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 53
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The British Emigrant Society, established here, offered to give
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a half-acre lot on the turnpike, cleared, to each of the first fifty mechanics who should build a house on the same, and com- mence his trade. The society required that the fronts of all the houses and shops erected in the town should be built according to the designs furnished by their architect, and should be painted. The sides, back, and interior might be finished or not, as the parties concerned might choose, and every house might be on such a plan and of such a size as best suited the convenience or purse of the builder. Ground was given for the site of public buildings, and a fund is mentioned as having been appropriated for them. It was the wish of the society to introduce a number of good farmers, and to settle industrious mechanics in towns in numbers sufficient to consume the farmer's produce. Factors, they promised, should be established in Philadelphia and New York, to whom wagons should be regularly sent with such of the manufactured articles as it might be desirable to sell there; and to bring back such imported articles as should be necessary for their consumption.
Every plan contemplated by the society seems to have been feasible; but it is probably true that the English mechanic, or farmer even, was unfitted by his previous experience to be a pioneer in a country whose forests and hills were sufficiently appalling to New Englanders. The improvements of the latter were purchased by Dr. Rose and sold to the society, or to its individual members, but, as in all cases the farms were but par- tially cleared, and the two or three turnpikes of the county hardly counterbalanced the discomforts of the common roads, the high hopes of the incomers were gradually dissipated, if not suddenly crushed, and there were few who remained, or whose descendants are still in the township.
Anthony North remained, though his discouragements were equal to any.
He built a framed-house, but soon after he moved into it a whirlwind lifted the roof and carried it off so suddenly that his family were not aware of their loss until they retired for the night, when they found the bricks or stones of the chimney had fallen on a bed where a sleeping infant was lying; but, strange to say, although they were all around it, not one had struck it. The roof being painted, the shingles were recognized when picked up in the vicinity of New Milford. A pair of Mr. North's "short breeches" were found on the limb of a tree in Liberty.
Mrs. N. is still living; her husband died within a few years. Their residence was at the head of Mud Lake.
John Caslake, a man of considerable information, and a bache- lor well advanced in life, built the house near the bridge at Mud Lake, in which Thomas Rodgers, 1st, lived and died; and which
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Thomas Rogers, 3d (grand-nephew of the latter), now owns and occupies. Here Mr. C. died prior to 1830.
Adjoining his place on the north was the earliest location of James Spratt ; and above the latter was that of Thomas Rodgers, 1st; both built later near the top of the hill east of the lake. The farm of Thomas Rodgers, 2d (a nephew of the latter), partly covers the estate formerly owned by James Resseguie, as also one of two lots owned then by John Craik and Walter Scott. The last named died here. He was the father-in-law of A. Waldie.
John Craik was an intelligent Scotchman, whose disappoint- ment in the supposed attractions of the township did not drive him from it. He also died here; and some of his family are still in the vicinity.
North of these settlers was Dr. Charles W. Bankson, who came from Philadelphia. The house built by his widow was after- wards occupied as a dwelling and store by William Hewson, who had previously lived in "Richmond Castle;" and after he left it was occupied as a store by Joseph Stanley. Dr. B. practiced in Silver Lake a number of years.
Dr. Emerson, also from Philadelphia, was probably the first physician here. He was located on the west side of the road.
William Armstrong settled just below T. Rogers, 1st.
On the site of the present residence of A. B. Hill one Rum- ley, a tailor, lived ; the house was afterwards burned.
Samuel Hill lived near the corners, and had a fine flower garden a little further north, which gained a notoriety from its being a rare instance in which a busy farmer gave attention to anything but essentials.
For many years the people worked hard at clearing their farms, or at their various trades, involving constant manual labor ; and, though many of them were men of intelligence, they paid little attention to, and thought less of the exterior graces either in their manners or surroundings. It must be conceded, however, that they possessed elements of character well adapted to cope with the difficulties inseparable from their position. Greater sen- sitiveness on their part would have induced them to return to their former homes, leaving to stronger nerves and resolution the conquest of a land now enjoyed by their posterity. Still, the early exodus of some of the British settlers was doubtless a positive loss to the social, if not the material interests of the country.
