USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > History of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. from a period preceding its settlement to recent times, including the annals and geography of each townshipAlso a sketch of woman's work in the county for the United States sanitary commission, and a list of the soldiers of the national army furnished by many of the townships > Part 19
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75
Wm. Rockwell came to the township in 1805.
Asa Bradley came to New Milford about 1806. "He and his family were received by Deacon Hawley, with the hospi- tality common to those times, though he and his wife then occupied a small three-cornered room in his distillery, where they entertained Mr. Bradley and family, until a log-house could be built for them. Anxious to rid Deacon Hawley of their unavoidably burdensome company, they hurried into the new building before it was furnished with a more substantial door than a blanket. They took with them a pig, and put it into an inclosure attached to the house; but the first night they were awakened by its squealing, which sounded as if the animal were being taken off. In the morning they found it, some distance from the house, half devoured; and around the pen were the tracks of a panther. The question arose, if the animal had not found the porker, what was to hinder the ravenous beast from entering the house for his supper ?
Freeman Badger had been in this vicinity prior to 1804, but had returned to Cheshire, Ct., and was not settled here before 1806. He was a prominent man in the township. He had one son, Frederick, and two daughters. He died in 1855, aged seventy-two; his wife Mary, died five days after him, aged sixty-seven. His father, David, died here in 1835, aged eighty- six ; Mrs. D. Badger in 1828, aged seventy-five; but the exact date of their coming has not been ascertained.
About this time Nicholas McCarty bought the farm and tavern of Christopher Longstreet, and continued to keep a public house there until his death, in 1821. Situated at the junction of the Newburg Turnpike, with the road from Jack- son and Harmony to Montrose, it became a noted place; and " McCarty's Corners" served long as a landmark for travelers. The McCarty House has been kept as a public house by various tenants, from that day to this, being at present the Eagle Hotel. Mr. McC., like those who preceded him, received his license directly from the governor, who granted it on the recommendation of the Court of Luzerne County (to which Mr. M.'s petition had been made, indorsed in the usual way by respectable men of his neighborhood), and was granted, the first time, January, 1807. Though, "In the Name and by the Authority of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," he might sell " Rum, Brandy, Beer, Ale, Cyder, and all other Spirituous Liquors," it was "provided" that he should not " suffer drunk- enness (!), unlawful gaming, or any other disorders." He had
152
HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
a son named Benjamin, and three daughters, one of whom married Isaac Warner ; another, John Boyle; and another, a man named King, who removed to the West.
Ichabod Ward came from Connecticut to Susquehanna County in 1807. He occupied a house near the site of the present residence of H. Burritt, and nearly opposite the Pres- byterian Church. A pear tree planted by his hand, and still flourishing, marks the spot. He was long an active member and faithful officer and deacon of the Presbyterian denomina- tion, and to him is due the honor of maintaining public religious services, in his own house, in the early days of the settlement -each alternate Sabbath uniting with the people of Lawsville in their neighborhood. He had two sons, William (who set- tled here in 1806, preceding his father one year), and Samuel much younger; and three daughters, Mrs. B. Doolittle, Mrs. Seba Bryant, and Mrs. Uriah Hawley. All, except the last named, removed, after some years, to Ohio and further west.
His second wife, Mary, who came with him to this country, was the mother of Seth Mitchell, at whose house she died in 1828, aged seventy-seven. Ichabod W. died four years earlier, and is buried in the village cemetery. His descendants, to the fifth generation, reside upon the land he helped to clear-an instance as rare as it is gratifying.
William Ward, of Litchfield County, Conn., was encouraged to come to Pennsylvania by his brother-in-law, Benjamin Doo- little. In 1806 he married Sally Briggs, in Roxbury, Conn., and came directly to this country. To the young bride this was, indeed, a wilderness, but she would not express her long- ing for the home she had left. She passed many hours, of the lonely first year, in watching her husband and assistants en- gaged in clearing the forest, from the identical spot now covered by the railroad depot and adjoining buildings. She little dreamed then of railroad and telegraph stations within sight from her door. The wonders of steam and electricity were then, indeed, not dreamed of by any one.
The following year their first child-the late C. L. Ward, of Towanda, Pa .- was born. They named him after the friend they found in the wilderness-Christopher Longstreet. Soon after this, they removed from the log house-the pioneer's first home, the site of which is now covered by the residence of their grandson, William T. Ward-to the first frame dwelling in this part of the county, and since known as the Ward House.
