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 23
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Robert Follet died June, 1809, aged forty-one years; Caleb Richardson in 1823; Hosea Tiffany, April, 1833; Samuel Thacher, October, 1833; Daniel Carpenter, in Massachusetts, 1835; John Carpenter, 1838; Josiah Carpenter, in Massachu- setts; Moses Thacher, in Massachusetts; Ezekiel Titus, 1846. (?)
Others of the early settlers died as follows: Obadiah Car- penter in 1810, aged sixty-eight; Asa Very in 1829, aged fifty- three; Nathaniel Jeffries in 1833, aged seventy-one; Thomas Tiffany in 1835, aged seventy-eight; Abel Rice in 1837, aged seventy-seven ;} William Coonrod in 1837, aged eighty-four ; Obadiah Thacher in 1838, aged eighty; Elkanah Tingley in 1838, aged seventy-eight; Aaron Greenwood in 1845, aged sixty- four; Rufus Kingsley in 1846, aged eighty-four, and his wife, aged seventy-nine; Samuel Guile in 1847, aged sixty-five ; Abel Read in 1857, aged eighty-nine; Amos Tiffany in 1857, aged seventy-two; Eliab Farrar in 1858, aged eighty-five; Austin Jones in 1861, aged seventy-three; Asaph Fuller in 1868, aged ninety-two.
In 1868 there were in Harford fifty-four persons aged over seventy ; fourteen over eighty ;1 and one (A. Sweet) over ninety.
1 Mrs. Hannah Guile, one of this number, died January 3, 1871, aged eighty- seven. Of her eleven children, seven are living ; of forty-eight grandchildren, thirty are living ; of fifty great-grandchildren, thirty-seven are living.
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
John Gilbert died February, 1869, aged over eighty. He had lived on the same farm in Harford for fifty-five years.
Of the very few men of our county who lived over a century, one was John Adams, a native of Massachusetts, and a Revolu- tionary soldier, who came to Harford in 1837. He was then ninety-two, but it was his wish to spend his last days with his son James, who came here several years previous.
Often, after his one hundredth year, he made (and made well) a pair of shoes in a day. Four letters written by him when he was one hundred and one years old, and published before his death in a Massachusetts paper, have been preserved; they evince a wonderful retention of mental faculties, cultivated and improved after his maturity, his early advantages being but few. He died in 1849, aged one hundred and four years, one month, and four days.
Several cases of death by drowning have occurred in the different lakes of the township; and one woman, Esther More, was burned to death in May, 1829, when Elias Carpenter's house was burned.
The first inhabitants found a source of revenue in making sugar, but more by raising neat cattle; a yoke of good oxen would sell at $80 or $100 during the first twenty years after the settlement. The demand was occasioned by the lumbering business, then carried on extensively upon the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers.
Major Laban Capron was the first post-master.
Hosea Tiffany, Esq., had been a Revolutionary soldier, and was afterwards a pensioner. His first log-cabin stood on the ground now occupied by the Congregational church ; his garden is now the graveyard. His daughter Nancy was married New- Year's, 1800, to Captain Asahel Sweet. She was once greatly frightened by wolves which had been attracted by the smell of the blood of a sheep her husband had killed and brought into the cabin. The night following, when he was in the sugar- camp, a mile or more from home, Mrs. S., who was with her children in the house, heard wild animals tramping around, and she was fearful they would reach the roof, a low sloping one, and effect an entrance through the hole left for a chimney. She did not lose her presence of mind, but took straw from her bed, and during the night threw it upon the fire by handfuls, thus keeping them at bay until dawn, when to her inexpressible relief she heard them leave.
An amusing story is told of Hosea Tiffany as justice of the peace. He had married a couple, and, soon after, being dissatis- fied with each other, they came to him to inquire if he would un- marry them. "Oh, yes !" said he, and invited them them to step outside a moment. Taking his ax and putting his foot on a log,
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But, though there were geographical reasons to justify these requests-East Mountain and the tall peaks of Elk Mountain being nearly in the centre of the township-ten years appear to have elapsed before a division was made, when Herrick was added to the list of Susquehanna townships. Gibson was then left in nearly its present shape, containing about thirty-six square miles, which have been slightly reduced by small addi- tions to Herrick and Ararat.
East Mountain extends along half of the eastern boundary of Gibson; and, north of it, the valley of the Tunkhannock is confronted by other heights which skirt those belonging to the " Mount Ararat" of old land-surveys in the adjoining town- ship.