Patrick Griffin and family were here as early as 1821, on the place afterwards owned by Mr. Main. Captain Gerald Griffin, his son, was a retired British officer, in England, on half pay, from whom the principal support of the family was at that time derived. They are remembered as possessing true gentility, and
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great loveliness of character. Patrick G., Jr., died in California in the fall of 1872.
Edward White, a model Irish gentleman of the old-school, came in a little later than Mr. Griffin. "He had married the eldest sister of Gerald Griffin, on which occasion the joy-bells of Limerick were rung to honor the young bride and groom. This eminently worthy couple were the first apostles of the Catholic church in Susquehanna County, and the adjacent parts of New York State."
James W. White, eldest son of Edward, was a lawyer, and afterwards Judge of the Superior Court of the City of New York. He has been styled " one of the noblest Irish-Americans of our times."
The daughters of Edward W. were highly educated; and, a few years later, they established in Binghamton a boarding-school for young ladies, which was very successful. The institution was maintained until the death of Mrs. White, in 1851.
The family was then broken up; two of the daughters enter- ing nunneries. Edward W. died December, 1863.
Henry and Sackville Cox, Irish gentlemen, married two daughters of Thomas Peironnet (English), of Friendsville. In 1822 Sackville was in Silver Lake.
The first Roman Catholic priest in the county was Father Francis O'Flynn, of the order La Trappe, and of " noble descent." His sister, Mrs. Fitzgerald, a true lady, was with himself the center of a large circle of the cultivated and refined. Indeed, at no later period has a larger number of such persons resided in Silver Lake and vicinity.
An agricultural society was formed in 1820. From the diary of Philip Griffith, now in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. J. S. Gage, we have a few items relative to affairs in the township at this early day, and among them mention of the introduction, by Dr. Rose, of large numbers of sheep into the township. On the 4th of July, 1832, Edward White and Philip Griffith brought to him one thousand three hundred and fifty- two sheep; in August of that year he had nearly two thousand- eleven of the number having that month been killed by wolves. At a later period he had five thousand sheep and numerous cattle.
In 1834, Philip Griffith removed to the vicinity of Dr. Rose's residence, and kept the post-office accounts, and also those of the estate. A farm hand was then paid but fifty cents a day. In 1836, oak plank was worth one cent per foot; shingles, three dollars per one and a half thousand.
The English had come and gone, when an experiment was made, about the year 1836, by Dr. Rose, to form a colony of colored farmers, but it failed.
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Upon the completion of the Chenango Canal, and after suspen- sion of labor upon the North Branch, the Irish who had been employed in their construction were easily induced to purchase land and settle down as farmers; and in general they have been very successful, many having arrived at competency, if not wealth. Were the roads of the township at all their earnest care, and kept like those of Jackson or Gibson, the farms of Silver Lake would not only appear to far greater advantage, but their value would be doubled. As it is, the difficulty of access gives to this section an appearance of dreariness, and the jaded traveler's aching bones make him wish himself well out of the township.
One of the later colonists was Michael Ward, formerly of Longford County, Ireland. Joseph, his son, is the present jus- tice of the peace in Silver Lake.
James McCormick, from Tipperary County, settled about forty years ago in the northwestern part of the township, near where J. McCormick, Jr., now lives. J. D. Murphy, James Foster, and Timothy Sweeney came soon afterwards.
By degrees the descendants of the New England settlers left, and those of the Irish rapidly filled their places, until the latter are now a large majority of the population. In one school-dis- trict there is but one man of American parentage.
The streams of the township are all small, the largest being only the outlets of the principal lakes. The latter were found bordered with the native laurel. Dr. Rose brought pickerel from Lathrop's to stock Silver Lake, and a few were put into Quaker or Derwent Lake. They ate the other fish-trout, bull- heads, etc. Two trout weighing together sixteen pounds, were once caught just at the outlet. Speckled trout are sometimes now found in Ranney Creek.
The source of Silver Creek is in the lake of the same name, though it has a feeder in Cranberry Lake, in the same vicinity. In 1829, Dr. Rose constructed a stone-dam on this creek, not far from T. Holley's, remains of which can yet be seen. For some years a woolen factory was established there. "Snow Hollow" lies just east of it, through which the road continues to the salt spring in Franklin. Two or three families of the name of Snow resided there.