The late William C. Ward and two other sons were born in New Milford, previous to the removal of the family to Mt. Pleasant, where they remained a few years, and then returned to New Milford. In the mean time two daughters had been added to the family group ; to which came in succession another son, and a daughter who died young, and then three sons.
153
HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Ten children lived together for years in the old homestead, little able to realize, from the comforts surrounding them, what privations their parents had experienced.
The following incident of pioneer life was related to the com- piler by the heroine herself :-
" A large buck was one day chased by the hunter's dogs into Mr. Ward's clearing. Samuel Ward-then only a lad of twelve or fourteen years-who was living with his brother, seeing the animal stumble and fall, immediately sprang and caught him by the horns, at the same time calling to Mrs. Ward for assistance. Feeling her helplessness, but, with a true woman's courage and quickness of perception, realizing the dangerous position of her young brother-in-law, who was struggling to prevent the animal from regaining his feet, she hastened to unwind the long-webbed garters she wore, and with them speedily succeeded in tying its legs until a neighbor, who happened to be in calling distance, reached them and cut the animal's throat."
William Ward was commissioned a justice of the peace in 1834. He was for many years in charge of and acting as agent for the DuBois Estate, also for the sale of the Meredith, Bing- ham, and Drinker lands, in which capacity he became widely known. A contemporary wrote of him thus :-
"Few of the citizens of the valley of the Salt Lick have done more to de- velop the resources and contribute to the prosperity of Susquehanna County than William Ward. To great perseverance and untiring industry in the pursuit of business, he added the most unqualified kindness, ever extending to rich and poor a cheerful hospitality. He was one of our most valued citizens."
He died in New Milford, October, 1849, aged 64. His widow afterwards married one of the pioneers of Bridgewater, Joseph Williams, since deceased. She is now (1871) 84 years old, and the sole survivor in New Milford of the settlers who came prior to 1810. She resides1 in the old Ward homestead, where eight of her children were born.
There seems to have been little accession to the settlement of New Milford during the five years succeeding 1807.
The first entry on the Town Records, March 18, 1808, men- tions a town meeting at the house of John Hawley, when he and John Slater (here only a few years) were elected judges of elec- tions; H. Leach, clerk; Thomas Sweet and B. Doolittle, supervisors and constables.
March 3, 1 09 .- N. Buel, clerk; B. Hayden and J. Gregory, supervisors.
[A list of ear-marks of sheep is the only further record until 1814. An entire gap occurs from 1848 to 1860, and from Feb- ruary, 1866, to September, 1871.]
About 1812, John Phinney came from Windham County, Conn., and settled on the hill west of the village. His father,
1 Died August 17, 1872.
154
HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Samuel, came in shortly after, with his wife, and died years later at Summersville. Mrs. Samuel Phinney's maiden name was Hyde; she escaped from Wyoming, at the time of the massacre.
John Phinney died in 1867, aged 85; Lucretia, his wife, in 1853, aged 66. The proprietor of the Eagle Hotel is their son.
Gurdon Darrow came from Groton, Conn., May, 1812. He served in the war of 1812. Sally, his wife, died in 1864, aged 75.
Thomas Sweet had a license, in 1812, to keep a tavern on the Newburgh Turnpike, not far from where the Baptists have their house of worship. He sold to Jonas B. Avery and re- moved to Harford.
Military parades were frequent in the vicinity. At one time the firing of cannon shattered the window-panes of Mr. A.'s house.
Jonas B. A. died in 1836, aged seventy; his wife in 1835, aged sixty-three. They had one son, Franklin N., commonly called Major Avery, who died in 1843, aged forty-seven ; his widow, Rosana, died in 1869, aged seventy-two.
Ebenezer and Park W. Avery, brothers (of another family), from Groton, Connecticut, came in early and married sisters, the daughters of Jonas B. Avery. Ebenezer's farm is now oc- cupied by D. W. Moxley, and that of Park W. (who returned to Connecticut), by Andrew S. Roe.
The taxables of New Milford, at the time Susquehanna County was officially organized, were sixty in number, besides non-resident landholders: Henry Drinker, Isaac Wharton, Abraham Du Bois, Bobert Bound, Samuel Meredith, and Thomas Clymer. The highest resident-tax, in 1812, was upon a valuation of $2550. John and Uriah Hawley owned a saw- mill, and David Summers and son James another.