The Tunkhannock Creek, rising in Jackson and Thompson, traverses Gibson diagonally through Gelatt Hollow in the north- east to the southwest corner, where it enters Lenox. With its ten or twelve tributaries, some of which are the outlets of pretty ponds, it forms the whole drainage of the township. Stearns' Lake, in the northern part, covers several acres of elevated ground.
There is no central place of business for the whole township; consequently the stores, manufactures, and mechanics are prin- cipally located at five small villages, viz., Burrows' Hollow, Kennedy Hill, South Gibson, Smiley, and Gelatt Hollow. Bur- rows' Hollow is located on Butler Creek and the old Newburg turnpike, and near the northwest corner of the town; Smiley, four miles distant on the same road, and the main branch of the Tunkhannock; Kennedy Hill, at the summit of the ridge be- tween the two creeks; South Gibson, four miles down the creek from Smiley, and near the southwest corner of the town ; Gelatt Hollow, one and a half miles up the creek from Smiley, and near the northeast corner of the township.
The vicinity of Kennedy Hill was the first settled.
It is probable that Joseph Potter, from Ballston Spa, N. Y., was the first settler within the present limits of Gibson. In 1792 or '93 he lived on the farm now occupied by his grandson, Oliver Potter.
After bringing in his family he returned to Ballston Spa for a short time on business, leaving his family with only a hired man as protector. It was winter, and the cabin was without a door. Mrs. P. did not see a woman's face for the first six months.
Capt. Potter, as he was usually called, afterwards moved a mile further west, to the farm now occupied by his grandsons, Joshua M. and Stephen W. Potter, near the small lake known by his name. He died here after a residence of many years.
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
he said, " Let the one who wants to be unmarried first, lay the head there !" In 1800 he brought in a barrel of cider, the first in town, for which he paid $8; its sale netted him six cents profit. The apple-tree at first did not thrive well, but in later years there was and is a good share of orcharding.
In 1810 the first cider-mill was erected on land of H. Tiffany, and the first cider was sold for $3 or $4 per barrel.
In 1827 Thos. Tiffany's orchard yielded 1400 bushels of apples. In 1830 Elkanah Tingley made one hundred barrels of cider. The year 1833 was a remarkably fruitful one.
CHAPTER XIV.
GIBSON.
A MOVEMENT was made, November, 1812, to divide the town- ship of Clifford, then thirteen miles on the east line of the county, by nine miles east and west; and the first court of Sus- quehanna County was petitioned to erect the northern half of it into a new township to be called Gibson. This name was designed to commemorate that of the late Hon. John B. Gibson, at that time president judge of the district of which this county forms a part.
It appears that, contrary to the original intention, the west line of Gibson was extended about a mile beyond that of Clif- ford, making the township ten miles east and west. This took from Harford twenty-two taxables, and about a mile square from the territory of Lenox. Against the latter encroachment a remonstrance was soon presented, but the court declined making a review of the township lines on account of the low state of the treasury, though granting permission for a renewal of the petition at some later period. But no after change in the western boundary appears to have been made. Thus very desirable territory was gained, including "Gibson Hollow," "Kentuck," and a portion of South Gibson.
But the township was then too large ; and, November, 1814, the court was petitioned to divide it by a line drawn north and south four and a half miles from the western boundary, the new township to be called Bern. Viewers were appointed, but nothing further appears relative to the matter.
One year later another petition was presented, praying to have Gibson divided through the centre from north to south, the " westernmost" part to retain the name of Gibson, and the new town to be called Lawrence.
1
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
He early kept a public house. His sons were: Noah, John, and Parley.
John Belcher, in 1794, came to the farm now owned by Geo. Maxey. It extends west from the Union Hill church, and was formerly owned by George H. Wells, whose name is marked at this place on the county map. Mr. B. lived here until he sold it to Abijah Wells, and removed to Lymanville, in Springville township. His sons were: John, Ira, Hiram, Michael, and Alanson.
Joshua Jay, a brother-in-law of John Belcher, Sen., must have come about the same time. He built the first grist-mill where Claflin's mill now stands; also, the old "Skyrin house," near the mill, and still standing, which was afterwards the first location of Dr. Chandler. He had also a blacksmith shop, but he did not remain here many years before removing to "the lake country," N. Y.
A Mr. Brown is said to have lived here about 1796.
