History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 50

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1454

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The Arlington Hotel was opened in July, 1891, near the Fall Brook railroad depot, by Robert Traver, as landlord. It was destroyed by fire December 17, 1893, being owned and occupied at the time by J. G. Parks.

BOROUGH ORGANIZATION AND OFFICIALS.

The borough of Elkland was incorporated by a special act of the legislature, approved April 10, 1849, and in May following the first election was held at the house of J. L. Davenport, resulting in the election of John Parkhurst, burgess, and Leander Culver, J. L. Davenport, J. C. Whitaker, D. B. Schoff and Joel Parkhurst, council- men. The following are the names of the burgesses since elected: John Parkhurst, 1850; W. T. Humphrey, 1851; E. I. Kelsey, 1852; Edward Kennedy, 1853; S. E. Hunt, 1854; Truman Sanford, 1855; Joel Parkhurst, 1856-60; F. G. Loveland, 1861; Kasson Parkhurst, 1862; John Parkhurst, 1863; John Chase, 1864; Joel Parkhurst, 1865; J. C. Whitaker, 1866; Joel Parkhurst, 1867; T. S. Coates, 1868; Joel Parkhurst, 1869-74; C. P. Evans, 1875; R. K. Skinner, 1876; T. D. Chase, 1877; W. W. Wright, 1878; Henry Miner, 1879; G. T. Harrower, 1880; T. Coates, 1881; R. P. McCann, 1882; John Parkhurst, 1883; W. H. Redfield, 1884; E. G. Webb, 1885; John Parkhurst, 1886; J. E. Wilcox, 1887; John Brown, 1888-89; G. G. Dorrance, 1890; John Brown, 1891; Joseph Smith, 1892; G. S. Walker, 1893; Charles L. Pattison, 1894, served until his death, April 10, 1896; E. B. Campbell, 1896, and J. C. Edwards, 1897.

The names of the persons serving as justices of the peace during the existence of Elkland township are as follows: John Ryon, Jr., 1816; Cyprian Wright, 1819; Nathaniel Seely, second, 1819; Amariah Hammond, 1825; Reuben Cloos, 1827; Martin Bowen, 1831; Samuel Snow, 1832; A. M. Compton, 1834; John C. Whitaker,

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1836; re-elected, 1840; Richard Ellison, 1838; re-elected, 1840; Luke B. Maynard, 1841; re-elected, 1853; William Barker, 1844; G. C. Blake, 1847; Daniel Shumway, 1847; Albert M. Loop, 1849; Andrew K. Bosard, 1850; re-elected, 1855; Allen Seely, 1855, and G. H. Baxter, 1857.

The following named persons have served as justices of Elkland borough: Charles Ryon, 1850; re-elected, 1855; Joel Parkhurst, 1850; John Parkhurst, 1855; re-elected, 1860, 1865; Enos L. Culver, 1860; F. G. Loveland, 1864; re-elected, 1869, 1874, 1882, 1889; T. C. Coates, 1870; E. B. Benedict, 1872; A. A. Amsbury, 1874; W. B. Meade, 1876; J. C. Whitaker, Sr., 1880; John S. Ryon, 1880; William Potter, 1883; C. C. Ward, 1884; re-elected, 1885; Windsor Gleason, 1888; re-elected, 1893; Robert P. McCann, 1890; John S. Ellis, 1894; re-elected, 1895; Alonzo Porter, 1895.

POSTMASTERS.

A postoffice called "Ryonsville" was established in the village in December, 1822, John Ryon, Sr., being the first postmaster. In 1830 he was succeeded by Joel Parkhurst, who was succeeded in June, 1834, by Samuel Ryon. In 1838 George L. Ryon was appointed. About this time the name of the office was changed to Elkland. He was succeeded in 1839 by Joel Parkhurst, whose immediate successors were John and J. G. Parkhurst. The next incumbent was Frank G. Loveland, who was succeeded in 1886 by John S. Ryon. In 1889 E. G. Webb was appointed. He was succeeded May 28, 1894, by Robert P. McCann, the present incumbent. In 1890 Elkland was made a presidential office and brought within the civil service rules.