Robinson Lewis (deacon), who died about 1858 at an advanced age, came from Groton, Connecticut, in 1813. He was a pillar of the Baptist interest in its early days. His widow survives him.
Jacob Wellman, William Phinney, John Dikeman, John . Belknap, and Titus Ives were taxables of 1813. All remained in the township many years.
Jacob W. was a soldier of the Revolution. He died in 1830, aged ninety-one. His sons were John, Jacob, David, Berry, Hiram, and Calvin; the last named being the only one living. He, as also descendants of the others, are in N. Milford.
The first Scotch settlers were Daniel McMillen and Laflin (or Lauchlin) McIntosh, who were also among the taxables of 1813. During that year the court was petitioned to grant "a road from H. Leach's to Lauchlin McIntosh's-near the Middle
155
HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Lake. McFarley, McLoud, Mckenzie, and others of Scotch birth, came in between the years 1814-17. William McKenzie lived where H. Burritt is now located. He died in 1827, aged seventy-six.
John Wallace, a Scotch-Irishman, came in 1814, from Dela- ware County, New York, with his son-in-law, Thomas Walker.
Ithamer Mott was taxed for land in 1813, but does not ap- pear to have been a resident when the assessment was made. In 1814 he was licensed to keep a tavern ; his house was near the top of one of the highest hills of the township, on the line of the Newburg Turnpike, and near the junction with it of the Philadelphia and Great Bend Turnpike. Mott's Hill is one a traveler could never forget, having once made the toilsome ascent, or dashed down from the summit in an old-fashioned stage-coach ; and even with all modern improvements in road and vehicle, there are few hills one would care less to encounter.
Captain Thomas Dean, from Cornwall, Connecticut, in 1814, settled opposite Benjamin Hayden and remained in the town- ship, or in what is now the Borough of New Milford, until his death at the age of ninety-one, June 22, 1870. For several years preceding his death he had been deprived of his eyesight, but passed his last days peacefully at the house of his daughter, the widow of Dr. Bingham. He had buried two wives.
Jonathan Moxley came from Groton, Connecticut, in 1814. His father's name, Joseph Moxley, is on the Fort Griswold monument at Groton, among those slain by the British under the leadership of the traitor Arnold, in 1781. Jonathan served in an emergency in that contest, but was never regularly en- listed. He died in New Milford in 1849, aged eighty-four ; his wife, Sally, in 1826, aged sixty-seven. Of their seven children, two are living-the twin brothers, Francis and Gurdon. The present Sheriff, William Tyler Moxley, is a son of Francis. Gurdon Moxley speaks of having raised thirty-nine and forty bushels of wheat to the acre. The Moxleys occupy large farms around the corners where the Baptist meeting-house and Mox- ley school-house are located. The meeting-house was finished in 1851, and such were the prices of labor and materials at the time, and the liberality of the neighborhood, that the cost of the building was but $1000.
John and Alpine Pierce settled in the northwest corner of the township in 1815.
" Tennant-town," in the southern part, retains the name of three brothers, Oliver, William, and Allen Tennant, and their half-brother, Benjamin, who leave a large posterity. Oliver T. was from Fisher's Island, in Long Island Sound ; he came here in 1816, and died at the age of seventy-eight. William T. came from Shelter Island, Suffolk County, New York, in 1817, and
156
HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
died at the age of seventy. Allen T. came from the same island in 1818 ; his first wife, Polly, died in 1833, aged fifty-four ; his second wife, Camilla, 1853, aged seventy-four ; and Allen him- self, in 1858, aged eighty-two. Benjamin Tennant came in about 1820, and moved westward some years since.
In 1816, Silvanus Wade, a blacksmith; Joseph Paine, a tailor ; Gaius Moss, a tanner ; Chauncey B. Foot, a physician, and William Sabins, a shoemaker, were added to the commu- nity. The last named came from New Haven, Connecticut, with his wife and four children ; he remained in New Milford until his death, at the age of ninety-one years, February, 1869. His widow is still living, aged ninety-one. They were married in 1803.
Darius Bingham also came in 1816. His wife, Sally, died in 1821, aged forty-seven. He was killed at the age of sixty, in 1828, by the fall of a tree. Their son, Lemuel, for some time kept a public-house just north of Capt. Leach's, where the late Deacon Mackey died.
Calvin and Gad Corse, Jason Wiswall, and Luther Mason were in New Milford about this time.