In 1834, this section was the scene of a wolf hunt. At a later date even than this, the forests were not entirely deserted by deer which, in earlier times, had been abundant. From a news- paper of 1839, we learn that E. W. Rose, then a mere lad, shot a deer near the lake, which weighed 206 pounds.
Beech, maple, and chestnut were on the ridges; hemlock along the valleys ; the last is still abundant, though heavy drafts are made upon it.
Thirty years ago a party of pedestrians, who started from
T. SINCLAIR & SON LITH.PHIL+
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Philadelphia. for Niagara, Williamsport, and Genesee Falls, gave to the 'Philadelphia Inquirer' a description of their tour, which was published by the editor, with some remarks of his own, descriptive of their return, from which we take the following :-
" On entering again the wilds of Pennsylvania, they were startled and delighted with the appearance of Silver Lake-a scene which they describe to have been as beautiful, at that time, as the fabled island of Calypso. They reclined, for the purpose of taking their noon-day meal, under a grove of beech trees, and observed on the border of the lake a number of handsome buildings. While they were looking at them a gentleman (Dr. Rose), whose residence was in the midst, came forward, and in the most courteous manner invited our travelers to his hospitality. The invitation was accepted, and while they tarried there (three days), they were highly gratified not only with the scenery-the lake looking like a tranquil mirror bordered with a variety of verdure and foliage, alternated with rock and mountain-but with the curiosities and elegancies within ; such as urns from Thebes, platters from Herculaneum and Pompeii, statues and pictures, and a library of 4000 volumes of the choicest literature."
The enthusiasm exhibited in this fragment is not greater than that felt by the compiler on seeing Silver Lake for the first time, a few years later. The view was obtained from the east, and seemed like a glimpse of fairy-land. No less than nine marble statues ornamented the exterior of Dr. Rose's residence, which, in the engraving given in this work, are but indistinctly seen.
These, with the turrets, and the delightful little summer- houses by the lake, which was environed by a path behind a screen of laurels, were novelties that needed not a lively imagi- nation to render them pleasing in the extreme. But its palmy days were over. The genius that had planned, and the hand of taste that had executed so much that combined to charm the eye and attract the soul, were then no more ; and desolate hearts took little note of neglected grounds, except to feel more keenly the loss they had suffered.
NOTE .- The first engraving (a few pages preceding), shows the front of the house as originally built, or as it appeared in 1816. In the second engraving we see the rear of the same house with the extensive additions made to it of a later date.
Dr. Rose died February 24th, 1842, in the 66th year of his age, leaving a widow, three sons, and four daughters. One of the latter married Mr. William Main, of New York. Thirty-five years ago he was residing at the northeast corner of Derwent Lake; the road, since vacated, then passed his house, which is now occupied by Thomas Patton. At the time of the morus multicaulis mania he gave some attention to the cultivation of these trees and rearing of silkworms. Several attempts were made, but soon given up, by other parties.
Another daughter became the wife of Rev. Francis D. Ladd, pastor at a later period of a church in Philadelphia. Mrs. L. and her husband died some years ago. Mrs. Rose died at Phila-
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delphia, in 1866. The oldest son, Edward W., resides upon the estate, his house commanding a fine view of the lake; but neither this nor that of the late Andrew Rose, his brother, near it, are modeled in any respect after the paternal residence, which, to the great loss of the community as well as the family, then absent, was consumed by fire, together with its contents, April 30th, 1849.
In the early agitation of the subjects of temperance and anti- slavery, Silver Lake was alive and interested. A petition, signed by I. Gage and about twenty others of the township, was read by ex-president Adams in the United States House of Representa- tives. The correspondent of the 'New York Express' describes the scene : " Ears, eyes, and mouths were opened in astonish- ment, and the little monster was laid on the table without debate. Mr. Davis (Jeff. ? ), attempted to revive his resolution, proposing that all anti-slavery petitions be laid upon the table without read- ing, without reference, and without debate. But it was no go."
There are ten school-districts in the township. Joseph Gage, Sr., sold land to Gilbert Tompkins, of New York, which the latter sold, in 1848, to J. W. Brackney, from Prattsville, New York, who erected there an extensive tannery and a fine resi- dence. He drew about him a community of laborers whose dwellings formed a small village, called Brackney. A post- office is established here. The first grist-mill at this point was built for Mr. B. August, 1850. The business he pursued has since passed into other hands.
