continuously since. The share of Hiram Keen was purchased from his heirs by B. Stiles Duncan, who, in conjunction with I. H. Dickinson and Amos Gilbert, now owns the plant, under the firm name of the Loysville Creamery Company. H. P. Dyson is the secretary and treasurer.
There was no resident doctor in Loysville until 1842, when Dr. Isaac Lefevre located there. In 1855 he removed to New Bloomfield. He later was located at Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg. Dr. A. E. Linn was his suc- cessor, and practiced here until he removed to Shermansdale, in 1857. Dr. B. P. Hooke graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1855, and located at Loysville a year later. He practiced there successfully until his death, which occurred March 10, 1903. Dr. C. E. Delancey, who gradu- ated from the University of the City of New York in 1878, after practicing a short time at Ickesburg, located here in 1883. He removed from here to Newport, where he has a large practice. Dr. George L. Zimmerman, born at Andersonburg, followed Dr. Delancey. He later located at Bloser- ville, Cumberland County, and still later at Carlisle. He graduated at Jef- ferson Medical College in 1889. Dr. Alburtis T. Ritter, of Franklin County, who graduated from Baltimore Medical College in 1893, located at Loys- ville and practiced until his death, which occurred February II, 19II. Soon after the death of Dr. Ritter, Dr. William T. Morrow, a native of the vicinity, located there. Dr. Morrow graduated from the Baltimore Medical College in 1908. He is the only practicing physician at Loysville.
Green Park. The west part of Green Park is on a fifty-three-acre tract warranted originally to Ludwig Laird, in 1755, and surveyed to Henry Shoemaker in 1814. The east part is on a tract of fifty acres warranted to James Moore, in 1766. The first house was built by William Reed, about 1834. About 1857 Martin Motzer and John Bernheisel built a store build- ing and opened a store. They were succeeded in the business by Frank Mortimer, George Ernest, William B. Keck, W. W. McClure, Samuel Stambaugh, George Bernheisel and William Hoobaugh. Jacob Bernheisel built a grain cradle factory and a shingle mill where the Rheem foundry is located, in 1857, turning it into a foundry later. In 1874 Rheem Bros. purchased it and conducted business there for many years.
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The business places within the bounds of Tyrone Township are desig- nated as follows by the mercantile appraiser, the date being the time of entering the business :
General stores, A. N. Billman (1913), successor to W. W. Minich; B. F. Kell (1891), erected present building in 1905; J. G. Minich.
Groceries, Ira Evans, D. E. Emlet & Sons.
H. A. Dunkelberger, confectionery; J. B. Lightner, grain and coal ; Casper C. Nickel, furniture; D. W. Raffensperger, fertilizers; J. A. Sausaman (1915), feed, established 1786 as the Rice mill : Wells Stewart, eggs; Tressler Orphans' Home, feed; J. W. Wolfe, stoves and spouting.
Loysville Methodist Church. A short distance west of Loysville a Methodist Episcopal church was erected in 1865 through the efforts of Rev. J. Riddle, but the field was never a very fruitful one. The ministers of the New Bloomfield Circuit supplied it until 1883, when it was torn down and removed to Mansville, a village in Centre Township, and re- erected.
Sheaffer's Valley Church of God. The Church of God in Sheaffer's Valley, was built about 1830, on lands of Michael Murray. It was re- modeled in 1885. It is served by the pastor of the landisburg charge, where a list of pastors appear.
Kennedy's Valley Church of God. The Kennedy's Valley Church of God was built in 1886, the corner stone having been laid on July 7th. Rev. W. J. Grissinger was then pastor. Pastors appear under the Landisburg chapter.
Tyrone Township surrounds Landisburg, where many of its citizens also worship.
WATTS TOWNSHIP.
For picturesque location Watts Township cannot be beaten. It lies be- tween the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers where they join on their way to the sea. Much of its lands are considerably elevated and all of them lie south of the Half-Fall Mountain. The lands gradually taper to the rivers, where they are elevated but little above the high-water level. Its boundaries are on the north by Buffalo Township, and on the east, south and west by the two rivers.