In December, 1816, the population of the township as reported by the assessor was 461, the males being 29 in excess.
Among the settlers of 1817, were Dr. L. W. Bingham (not the same family as above), John S. Hendrake, David G. Wilson (had a store), Stephen and Jacob Hart, Joseph Thomas (a store), Levi Page, and Enoch Smith. The last named remained here until his death, October, 1871, aged eighty.
Dr. Bingham boarded at Wm. Ward's, and tended store for him until he established himself as a physician. He wielded the pen of a ready writer, of newspaper articles at least, as early as 1819. On all the public questions of the day, he appears to have had decided, outspoken opinions. In his profession he had an extensive practice to the close of life.
Albert Moss came from Cheshire, Connecticut, in 1818, and engaged in business with his brother Gaius, and continues to reside in New Milford, enjoying the improvements that have been made in his day, and to which his own enterprise has contributed.
Samuel Hammond came from Cheshire County, New Hamp- shire, and bought a farm near the south line of the county- the same on which his son, Lieutenant-Colonel Asa Hammond, now lives, and to which he came the following year. The son has cleared over one hundred acres here. The father died in New Milford, the day he was eighty-two years old.
At this time (1819) William Ward kept a tavern as well as a store. Ira Summers had a clothing or fulling mill, and, soon after, an oil mill.
Engraved ! ! John Surtain. Paul."
cel. My last
157
HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA . COUNTY.
Lincoln and Shubael Hall were here. Seth Mitchell kept an inn.
The same year, John Boyle, a native of Ireland, came to New Milford, at the age of nineteen years. A newspaper writer says of him :-
" His brain, industry, and energy were his capital. Men then worked hard for fifty.cents per day and boarded themselves ; and for ox team and driver one dollar per day-the men living upon game, and blackberries in their season. This was then a wild lumber country, but no outlet to mar- kets. The market prices were-Lumber, clear Pine, $7.50 per 1000; Wheat, $1.00; Rye, 50 cents ; Oats, 16 cents ; Butter, 10 cents; and land worth from $2.00 to $3.00 per acre; and Pine Shingles, $1.50 per 1000.
" The Newburg Turnpike was then the main road through this region, and remained so until the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad gave an outlet to the produce of the country.
" Mr. Boyle, the Irish emigrant boy, afterwards became, by appointment of the governor, county surrogate for ten years, and by election of the peo- ple, in 1851, associate judge for five years ; and by marriage, industry, and good management, became the possessor of a large amount of the land now within the borough limits of New Milford."
He married a daughter of N. McCarty.
James B., his brother, a carpenter, came in later, and bought of Benjamin McCarty the place now occupied by his widow.
He died in 1857, aged sixty.
Many other worthy men and women of New Milford were doubtless among the arrivals prior to 1820, but no definite record of them (with one exception) has been furnished the compiler. The interest of the following sketch, it is believed, will justify its extended mention of foreign affairs :-
Secku Meylert, born in the City of Cassel, Germany, December 24, 1784, was the son of Michael Meylert, a banker. He received a liberal education, and traveled extensively in Europe, spending two years in Paris during Bonaparte's early and brilliant career. Returning to his native city he ap- plied himself to business with his father, with whom he remained for some years, and afterwards established himself in business as a banker in Cassel.
When the French army entered Germany he was offered and accepted a position, for a short time, as an officer of the staff, and participated in sev- eral engagements. On June 14, 1807, he was seriously wounded at the battle of Friedland, having had two horses shot under him, and was left on the field for dead.
After the affairs of Europe were settled by the victory of Waterloo, the old Elector of Westphalia was restored to power, he having promised to make concession to the people and to grant them a constitution. Mr. Mey- lert was one of those who believed in his promises and who favored his recall. The Elector, however, postponed the fulfilment of his word, and followed a reminder of his promise with exactions more rigorous, and a rule more tyrannical than before.
During this period, Kotzebue, aided by other writers as unscrupulous if not as able as himself, in the secret service of Alexander of Russia, flooded Germany with publications in the interest of imperialism and opposed to free government. The people of Germany had been led to expect conces- sions on the part of their rulers, and anticipated the speedy establishment of representative systems. Now, however, the attempt to form liberal in-
158
HISTORY. OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
stitutions was ridiculed-every species of political amelioration was opposed, and a marked enmity was exhibited to the liberty of the press.