PHYSICIANS AND LAWYERS.

In 1830 Seth John Porter came to Elkland and began the practice of medicine. He was also a minister of the gospel and, as stated elsewhere in this chapter, organized the first church in the village. He remained until September, 1833, when he removed to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and soon afterwards died. Dr. Elisha B. Benedict, also a minister of the gospel, came about 1831, and practiced until his death in 1872. In January, 1849, Dr. William T. Humphrey, a native of Bainbridge, New York, and a graduate of the Albany Medical College, came to Elkland from Addison, New York, and engaged in the practice of his profession. He remained until 1857, when he removed to Osceola, where he has continued in practice to the present time, with the exception of three years and seven months spent in the service during the Civil War. Dr. W. W. Wright, a native of Greene county, New York, came with his parents to Tioga county in 1844, graduated from the Geneva Medical College in 1848 and began the practice of his profession in Elkland in 1850, and is still engaged in active practice. W. E. Hatheway, a homeopathic physician, located about 1876 and practiced several years. Dr. Thomas N. Rockwell located in Elkland in 1887 and continued to practice until his death, January 30, 1896. Dr. W. G. Humphrey, a son of Dr. W. T. Humphrey, began practice in Elkland in 1890 and has continued to the present time.

Col. R. T. Wood, who is still a resident of the borough, began the practice of law in Elkland in 1853. S. D. Brooks came in 1855 and remained until 1867. Kasson Parkhurst practiced but a short time, during and after the Civil War. John S. Ryon

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

was admitted to the bar in 1877 and has practiced in Elkland to the present time. Colonel Wood and himself are the resident attorneys.

NEWSPAPERS.

The Elkland Journal was established by Edward M. Bixby, April 4, 1876, and was edited and published by him until February 19, 1878, when he was succeeded by Messrs. Ryon & Ward, who were succeeded by Wood & Buckbee. In May, 1878, Fred L. Graves assumed control. On January 1, 1882, he was succeeded by J. J. Van Horne & Brother, who continued as editors and publishers until July 10, 1891, when the property was purchased by Will C. Griffiths. Mr. Griffiths greatly improved the paper both in typographical appearance and as a medium for local and general news. Lack of paying support, however, compelled him to suspend publication in the fall of 1896.

CHURCHES.

The First Congregational Church of Elkland was the name of a church organized in 1832 at Elkland by Rev. Seth John Porter. The gospel had been preached in the valley before 1800 by itinerant ministers and by lay preachers of local repute, belong- ing to the Methodist and Baptist denominations. In 1830 Seth John Porter came into the valley to practice medicine. It soon became known that he was also a minister of the gospel and a graduate of Auburn Theological Seminary. He began to preach in the old school house where James Brocksley now resides, and in 1832 organized a Congregational church, composed of the following members: Elihu and Henrietta Hill, William and Anna Barker, Hubbard and Eunice Clark, Anna Bacon, Clara Tubbs, Jane Christian, Almina Christian, Lydia Clark, Margaret Blend, Jane Blend, Polly Johnson, Nancy Rathbone, Hannah Hammond and Sylvina Bacon. Elihu Hill was chosen deacon. The membership of this church was scattered from Beecher's Island along the valley almost to Knoxville, a few residing across the State line on the north, while others came from Brookfield and Farmington townships. The church increased in membership, and in August, 1834, a second Congregational was organized at Beecher's Island, by Rev. David Slie. September 26, 1834, these two churches met at the Ryon school house and united into a church to be called First Congregational Church of Elkland. January 23, 1835, at the house of Amasa Culver, in what is now Nelson, this church adopted the Presbyterian form of govern- ment, and became a church of that denomination. During the years 1830-33 the churches mentioned were ministered to by Rev. Seth John Porter. Octavius Fitch came in 1833 and remained one year; Oren Johnson came in 1834 and remained two years.