The channel, however, where the rivers joined, thus forming Duncan's Island, has long since been filled up, and over it went the Pennsylvania Canal in the days when it was the main line of traffic between the anthra- cite coal fields and the seaboard. There was a third island known as Hulings', but the construction of the canal caused the intervening channel to fill up, thus uniting it permanently physically with Perry County, at low tide. It is still assessed in Dauphin County, its extent being twenty-five acres. Over this channel there was once a toll bridge, operated by Marcus Hulings, who also owned a ferry over the Juniata. Later Rebecca H. Dun- can and David Hulings were joint owners.
Among the first settlers were John Eshelman, who warranted 160 acres in March, 1792; Robert Ferguson, sixty-four acres in June, 1774; William Thompson, 216 aeres in March, 1775; Frederick Watts, 110 acres in De- cember, 1794; and before this a tract of 102 acres in October, 1766; Ben- jamin Walker, 201 acres in January, 1767, which was later owned by Rob- ert Thompson and Levi Seiders. Southeast of this tract Marcus Hulings warranted 199 acres in November, 1766. Hulings also had another tract of 200 acres located at the junction of the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers, warranted in August, 1766. This is the farm long owned by Dr. George N. Reutter, who represented Perry County in the legislature. It is known
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
as Amity farm, and is now in the possession of McClellan Cox. In the stone house on this farm, almost opposite Aqueduct Station, on the Penn- sylvania Railroad, Marcus Hulings, Jr., and Thomas Hulings kept a tavern, the old sign still being on the attic of the house only a few years ago. North of this, along the river for almost two miles, and reaching almost to New Buffalo, Samuel Neaves had two tracts containing 512 acres, war- ranted in March and June, 1755. Immediately above Neaves, on the river, Francis Ellis warranted a tract in 1767, which passed to Jacob Steele when surveyed.
The next tract up the river is now the site of New Buffalo Borough. It contained 183 acres, and was warranted in November, 1767, by Christo- pher Mann. Above this tract Andrew Long warranted 110 acres, in July, 1762, and next above was the tract of Stophel Munce, containing 124 acres, warranted in May, 1763. He was the first collector of Greenwood Town- ship, in 1767, Watts then being a part of Greenwood, which took its name from Joseph Greenwood, who is mentioned by Marcus Hulings as one of his closest neighbors. Immediately above Munce's claim was that of George Etzmiller, containing 162 acres, and warranted in November, 1767. John Miller had 131 acres back of the claims of Etzmiller, Munce, Long and Mann, warranted in December, 1773. Everhard Liddick warranted lands in 1868, adjoining the church, and Joseph Nagle, 150 acres, adjoining Liddick, in April, 1775. John Finton warranted sixty-six acres in 1839.
The reader, by referring to the chapter entitled "Duncan's and Halde- man's Islands," will find further interesting historical matter relating to the movements of Marcus Hulings, the pioneer. Owing to the proximity of these islands to Watts Township, their early history is largely contem- porancous.
Prior to the Revolutionary War, General Frederick Watts, of Revohi- tionary fame, was a landowner in the territory now comprising Watts Township, his daughter Elizabeth being the first wife of Thomas Hulings. General Watts owned part of the lands warranted to William Stewart and George Lennff, in November, 1772. From him ownership passed to Thomas Hulings, by purchase from the heirs. From Hulings, the Watts son-in- law, it passed by will to David Watts, an eminent lawyer located at Car- lisle, but who had been born in that part of Cumberland which became Perry, and in that part of Greenwood Township which became Watts. It was for David Watts that the township was named. When the petition for the new township came before the court, in 1849, Judge Black was presiding in the absence of Judge Frederick Watts, and upon his sugges- tion it was named Watts, in honor of David Watts, the eminent lawyer who was the son of General Frederick Watts and the father of Judge Frederick Watts, then serving in that capacity. The Watts family's his- tory is to be found elsewhere in this book. In 1839 this property passed to Alexander McAlister, by purchase.