But two of the first settlers of the township are living-Aba- gail, widow of Mortimer Gage, and Peter Soule. The last named is in Duanesburg, New York. Betsey, widow of Jacob Hoag, and Betsey, widow of John L. Minkler, both died recently.
RELIGIOUS.
The "Church of Christ in Silver Lake and Choconut" was organized February 16th, 1816, by Rev. E. Kingsbury, Rev. Oliver Hill, and John Thacher, council. The first communion service was held on the Sabbath following, at Dr. Rose's office. There were but seven constituent members; four others were present who had not yet received letters of dismission from other churches. Persons proposed for admission to this church had to stand propounded four weeks, a rule applying to professors as well as others. This was pronounced " anti-presbyterial" years later, by the Rev. Daniel Deruelle.
Prior to 1823 the Presbyterian (or Congregational) ministers who had preached here were, the Revs. E. Kingsbury, O. Hill, M. M. York, G. N. Judd, - King, and Enoch Conger. Only the last named appears to have been a stated supply ; the others
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
came but semi-occasionally, to administer the Lord's Supper. During Mr. Conger's labors, on June 22d, 1822, twenty-one per- sons were received into the church on profession of faith; but with this addition the whole number of communicants, in 1823, was but thirty-one, and but twenty-nine the following year. A majority of these resided in Choconut; and to accommodate them the first church edifice was built on Choconut Creek.
In 1833, Rev. Mr. Smith was with them. Rev. Levi Griswold had preceded him; and during the previous few years Rev. Burr Baldwin and Rev. Daniel Deruelle had preached here oc- casionally. Later, Rev. John Sherer supplied the pulpit fre- quently. Ephraim Strong, Daniel Chamberlin, Gordon Bliss, and Eben Griswold were deacons of this church.
The last record concerning the old church was made March 20th, 1837. Seventy-one members in all had been connected with it.
The first Presbyterian church within the bounds of Silver Lake township was built in 1846, on a knoll sloping to the western shore of Mud Lake.1
Many of the community contributed liberally to swell the amount advanced for this purpose by Mrs. Rose and family.
John Simpson, an upright man and earnest christian (in whose hands Dr. Rose at his death had left the management of his estate), had exerted himself to bring together the scattered mem- bers of the former church, and what Ephraim Strong had been to that, Mr. Simpson became to the new church-its pillar. He died November 8th, 1848, in the fifty-fourth year of his age.
The church was re-organized March 21st, 1847, with the fol- lowing members: Mrs. Jane Rose and four daughters, John Simpson and wife, Henrietta Craik, W. Coon and wife, Eliza North, and one other whose name is unascertained.
Rev. Francis D. Ladd was then the pastor of the church, and for several years afterward. Rev. Thomas Thomas was his suc- cessor. Rev. Mr. Palmer, of Broome County, N. Y., supplies the pulpit at present. Nathaniel H. Wakeley and Thomas Patton are the elders of the church.
The Methodist society was organized as early as 1818, by Elder Griffin, but it soon declined, and was not revived until 1831, at which time Elder Solon Stocking occasionally labored here.
Rev. Charles Perkins and Rev. J. R. Boswell were here at " the time of the great reformation," in 1840 ; previous to which there were but seven members. The Griffith family were among the early members.
1 Such a misnomer should no longer be allowed. Above the bridge a prettier sheet of water is not to be found : why not revive the old name-Tenbury Lake ?
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Elder Morgan Ruger, stationed at Brackney, died 1851.
The church edifice was begun April, 1846, and was dedicated February, 1847. It is now some rods north of its first location, which was at the corners below Brackney.
The first Roman Catholic chapel was built at the head of Ranney Creek, on land of Mr. Fitzgerald (a nephew of Father O'Flynn). It was the first of that denomination in the county.
Fig. 24.
R. C. CHAPEL OF ST. AUGUSTINE.
It was destroyed by fire April 3d, 1870; but a new structure already takes its place, of which we give an illustration. The first service was held in the new church on Christmas day of 1871.