The Presbyterian Church of Elkland and Osceola is the successor of the First Congregational church already mentioned. It was organized, as already stated, January 23, 1835. For a time meetings were held in the school house at Elkland, in the Bulkley school house in Osceola, in Deacon Elihu Hill's barn and in private dwellings. In the fall of 1837 and winter of 1838 a rough board structure, 32x48 feet, was erected, where the Presbyterian church now stands, on land given by John Ryon. It was roofed with boards, "looked like a political wigwam," and was called the "Tabernacle." There were forty-six slips or pews in this church, each pew

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having a door. The pew holders were stockholders, and held their pews or slips in perpetuity. One of the certificates of stock still in existence reads as follows:

This certifies that Hannah Stevens has become a stockholder in the association known as the First Presbyterian Church and Congregation, of Elkland, to the amount of twenty-five dollars, in consideration of which sum, the payment of which is acknowledged, Slip No. 15, valued at twenty-five dollars, in the house of worship owned by the association aforesaid, is hereby conveyed to said Hannah Stevens, her heirs and assigns, forever.

The "Tabernacle" burned in the spring of 1853, and was not rebuilt until 1868. In 1851, while the township of Elkland still existed, and before there was any terri- tory known as Osceola, this same church built a second church edifice in what is now Osceola, in which, after the burning of the church in Elkland, services were held, as well as occasionally in Elkland. In 1868 a building used as a union church by the Presbyterians and Methodists was erected. It may be well to say here that the church in Elkland and the one in Osceola form one society, incorporated December 26, 1844, as "The Presbyterian Church and Congregation of Elkland," the corporate name being changed December 2, 1874, to "The Presbyterian Church of Elkland and Osceola." The same ministers and same officers have served both congrega- tions. Ground was broken for the present church building, known as the "Park- hurst Memorial Church," July 9, 1889. It is located on the original church lot, is 87x73 feet, and is one of the handsomest and costliest church buildings in northern Pennsylvania. The foundation is of native blue stone, the masonry being broken- range, rock-face ashler. The edifice proper is of brick, with brown-stone trimmings. The architecture is an adaption of the Romanesque. It was built as a memorial to the late Joel Parkhurst, by the members of the Parkhurst family, consisting of B. H. Parkhurst, Mrs. C. L. Pattison and Mrs. J. B. Grier. It cost, including furnaces, organ, etc., $17,000. It was furnished by the congregation at a cost of $1,500. A pulpit set, costing $130, was given by Mrs. Rebecca Parkhurst and L. K. Parkhurst as a memorial to John Parkhurst. The names of the pastors who have served this church, as well as the church in Osceola, are as follows: Revs. E. D. Wells, 1835-36; Oren Johnson, 1837-38; Octavius Fitch, 1839-40; Darius Williams, 1841; Lewis R. Lockwood, 1842-44; E. Bronson, 1845; D. Harrower and John Saylor, 1848; B. F. Pratt, 1849; H. E. Woodcock, 1851; Lewis R. Lockwood, 1852; David M. Smith, 1855; Joel Campbell, 1856; Joshua Lane and Thomas S. Dewing, 1857; Edward Kennedy, 1858; Elisha Bly Benedict, 1866, and John Cairns, 1870. Rev. Solomon H. Moore, D. D., the present pastor, took charge in 1879. Besides the congregation at Osceola, he has charge of the church in Knoxville. There are in the church in Elkland 125 members, and in the Sunday-school 100 pupils. A parsonage costing $1,500 was purchased in 1886.

The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Elkland was incorporated April 23, 1879. It originated in a class organized over fifty years ago, its members being drawn from the church at Osceola, at that time in the Knoxville charge. The first meetings were held in the school house. In 1856 a house of worship-used as a union church-was erected. On September 25, 1891, the present building was dedicated. It is a handsome frame edifice and cost $5,800. The old building was moved back of the new one and is used as a Sunday-school room. Since its organization this church

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has been served by the same pastors as the one in Osceola, the history of which is given in the chapter devoted to that borough. The church now numbers about 125 members, with about sixty pupils in the Sunday-school, of which W. E. Cornelius is superintendent.

CEMETERIES.