Further evidence that the property spoken of above was in the possession of David Watts is contained in an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature, passed March 8, 1799, in reference to a ferry, the western landing of which was located thereou :
"Whereas, Mathias Flamm owns land on the west side of the Susquehanna, opposite the mouth of Juniata, and David Watts on the west side, where the State road crosses the Susquehanna, and that they have established and main- tained a ferry at the place for a number of years, they are empowered by law, at this date to establish and keep same in repair, and build landings, etc."
An early schoolhouse in what is now Watts Township was on the church grounds. It was a log house without a floor, and was rebuilt on the same foundation when it had become so low that the teacher could
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not stand erect in it. These early log schoolhouses were usually built hastily by the communities in which they were located, and the workman- ship was very crude. At the old schoolhouse near Colonel Thompson's was the first free school in Pennsylvania to be opened under the free school act, as will be noted in the chapter on "The County Schools, Past and Present," also under the life of Chief Justice Gantt, who then was the teacher. In later years the township had three schools, known as Mc- Allister's, Centre and Livingston's. In the old schoolhouse which was located in Alexander McAllister's meadow, the teacher of the term of 1852-53 was Prof. S. B. Heiges, who later became principal of the Cum- berland Valley State Normal School.
Dr. George N. Reutter, a native of Perry and a graduate of the Uni- versity of Maryland, in 1858, was located at the junction of the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers, and practiced in the surrounding community, including New Buffalo. He was once the representative of Perry County in the General Assembly and was the father of Dr. H. D. Reutter, who practiced for so many years in Duncannon. He was preceded at the Junc- tion by his father, Dr. Daniel N. Reutter, who died October 15, 1846.
There are two small stores within the limits of the township, kept by Mrs. Belle Lowe and James C. Wright, the latter started in 1898. E. IL. Derr conducts a summer resort near Girty's Notch, and retails cigars and confectionery. There was a post office in Watts Township many years ago, being known as "Thompson's Crossroads." When the William Penn High- way is completed it will join the Susquehanna trail at the township's south, where the ways diverge. This will be the only township in the county to be traversed by these two great highways.
The Hill Cemetery Association was incorporated January 18, 1915, in order to maintain the cemetery connected with this church, so that it might be kept in order and its use supervised in accordance with the warrant granted Samuel Albright, September 28, 1840. Both Presbyterian and Lu- theran congregations had ceased to exist, and the Hill U. B. Church had no ownership in the cemetery, although their church adjoins it and it is used by their people. The incorporators were John H. Huggins, A. R. Thompson, D. A. Miller, H. L. Thompson and J. W. Ulsh, Jr. (recorded Deed Book 85, page 634). The seventh section of the Articles of Incor- poration provides that tri-annually after the last Saturday of July, 1917, an election shall be held for trustees, and that all citizens of the age of twenty-one and upwards residing in Watts Township and New Buffalo, and all persons having relatives buried in said cemetery, shall have the right of ballot. The cemetery is kept in order by voluntary contributions.
The Union Church. In the survey of Everhard Liddick, made in 1800, for tract No. 5004, it is described as adjoining "vacant land for church and school purposes," a tract comprising over three acres. This is the loca- tion of the churches and the burial ground in Watts Township. A school- house was once located here, which tradition says eventually sunk in the ground so far that the teacher could not stand straight-evidently only tradition. Like other places in the county, this schoolhouse may have been used for both church and school purposes. There was no legal right granted, in so far as known, until 1840, when Samuel Albright was granted a warrant, in trust for the Presbyterian and Lutheran congregations, its dates being September 28th. Mr. Albright accordingly deeded it to these congregations. But previous to this there was a Union church erected, in the period between 1804 and 1809. It was built of logs, and was 36x40 feet in size. It was in use until 1860, when it was removed. In it wor- shiped Lutherans and Presbyterians, the former probably having also held services in the old Gap Church. See "the Earliest Churches."
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