Wright Chamberlin bought a farm of Joshua Jay, May, 1796, on the eastern slope of what was called Putt's Hill, about a mile east of Burrows' Hollow, and here he spent the remainder of his life. He had left Litchfield, Ct., one year previous, and "set out with Denman Coe to visit the State of Pennsylvania." From his diary, now preserved by Silas Chamberlin, we quote the result :-
"I bought a possession at Hopbottom, and on the 11th of June (1795), I set out with Coe's family to carry them into Pennsylvania, and I worked at Hopbottom that year from the 26th day of June until the 8th of September following, when I set out for Litchfield, in order to move my family to Hop- bottom. But, as I passed Nine Partners, Mr. John Tyler persuaded me to purchase a possession there. Jan. 21st, A. D. 1796, I bid farewell to the State of Connecticut, and on Feb. 26th, 1796, I arrived with my family in Nine Partners."
In August following he removed his family to his new pur- chase on Putt's Hill, now in Gibson.
After the death of his first wife in 1797, he married Sally Hold- ridge, daughter of the first pioneer of Herrick. He had three wives and twenty-four children. (Some assert that there were twenty-eight in all, but the record closes with the birth of his son Jackson, in 1833.) His first wife's family consisted of seven boys and one girl. Moses C., who died in Gibson, Aug. 1870, at the age of 83, was one of those boys, and was eight years old when his father left Connecticut. James was another, and was the father of Silas Chamberlin, now of New Milford, but who was born in Gibson, and lived here 67 years. There are but three persons surviving who have lived in the township as long as he, viz., the widow of Ezekiel Barnes (a daughter of John Belcher, Sr.), and Corbet Pickering, of South Gibson.
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Wright Chamberlin, Jr., another brother, lived for many years on the river between Susquehanna Depot and Great Bend. He died recently. Wright Chamberlin, Sr., died in 1842, aged 84. He had been a Revolutionary soldier. For many years he was a deacon in the Presbyterian church on Union Hill.
Prior to 1800, he was a licensed " taverner" in his log house on the high ground, a short distance west of Lewis Evans' pre- sent house, which he built two or three rods from the house raised by Mr. C., Oct. 1814. At a later date in his diary, he says : "I moved my new house down to the well." The first house stood on the old road, which, in 1807-10, was superseded by the Newburg turnpike.
Our informant says :-
" There was a good deal of travel over it, and Chamberlin's log tavern was not a little frequented. One night the ground floor (as probably the upper floor), was entirely covered with lodgers, except a narrow passage from the hearth to the outer door, for the accommodation of 'mine host,' who sat up through the night to keep a fire for his weary, slumbering guests. Most of these were loyalists, or rather, as we should say, ' royalists,' from New Jer- sey, who were going to Canada after the war, to claim the British promise of a farm to the emigrating tories. But there was also a considerable emi- gration from New England and elsewhere to the 'Holland Purchase' in Western New York.
" This previous route of travel varied considerably, in this section, from the present track of the old Newburg road, from half a mile to a mile south of the former, though in general it had the same well-defined route. Here, in- stead of going through the gap, as now, at Smiley's, it crossed the ridge of the Tunkhannock Mountain (marked ' East Mt.' on the old county map), south of W. Rezean's present place, and came down near D. Reece's, to the Tunkhannock Creek, a considerable distance below Smiley's; and, on the west side, up by Thomas Evans' and H. D. Bennett's to the pond of J. Ben- nett 2d ; thence up the west feeder of the pond, and over the hill a little west of Lewis Evans', or past the old log tavern of Wright Chamberlin, to Bur- rows' Hollow and Claflin's grist-mill ; thence to E. Green's, on the Harford line ; thence to Judge Tingley's old place, and on to the Great Bend. Just how much it varied from the old road, from this point, is not stated, but there was probably less variation than across the section just mentioned."
Jotham Pickering, and his brother Phineas, from Massachu- setts originally, came to what is now Gibson, in 1798, from a farm now owned by Mr. Wellman in New Milford, to which they had come in 1793. Corbet, son of Jotham Pickering, stated in an article published in the 'Montrose Republican,' that his father was " the second inhabitant of Gibson," but as he also stated positively, that he was five years on the place where he began in 1793, his memory failed him in regard to the settle- ment of Gibson, as proved by the diary of Deacon Chamberlin. The farm of J. P. was less than half a mile east of Kennedy Hill, to which he came with the purpose of uniting his family of children with those of Capt. Potter, to establish a school. The advantages they were able to command must have been
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
limited, as it is asserted the first teacher in Gibson did not know how to write. Mr. C. Pickering says :-
" At that time Gibson was indeed a wilderness, and without a figure might have been styled a howling wilderness, because upon every hand, at all times of day or night, could be heard the melancholy howl of the wolf, and very often the piercing screech of the panther. Truly those were times that tried men's nerves, if not their souls. At this time, moreover, there were no mills nearer than Wilkes-Barre, and it was some years before we had the advan- tage of any other process of grinding than that of a hard wood stump, dug out in the form of a mortar, while the pestle, with which we pounded our corn, somewhat resembled a modern handspike. But we could not afford so tedious a process in manufacturing our rye ; so we put on the big kettle, and boiled a quantity of what is, in these days of improvement, called whiskey seeds ; and, really, we found rye and milk much more palatable than rye and kerosene. The first mill that I can remember was ten miles distant, nearly every step of the way in the woods; and the boy that had sufficient nerve and mus- cle, had the exalted privilege of mounting a bag of corn, which had first been mounted on horseback, and taking up his tedious pilgrimage to the grist- mill.