The pioneer cemetery was on Barney Hill. Here Mrs. Permelia Taylor and her sons, Philip and Mitchell Taylor, and other early settlers, were buried. In 1882 the bodies of Mrs. Taylor and her sons were removed to Osceola and re-interred in the cemetery at that place.

The Presbyterian Graveyard near the Presbyterian church is another early burial place. Interments were made here up to about twelve years ago. A large number of those who died in Elkland during the earlier years of its history were buried in the cemetery at Osceola.

The Highland Cemetery Association of Elkland was incorporated January 26, 1885, by L. K. Parkhurst, B. H. Parkhurst, G. G. Dorrance, C. L. Pattison and J. S. Ryon. The capital stock of this association is $2,000, and the cemetery owned and controlled by it is situated on the hillside in the northern part of the borough.

SOCIETIES.

Within the past twenty-five years a number of secret, social and benevolent societies have been organized in Elkland, some of which had but a brief existence. The pioneer society, Elkland Lodge, No. 1360, K. of H., was organized January 16, 1879, with twelve charter members, and is now in a prosperous condition. Cowan- esque Union, No. 534, E. A. U., was organized January 26, 1887, and has a good membership. J. Edgar Parkhurst Post, No. 581, G. A. R., was organized April 5, 1889. It now numbers among its membership twenty veterans of the Civil War. Elkland Tent, No. 213, K. O. T. M., was organized April 9, 1894, with twelve mem- bers. It is growing and prosperous.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

OSCEOLA BOROUGH.

BOROUGH ORGANIZATION-UNUSUAL AREA-THE VILLAGE OF OSCEOLA-PHYSICAL FEATURES-STREAMS-THE WORD "COWANESQUE"-ITS DERIVATION AND DEFINI- TION-"PINDARVILLE"-ORIGIN OF NAME-POPULATION-LANDS AND SETTLE- MENT-EARLY AND LATER INDUSTRIES-INNS AND HOTELS- SCHOOLS-BOROUGH ORGANIZATION AND OFFICIALS-PHYSICIANS-CHURCHES-CEMETERIES-SECRET SOCIETIES.

N January, 1857, all that part of the old township of Elkland, lying west of a line extending north and south through the center of the borough of Elkland, was erected into the township of Osceola, which, in 1878, acquired a large accession of territory from the township of Deerfield, giving it an area of 7,800 acres. November 29, 1882, the entire township was incorporated as the borough of Osceola, thus giving it the largest territory of any borough in the county. Like Nelson, Osceola is a town- ship with a borough organization, the greater part of its area being made up of farming lands. The borough center is in the village of Osceola, on the north bank of the Cowanesque river, at the mouth of Holden brook. The elevation here, railroad grade, is 1,166 feet, the hills on either side of the valley rising from 400 to 600 feet higher. The Cowanesque river follows a generally northeast course through the borough territory, leaving the larger portion of its area to the north of the stream. Between the north bank of the river and the foot of the hill, extending from the mouth of Holden brook to Academy Corners, in Deerfield township, a distance of over four miles, is an island of varying width containing about 1,600 acres, to the existence of which, before the water was drained off, the river owes its name, the word Cowan- esque meaning, in the Indian language, "the river of the long island." Its etymology is thus set forth by Capt. J. W. Powell, of the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C., in reply to a letter of inquiry from Hon. Charles Tubbs, of Osceola: I

The word Cowanesque seems to be no other than Ka-hwe-nes-ka, the etymology and signification of which is as follows : Co for Ka, marking grammatic gender and meaning it; wan, for hwe-n, the stem of [the word o-whe-na, an island; es, an adjective, meaning long; que, forike, the locative proposition, meaning at or on; the whole signifying at or on the long island.

The island conformation is still partly preserved by Island Stream, fed by springs and creeks from the north hill. The principal tributaries of the river are Holden brook-named after William Holden, the first settler at its mouth-and Camp brook on the north, and Windfall brook on the south. Red House Hollow creek is a tribu- tary of Holden brook, and Brier Hill creek of Windfall brook. That portion of the borough lying in the river valley is composed of level alluvial bottom lands, very fertile and productive; that lying along Holden brook, Windfall brook, and on either

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

side of the river valley, is broken and hilly, the hills terminating in a series of abrupt elevated knobs. The land lying just east of the village of Osceola was at one time a swamp, which was reduced by ditching into Camp brook.