Good and true men throughout all Germany felt that these influences must be opposed and counteracted, or the cause of free government would be lost. No organization, however, was then in existence to accomplish this except the secret associations of the students in the universities. These were utterly insufficient for the purpose, and indeed must themselves be con- trolled and directed by the counsel of mature minds. An organization was soon formed composed of some of the most enlightened and liberal men throughout Germany, to withstand this tide of imperialism, and to exert an influence in high places for constitutional government. In Westphalia, this organization was strong and powerful. So carefully, however, were its affairs conducted that its very existence was not even suspected.
Before the plans of these associations were fully matured, a secret letter from Kotzebue to the Emperor of Russia was published, which so exasper- ated the students that it became difficult to control them and to moderate their wrath. One of their number, Karl Ludwig Sand, of the University of Jena, a young man of irreproachable character, but enthusiastic and fanati- cal, became impressed with an insane impulse to kill Kotzebue. For months he struggled to rid himself of this conviction, revealing it to no one, and at length went to Mannheim, and on the 19th of March, 1819, he assassinated Kotzebue in his own house, and then deliberately gave himself up and was subsequently executed.
Thus from this foolish, criminal act, all plans for amelioration of Germany had to be abandoned. The excitement throughout the German States was intense. The rulers immediately commenced a vigorous investigation to ascertain if secret political associations existed, and the leaders of such asso- ciations quietly absented themselves for a time until the excitement should subside. Mr. Meylert, who was the treasurer of and a leader in the central and main association in Westphalia, and who had made himself .peculiarly obnoxious to the Elector, because he had not hesitated to remind him of his promises and to ask for their fulfilment, went to Holland, whence he was advised by his friends to return, or at most to absent himself for a short time to Sweden or England, but, disgusted with tyranny, and hopeless for reforms, he decided to come to free America.
In England, Mr. Meylert read the pamphlet of Dr. Rose of Silver Lake, then in circulation in Great Britain, which gave a glowing description of the fertility of the soil and advantages to persons emigrating, who should settle in Susquehanna County. This determined his destination.
In the summer of 1819 he arrived, and purchased 50 acres of land in New Milford-1} miles from the present village-built a house and commenced clearing a farm. Unused to this kind of work, his progress was slow and his returns meagre. He added to his house a store, and kept a small stock of goods, but the country was thinly settled, money was scarce, and his sales were small. Some outside investments made by him proving unfortunate, the means which he brought with him soon wasted away.
Seeking occupation better suited to his education, he taught school for a short time ; taught a class in the French language in Montrose, and was em- ployed for a considerable time by Mr. Thos. Meredith in business relating to his lands.
In 1833 Mr. Meylert removed to Montrose, where he held the position of Clerk to the County Commissioners, and Deputy Register and Recorder. In 1844 he returned to his farm in New Milford, which had been greatly increased by the purchase of adjoining farms, and there lived until his death, Dec. 30th, 1849. During the later years of his life the agency of large landed estates was placed in his hands, and before his death he had charge of nearly all the land estates belonging to non-resident land owners in northeastern Penn-
159
HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
sylvania. He had also purchased several bodies of wild land, and his New Milford farms then aggregated nearly 1000 acres.
Mr. Meylert married Abigail, the eldest daughter of Deacon Amos Nichols, of Montrose, Feb. 11th, 1821. She is now living in Laporte, in this State. They had five sons and three daughters, all of whom are now living.
Mr. Meylert was a highly educated man, being proficient in both ancient and modern languages, and excelling in mathematics. As a business man he was remarkable, having few equals in his capacity to transact business with great force, rapidity, and accuracy. He was an active member of the Baptist Church ; a zealous Christian, kind and affectionate, and benevolent in every good work. He was a man of strict integrity and of great truthful- ness-positive in character, and stern and unyielding in the performance of his convictions of duty.
The highest number of votes polled in New Milford, in 1814, was 19; in 1830, 57 (at town elections). The population in 1810, 78; 1820, 611; 1830, 1000. In 1844, the whole vote at Presidential election, 249.
The first merchant in New Milford was William Ward, in 1815. Within the next five years three or four small stores were opened; one of which was kept by James Edmunds and Capt. Dean, in 1815; first, in one of the Hayden rooms, and afterwards in the red house at the lower end of the present borough.
The second firm that had any permanence, was that of Grif- fing & Burritt, about 1821. The former was from Guilford, and the latter from Newtown, Conn. They dissolved in 1824, and kept separate establishments.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.