" At one time, when my uncle Phineas was traveling from New Milford to Gibson, the only sign of civilization was here and there a marked tree. Losing his way, he wandered, of course, every way but the right. Still he was not much concerned, until he was suddenly aroused to real conscious- ness by the near howling of wolves. There being no other alternative, he climbed a tree, and had but just got notions of safety in his head, when the wolves gave him a greeting such as he never forgot while he lived. All that night he was favored with music that probably never charmed the savage breast. He carried the inevitable old rifle, but the charge got wet, so they had things their own way, except the privilege of picking a few human bones, till daylight, when the cowardly villains withdrew."
The sons of Jotham Pickering were Henry, John, Preserved, Corbet, and Potter. Corbet came to his present place, in 1833, from Gelatt Hollow.
Phineas settled in the vicinity of Gelatt Hollow. His sons were Augustus, Joseph, and John B.
John Collar made one of the earliest clearings on the Tunk- hannock, within the bounds of Gibson. His farm is now occu- pied by T. J. Manzer. Unlike most of the settlers of the township, he came in from below or near the mouth of the creek. He was a great trapper, and caught, in one season, nine bears in what has since been called Bear Swamp, near South Gibson. A stream of the same name here joins the Tunkhannock.
Between 1798 and 1800, Samuel Carey, the first settler of South Gibson, moved in; but died soon after, and was buried at the foot of the hill which bears his name. It is on the southern line of Gibson, where the northeast corner of Lenox joins Clifford.
In 1800, Samuel McIntosh and Benjamin Woodruff made a beginning in what is called the old Samuel Resseguie farm.
In 1802, or 1803, Joseph Washburn, afterwards first justice
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
of the peace, settled on Gibson Hill, and put up a blacksmith shop, a great accommodation then to settlers for miles around. Mrs. N. E. Kennedy and Mrs. Thaddeus Whitney,1 daughters of Joseph Washburn, reside near the old homestead; and Ira, his only son, on a part of it.
Waller and Ebenezer Washburn were brothers of Esq. Washburn; the sons of the first were Samuel, Lyman, Dexter, and Julius.
In 1804, Capt. Eliab Farrar came. He married a daughter of Noah Tiffany, and resided some years near his wife's brother, Arumah Tiffany, in "Kentuck." He removed to Harford about 1818, and died there in 1858, aged 86. His widow sur- vives him, is about ninety years old, and has been for seventy years a resident of the county. "She says, with tears in her eyes and her countenance quivering with emotion," writes a correspondent, "that she is thankful that she never went to bed hungry, nor put her children to bed when they wanted food ;" but she has known those who have been at times in that condition.
In 1804 or '5, Dr. Robert Chandler, first P. M. at Gibson Hol- low, occupied the Skyrin House. It bears this name from the fact that it belonged with land which the wife of John Skyrin received from her father, Henry Drinker, of Philadelphia. Mr. Skyrin, years later, spent some time here putting up a saw-mill and looking after the property, but was not a resident. Dr. Chandler exchanged this place with Mr. Drinker for wild land, and resided until his death, in 1831, about half a mile east on the turnpike.
The Drinker lands covered most of the township, except in the vicinity of the Tunkhannock Creek, which had been covered in 1784 by warrants of Mr. Poyntell as far north as Jackson Center.
Stephen Harding, Sen., built the first saw-mill, near the grist- mill of Joshua Jay, and bought out the latter, probably as early as 1806. Mr. Harding was a millwright, and built the second grist-mill at this point, and afterwards sold to N. Claflin and Cyrus Cheevers. The latter has since lived in Bridgewater. S. Harding removed in 1815.
There were several additions to the settlement about this time, but a number of the first comers had left or were dead. The heads of families residing in 1807, within the present town, (which was then in Clifford), were :-
Capt. Joseph Potter and his son John; John Belcher, Wm. Belcher, Joshua Jay, Wright Chamberlin, James Chamberlin, Phineas Pickering, John Collar, Sen. and Jr., Joseph and Eben-
' Since deceased .