Before the establishment of the postoffice in 1851, what is now the village of Osceola was known as "Pindarville," due to the fact that in 1840 Robert H. Tubbs contributed some poetic effusions to the Lawrence Sentinel, dating them from "Pin- darville." The name attached itself to the place and was in common use for ten years. When an application for the establishment of a postoffice was made, the names "Pindarville," "Bridgeport" and "Osceola" were suggested. A public meeting decided in favor of "Osceola," the name of the once famous Seminole chief. The name was afterwards applied to the township and later to the borough.

Notwithstanding its extensive area the greater portion of the population of the borough is within the limits of the village of Osceola. The number of inhabitants in 1860 was 450; 1870, 523; 1880, 790, and in 1890, 838.

LANDS AND SETTLEMENT.

The greater portion of the lands within the borough boundaries of Osceola were purchased from the State of Pennsylvania by, and were patented to, John and James Strawbridge. Warrants, covering other tracts, were issued to William Lloyd, Robert Blackwell, T. M. Willing and Thomas Willing. Each of the tracts purchased by John and James Strawbridge bore a distinguishing name. Those covered in part by the village of Osceola were named "Chatham" and "Huntingdon." The others bore such names as "Coventry," "Cornwall," "Colchester," "Confidence," "Pleasant Valley," "Spring Garden" and "St. James." The warrants for the first five of these tracts were obtained May 17, 1785, and the surveys for "Chatham" and "Hunting- don" made June 22, for "Coventry" and "Cornwall" June 23, "and for "Colchester" September 2, 1786. The surveys of the other tracts were made in 1792, 1793 and 1794. In naming their tracts the Strawbridges followed an English fashion. To these original grantees from the State the present owners of the lands within the borough limits trace their titles.

As was the case in many other places in the county, the permanent settlers of Osceola were preceded by those who made but a temporary stay, whose names even have not, in all cases, been preserved. They were usually squatters, who embraced the first opportunity to sell out and move further west, leaving to others the task of clearing and cultivating the lands. The first actual settler, who came to stay, was William Holden, who had made a previous settlement at Lawrenceville, as early as 1788. Holden, who was a bachelor, came about 1795 and built his cabin on the eastern bank of Holden brook-which was named for him-near its mouth, within the present village of Osceola. His main employment was building post and rail fences for new settlers. Following William Holden came a number of temporary settlers, some of whom came before 1800, and all of whom had moved elsewhere not much later than 1810. Among these was Cooper Cady, who settled on the Cowan- esque near the Elkland borough line, and who afterwards removed to Troupsburg, New York. Then came Caleb Griggs, who built a cabin on the Cowanesque below the Tubbs grist mill. A man named Smith became the first settler on the John Tubbs place. Griggs and Smith died and were buried here. The second settler

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OSCEOLA BOROUGH.

upon the village site of Osecola was Nathaniel White, whose deed from George Strawbridge, as administrator and owner, was dated December 31, 1807. Daniel Phillips was the first settler near the mouth of the Island Stream, and James Whitney on the Charles L. Hoyt place. Whitney sold his land to Henry Mott. White, Phillips and Mott afterwards removed to Marietta, Ohio. John Parker, a Mr. Ran- dall, Nathan Lewis, who made a clearing, still known as "Lewis' lot," on the hill side, north of Osceola, and a man named Sesher, were also temporary settlers. Sesher had a cabin on Island Stream. It burned one night about 1800, and he was never seen or heard of afterwards. There were rumors of foul play, but the guilt of the crime, if crime there was, was never fixed on anyone.

