History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 52

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Tioga County > History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania > Part 52

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).

No further permanent settlement appears to have been made within the borough limits until about 1805 or 1806, when John, Thomas and Hopestill Beecher settled on and around a piece of land-now within the village of Nelson-to which the name of Beecher's Island was soon after given. At that time it seems the Cowanesque river was known as Log creek, and so is described in the deeds to the Beechers, to Dorman Bloss and to other very early settlers in the Cowanesque valley. The lands settled upon by the Beechers are described as "late of Daniel Verden," and were part of a tract called "Retreat." The deeds are dated October 15, 1806, and that to John Beecher was delivered in the presence of Dorman Bloss and Thomas Overton. The name Beecher's Island had its origin in the fact that the land settled on lay between two channels of the Cowanesque river, the one a main and the other a branch channel, the inclosed land being an oblong strip, now form- ing a portion of the village site.

About 1806 or 1808 Daniel Strait came from Lindley, New York, and located upon what is now known as the Hazlett farm. In 1810 he sold out to John and Samuel Hazlett and removed to Steuben county, New York. The Hazletts came from the north of Ireland. The greater part of the land then purchased is still owned by their descendants. In 1810 Joseph Campbell, Sr., a native of Scotland, also came from the north of Ireland, and settled at Beecher's Island. The Hazletts and his family appear to have been members of the same party and to have crossed the ocean together. His eldest daughter, Sally, was the wife of Samuel Hazlett, and the next oldest daughter, Jane, was married to John Hazlett, at Beecher's Island, April 11, 1811. Amasa Culver, a native of Connecticut, also came in 1810, and cleared and improved the farm now owned by Mrs. Betsey Tubbs. His daughter, Content Culver, who became the wife of Walter C. Bottum, was born within the present borough limits in 1810.

James Daily settled soon afterward. His son, Perry Daily, who died July 18, 1896, was born here in 1814, and at the time of his death was the oldest person born in the township. Cyprian Wright came about 1812 and settled on the land adjoining Amasa Culver, on the east. He kept an early way-side inn, the first in the present borough limits. William Allington settled about 1812 and John and George Alling- ton before 1816. Calvin Chamberlain came about 1815. Amariah Hammond, a native of Connecticut, came in 1817 and settled between Nelson village and Elkland,

407

NELSON BOROUGH.

near the Byron Shaw place. He taught school in 1821, in a building which then stood near the William Merritt residence, below Nelson village. Samuel Rathbun, a native of New York state, came into Tioga county about 1814 and appears to have resided until about 1817 or 1818 at Lawrenceville, and then to have moved within the present borough of Nelson, and to have settled on and improved the farm now owned and occupied by the widow of his eldest son, Henry Rathbun.

In 1818 Mrs. Sarah Blackwell, of Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, a widow, married John Campbell and came to live at Beecher's Island. Her son, Enoch Blackwell, born in Jersey Shore, June 12, 1814, afterwards became prominent as a mill owner and merchant at Beecher's Island. Richard Ellison and James McGinley, Scotch- Irish and Calvinists, were also among the early settlers at Beccher's Island. Among other early settlers, the year of whose coming cannot be ascertained, were George W. Phelps and John Vroman. Walter C. Bottum, a native of Connecticut, came in 1827. His father, Clark Bottum, came later. Walter C. engaged in lumbering and during an active career erected three saw-mills in the Cowanesque valley. In 1830 Artemus Losey, a native of Orange county, New York, settled at Beecher's Island and bought the John Campbell saw-mill, still owned and operated by his son, J. T. Losey. From this time forward settlers came in rapidly, so that in 1835, when the Congregational church was organized, it numbered fifteen members, all residents of Beecher's Island and vicinity. Most of the families already named were repre- sented, as well as those of Samuel Snow, Nahum Kelley, Sabra Daily, Hubbard Clark, William Clark and M. Cummings. Among the more prominent of the later settlers were Henry Smith, who came in 1832; Sylvester Stewart, a soldier of the War of 1812, who came in 1838; John Weeks, also a soldier of the War of 1812, who came the same year; Harris T. Ryon, who came in 1839; Dr. Albert M. Loop, who first came in 1838, went to Illinois, from which he returned in 1840, and per- manently settled at Beecher's Island; Daniel Angell, a shoemaker, who came in 1842; Luther Rice, a carpenter, who came in 1843; Samuel Edgcomb, who came in 1845, and Louis Bevier, a tanner, who came in 1849.