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
ezer Washburn, Robert Chandler, Stephen Harding, Sen., David and Amos Taylor, Joseph Cole, Olney Sweet, Nathan Maxon (left in 1818 for Lenox), James Bennett, John Green, George Galloway, Capt. Elias Bell, Ezra Follett, Henry Wells, and Capt. Eliab Farrar-twenty-six in all.
Reuben Brundage was a taxable of Clifford the same year, and in 1808 lived on Kennedy Hill. Several taxed in Clifford in 1807 were taxed in Harford in 1811, and in Gibson in 1814.
David Taylor built the hotel still standing on the Newburg turnpike east of the creek at Smiley. This, and the Skyrin House, and Capt. Potter's tavern, were the only frame houses then in Gibson. Amos, son of David Taylor, came here a little before his father, and located on the west side of the Tunkhan- nock, a mile below the hotel, where his son William now re- sides, and where he was born. Amos Taylor also owned a farm on East Mountain, which was for a time occupied by William.
Joseph Cole lived on Kennedy Hill, just west of Jos. Wash- burn. Wm. Holmes afterwards had this farm.
Olney Sweet, a brother of Capt. Asahel S., of Harford, was for many years where A. Sweet has since kept a hotel, above Gib- son (Burrows') Hollow. His wife was a daughter of Dr. Chandler. O. S., died in 1842, aged 65.
James Bennett was near the outlet of the pond that bears his name. He came here from Rockland Co., N. Y. His wife, in 1807, drove a bear and two cubs from her premises with only the help of a dog. She was the first Methodist in Gibson. Their sons were, Charles, and Loren G., of South Gibson, Luke and John.
Levi, brother of James Bennett, lived half a mile west of Smiley. His sons were, William, George, John, and James.
The outlet of Bennett's Pond is called Bell Creek, from the fact of Capt. Bell's early settlement here. Abijah Wells bought this place and Geo. Galloway's next, north of it, also John Belcher's, and Sterling Bell's (marked T. Evans on the map). He first lived on the last named, gave it afterwards to his son Coe, and removed to the Belcher farm; built a new dwelling, etc., there, and remained on the farm until he gave it to his son Geo. H .; he then came to the Elias Bell farm, adding to it a strip of the Galloway farm, and building a house, barns, etc., as there were previously no buildings of value on the Bell farm; and here he lived and died, leaving this place to his widow, and the son of his eldest son, who has long since de- ceased.
Ezra Follett began where Captain Oliver Payne afterwards lived. George Galloway was a Dutchman and a very worthy citizen. He was the maternal grandfather of the present gov- ernor of Virginia, Gilbert C. Walker. The latter was not born
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
in Gibson, as has been stated in the public prints, but in Cuba, Alleghany County, New York, during his parents' temporary residence there, after leaving Susquehanna County. His mother afterwards returned to Gibson, and the present Gov. Walker was " put out" for some years with Mr. T., a farmer in the vici- nity of " Kentuck." One of his neighbors tells this story :-
" Mr. T. was a very rigid disciplinarian ; thought children should be always on their propriety-miniature men and women. One day he was gone from home and young Walker was left alone, for there were no children of his years, and the time seemed heavy and long. 'To ' kill' it he ventured upon an ex- pedient which he knew would be a high offence in the eyes of Mr. T. He took the only horse, a staid old family beast, and went out for a ride. Sus- pecting Mr. T. would be back before his return, he left the horse in the woods back of the pasture, and came across the lot to the house, and meeting Mr. T., he told him that the horse was out of the lot ; he had seen him over in the woods. Whereupon Mr. T. went over and got him back into the lot, and he and ' the Gov.' reconnoitered the fence around the pasture to find where the horse got out ; the old gentleman never once suspecting the ruse till it was too late to call the culprit to an account."
But this incident occurred many years later than the period under consideration.
It is stated that an old Kentucky hunter came through what is now the western part of the township, at an early day ; and being struck with its beauty, said it was "equal to old Ken- tuck." From this circumstance it took the name which seems so odd to a stranger. No one can fail to admire the scenery, so varied and pleasing; and the rich lands which make the section not unworthy of its frequent designation-" the garden of the county." Its elevation affords views of great loveliness, both near and distant. All the prominent points of neighboring townships are revealed with a distinctness peculiar to a clear atmosphere. The slopes furnish unsurpassed grazing, as the butter of the township well exemplifies. The farm houses bear little resemblance to the low, rough structures of early times, and with the grounds about them, evince at once the taste and wealth of the present inhabitants. The editor of the 'Susque- hanna Journal,' after taking a trip in 1870, through Gibson and Jackson, speaks of them thus :-
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