In 1800 Israel Bulkley came from his native town of Colchester, Massachusetts, and settled upon the tract previously occupied by Sesher's cabin. He also purchased the possession of Randall. Bulkley had a Connecticut title, but afterwards purchased the land from the owner of the Pennsylvania title. He was a man of means and enterprise and brought with him from Connecticut an improved breed of cattle and other live stock, established a blacksmith shop, dealt in merchandise, built a grist mill, carding mill and distillery, and was a land surveyor and an agent for the Straw- bridge estate. He planted a nursery from which the first orchards in Tioga county were raised. He was the owner of a negro female slave, whose freedom was subse- quently purchased by one of her own race.

The Taylor family, consisting of Mrs. Permelia Taylor and her three sons, Ebenezer, Philip and Mitchell, emigrated first from the Delaware Water Gap, in New Jersey, to the Wyoming valley, where they participated in the Pennamite War; from thence to Pipe Creek, below Owego, and in 1806 to the Cowanesque valley. They first settled at Barney Hill, below Elkland. Ebenezer first bought out Caleb Griggs in Osceola, but soon sold to his brother Philip. He next bought the farm known as the John Tubbs farm, which he sold to Robert Tubbs. His third purchase was the farm of Henry Mott, known as the C. L. Hoyt farm. Here he made his home and resided during the remainder of his life.

Paul Gleason, a native of Charleston, Massachusetts, settled on the farm now owned by George Baker. His father, Abner Gleason, came later. He was the first shoemaker here, and established a shop in front and a little to the east of the residence of Charles Tubbs. In front of this shop was the only grindstone in the neighbor- hood. Lemuel Cady, a native of Connecticut, and a carpenter, came about 1810, but removed to Farmington township in 1812.

The Tubbs family came into the Cowanesque valley from Newtown, now Elmira, New York, in 1811. Samuel, Sr., and his sons Samuel, James and Benjamin, located in Elkland. Robert, as already stated, purchased a farm from Ebenezer Taylor, in Osceola, living the first year in a small log house near the site of the grist mill. In 1817 Samuel Tubbs, Jr., removed from Elkland and purchased part of the Daniel Phillips farm. Nathaniel Seely, a native of Southport, New York, came in 1812, and purchased the farm of Nathaniel White -upon which the main part of the village of Osceola is built-and later the Nathan Lewis lot. He was a farmer, an early hotel keeper, and justice of the peace from 1820 to 1840.

Andrew Bozzard (now spelled "Bosard"), a native of what is now Monroe county, Pennsylvania, came in 1813, and purchased a part of the farm originally

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

occupied by John Parker. He was the first carpenter and joiner to become a perma- nent settler. He became a saw-mill owner and a manufacturer of household furniture, spinning wheels and coffins. In 1823 Stennett Crandall, a native of Rhode Island, and a shoemaker, settled on the B. F. Colvin farm on Holden brook. Here he had a shop in his dwelling and worked at his trade. Abel Hoyt came in 1835 and bought a part of the Parker farm. Reuben Cook, to whom a more extended reference is made in the chapter on Nelson, returned to the valley in 1820, from Marietta, Ohio, and became a resident of Osceola, remaining until his death, June 25, 1829.

EARLY AND LATER INDUSTRIES.

The first saw-mill within the borough boundaries was built between 1812 and 1816 by Ebenezer Taylor and Andrew Bozzard on Holden brook, about a mile above its mouth. This mill was burned in the latter year. In 1828 Andrew Bozzard and Truman Crandall erected a mill half a mile further up the stream. Mr. Bozzard soon afterward became the sole owner of this mill, which was operated by him until 1852, and after that by his son, Arthur F. Bosard. In 1837 Robert Tubbs erected a saw-mill on the north bank of the Cowanesque river, near the Elkland borough line. This mill is still in operation and is now owned by L. B. Cadogan. It has been several times enlarged and improved. In 1849 a saw-mill was built near the mouth of Island Stream, by Culver & Slosson, and was driven by water brought in a race from the Cowanesque river. It burned in 1860. A steam saw-mill, driven by a thirty-horse-power engine and rigged with a circular saw, was built in 1864 by George Sharp Bonham on Holden brook, and was run up to a few years ago.

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 50

Author: Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown Number of Pages: 1454

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1454