MANUFACTURING AND BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.

John, Thomas and Hopestill Beecher, who settled on Beecher's Island in 1805 or 1806, erected a saw-mill about 1810 on the site of the present J. T. Losey mill, familiarly known as the old Campbell mill. About 1818 this property passed into the hands of John Campbell, who operated a saw-mill on the same site till 1830, when he sold it to Artemus Losey. Mr. Losey, who was a skilled mechanic, added to his lumber business the manufacture of household furniture. He also built several carding machines and a number of melodeons, and was known as a man of energy and enterprise. Since his death, in 1869, the mill property has been owned and operated by his son, J. T. Losey. This mill, one of the oldest in the county, has been rebuilt and improved.

The Nelson Flouring Mill, water power, was originally built by John Campbell about 1818, and owned and operated by him until his death, in 1855, when it became the property of his stepson, Enoch Blackwell. He operated it until his death, in 1884. About 1830 Mr. Campbell established an upper leather tannery in connec- tion with his mill property. For several years during his lifetime, and that of Mr.

408

HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

Blackwell, this tannery was carried on by lessees. After Mr. Blackwell's death the mill property passed into the possession of his son, E. C. Blackwell, who is the present owner. A store established by Mr. Blackwell's father was carried on in con- nection with the mill for many years. It burned in 1885. Mr. Blackwell also operates a power cider mill with a capacity of 100 barrels a day.

Among the early saw-mill owners and lumbermen within the present borough limits was Hon. James Ford, of Lawrenceville, the first congressman from Tioga county. He operated a saw-mill on the Cowanesque on the Samuel Rathbun place, in which he had a two-third interest, Samuel Rathbun having the remaining one- third. They conducted it until 1828, when Mr. Ford's interest was bought by Samuel and Alfred Rathbun. Samuel Rathbun in time became the sole owner of the mill, which he operated until his death, in 1847. Walter C. Bottum and Gilbert Phelps & Company erected a mill on Thorn Bottom creek, near its mouth. Mr. Bottum became an extensive operator and erected no less than three saw-mills during the next thirty years. Among those who operated mills, usually as part owners, between 1830 and 1850 were Richard Ellison, John Vroman, John Young, Charles Bottum, Hubbard Clark, Thomas Rathbun, Leander Culver, John Flint, John Brownell and others. At the present time the mill owned and operated by J. T. Losey is the only one within the borough limits.

Luke B. Maynard, whose name appears on the assessment list of 1832, was the pioneer merchant of Nelson. He remained but a few years. Hunt Pomeroy, father of the late "Brick" Pomeroy, the noted editor of the La Crosse (Wisconsin) Democrat, opened a store in Nelson in 1840, and had for a partner Hiram Beebe, the first merchant of Lawrenceville. Anson Buck and John Brownell were also early merchants. The old store building, first occupied by Luke B. Maynard, was on the site of the present Newcomb Hotel. It is now owned by John M. Hammond, and stands near his residence. In 1849 G. H. Baxter and G. W. Phelps engaged in mercantile business. The partnership lasted a year, when Mr. Baxter continued as a dealer in groceries and provisions. In March, 1866, A. J. Howell opened a store in Nelson. In the same month of the same year M. B. Seely came to Nelson. Mr. Howell now keeps a grocery store and Mr. Seely a general store. They are the two oldest merchants in the place.

A wayside inn kept by Cyprian Wright was the first within the present borough limits. The "Old Log Hotel," as it is familiarly called by those of the present generation, was the first hotel at Beecher's Island. It was built on the corner north of the present Newcomb House about 1830, by Samuel Snow. In 1835 Amariah Hammond purchased the property, and his son, John M. Hammond, kept the house until 1841. In 1865 it was torn down and a store building erected on its site.

The Newcomb House was erected in 1836 for a store building by Artemus Losey, and was occupied for a number of years by Pomeroy & Beebe. It was afterwards changed into a hotel. Among the early landlords were Hunt Pomeroy and Samuel Edgcomb. Since 1878 this house has been kept by W. A. Newcomb.