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
CHAPTER XXXI.
JACKSON.
IN 1814, on petition of John Hilborn and others, for a division of the original township of Harmony into two equal parts-six miles north and south, by nine miles east and west-the court appointed Asa Dimock, Philip J. Stewart, and John Kent, view- ers ; and their report, setting off the lower half as a new town- ship to be called Jackson, was accepted, and finally confirmed, December, 1815. A petition in May previous, asking to have it named Greenfield, was not granted, as the viewers failed to report.
The hero of New Orleans might have been immortalized with- out the help of this new township; however, its few inhabitants chose to call it by his name, and not without some show of con- sistency, as his political principles were largely predominant for many years, within its bounds, though they are not inherited to any great extent by its present voters.
During the war of the rebellion, Jackson contributed 114 vol- unteers for the Union army, a number of whom sacrificed their lives in the service.
The area of Jackson was diminished exactly one-half by the erection of the eastern part into the township of Thomson. This, in turn, has been divided, the southern portion now being the northern part of Ararat; thus the farms of Hezekiah Bushnell and Nathaniel West, which are now in the latter township, were once in 'Thomson, and previous to that, in Jackson ; still earlier, when first occupied, the same farms were in Harmony.
There are no hills of any very great elevation. The two highest points are in the northern part of the township; their summits being not more than half a mile apart, and the Lenox and Harmony turnpike skirting their common base. That on the west side is called Mount Hope; that on the east is known by the name of Hog-back.
No stream courses the entire length of the township in any direction, though there are several of some note which " head" in the vicinity of these hills. First, the Canawacta, which first runs east, then northeast, then north, and finally northwest, and empties into the Susquehanna at Lanesboro. It is said a party of Indians, of the Conewaga tribe, were accustomed to hunt and fish in this vicinity, and that the creek took its name from this
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circumstance. Second, Drinker Creek, which runs north, then northwest, and empties into the river at Susquehanna Depot. Third, Meadow-brook, which runs westerly, and empties into the Salt Lick near H. Burritt's store in New Milford. Fourth, the West Branch of the Tunkhannock, which runs through Burrows Hollow and thence through the east part of Harford. Fifth, the Middle Branch, which runs south, and after leaving Jackson runs through Gibson, etc., emptying into the Susquehanna at Tunk- hannock. It is thought a point might be found near the summit of Mount Hope from which a circle with a radius of one mile would include the heads of all these streams. Mitchell's Creek, and a smaller stream known to surveyors as " Third Run," have their sources in the northwest corner of Jackson, and reach the river in Great Bend and Oakland. Butler Lake is the largest sheet of water in the township ; being half a mile wide, and more than a mile long. Its outlet joins Van Winkle's Creek near the western border of Gibson, and eventually enters the Tunkhan- nock. There was once a beaver-meadow which is now covered by a mill-pond east of Butler Lake.
Beech, maple, and chestnut constitute the principal timber, as the pine and hemlock have been, in a great measure, transported to market. There were formerly noted yields of maple sugar. In early times, when farmers were clearing their farms, wheat was a pretty sure crop. Jairus Lamb then sowed two bushels of seed wheat which yielded, in one season, one hundred and five bushels-probably the largest crop ever raised from the same quantity of seed, in the county. Now, wheat does not do so well, and comparatively little is raised ; the attention of farmers being given principally to the making of butter, the good quality of which usually commands as good a price as that of any other township. With a dairy of seven cows, Oliver Clinton made and sold for the New York market in 1868, 1418 pounds of butter, netting $635. Besides the butter sold, 50 pounds were made for winter use, and a family of seven persons was also supplied with butter and milk during the season.
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Large crops of vegetables are annually grown. In 1869, Charles T. Belcher raised seven and one-half bushels of Early Rose potatoes from seven seed potatoes, and from half a bushel of Harrison white potatoes he raised forty-five bushels. J. H. Lamb gathered, from less than two acres of ground, seventeen large wagon loads of pumpkins, nearly all of them being yellow and ripe.
The township presents to the eye of the traveler a series of beautiful landscapes, which the smoothness of the roads permits him to enjoy undisturbed. Perhaps in all the county there are no better roads than those of this township; the cross-roads even
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