The Nelson Separator and Butter Company was organized in 1893, with Byron Shaw, president; C. S. Baxter, secretary; M. B. Seely, treasurer; E. V. Turpening, butter maker, and J. E. Leteer, assistant. The creamery, which was equipped with

409

NELSON BOROUGH.

modern appliances, was changed to a cheese factory in 1895. It has a capacity of about 100,000 pounds per annum. -

BOROUGH ORGANIZATION AND OFFICIALS.

The township of Nelson was formally organized as a borough May 8, 1886, in anticipation of which the court had on April 20, the date of incorporation, ap- pointed the following as burgess and councilmen to serve until the next regular election: Henry Baxter, burgess; Philip Tubbs, C. F. Culver, C. F. Margraff, J. D. Campbell, G. H. Baxter and Samuel S. Heysham. The names of the burgesses since elected are as follows: W. A. Newcomb, 1887; C. F. Margraff, 1888-89; M. F. Cass, 1890; C. F. Margraff, 1891-92; J. D. Campbell, 1893-96, and M. B. Seeley, elected in 1897.

The following named persons have been elected justices of the peace for the township, and, since its incorporation, for the borough of Nelson: Anthony W. Lugg, 1858; re-elected, 1864, 1880; Marcus H. Brooks, 1859; re-elected, 1864; C. P. Wright, 1865; re-elected, 1870, 1875; J. D. Campbell, 1868; re-elected, 1873; D. H. Hughy, 1878; C. B. Goodrich, 1882, and William H. Baxter, 1883. Nelson borough: C. R. Copp, 1886; re-elected, 1891; C. B. Goodrich, 1887; re-elected, 1891; A. C. Campbell, 1887; W. H. Baxter, 1889; J. T. Losey, 1894; Byron Shaw, 1896.

A postoffice was established at Beecher's Island about 1832, to which the name of Nelson was given. For what or for whom it was thus named no one now living, of whom inquiry has been made, can tell. The first postmaster was Joseph M. White, who held the office for about twenty years. His successors have been: G. H. Baxter, 1853-56; Dr. A. M. Loop, 1856-61; G. H. Baxter, 1861-79; H. Baxter, 1879-80; M. B. Seely, 1880-85; Dr. A. M. Loop, 1885-89; G. H. Baxter, 1889- died May 5, 1892; Miss Nora Baxter, May, 1892, to May, 1896, and W. H. Baxter, appointed in May, 1896.

PHYSICIANS.

Dr. A. M. Loop, one of the oldest physicians in years and practice in the county, began practice at Beecher's Island in 1840. He is the oldest practicing physician in the county. Among those who have since resided there and practiced medicine are: Dr. Aaron Niles, who located in 1875, and remained until 1878; Dr. S. W. Linwer, who came in 1879, and remained eight years, and Dr. W. Rumsey, who came in 1887, and remained two years. The present resident physicians are Dr. A. M. Loop, Dr. Calvin S. Baxter, who came in 1887, and Dr. William B. Stevens, who came in 1891.

SCHOOLS.

In 1821 Amariah Hammond taught a school, below Beecher's Island, near the William Merritt place. Among his pupils was his son, John M. Hammond, born in 1816, who came to Beecher's Island in 1817 with his parents and is one of the oldest living residents of the borough. Samuel Snow was an early teacher here. The earliest school within the village of Nelson or Beecher's Island, is still stand- ing just east of the Presbyterian church. It was built in the later thirties, and is

410

HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

now occupied as a dwelling. Before the erection of the Presbyterian church, meet- ings were held in this school house. The Rathbun school house, north of the river in the western part of the present borough, was also one of the earliest school houses, and like the school houses of those days was used as a house of worship. It was built about 1834. Owing to the extensive area covered by the borough, there are four school districts within its limits. The principal school is the graded school of Nelson village. A handsome two-story frame school building erected here in 1876, at a cost of about $3,000, provides ample accommodations for the pupils of District No. 1.

CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES.

The Second Congregational Church of Elkland was organized in August, 1834, its membership being gathered at or about Beecher's Island. They were fifteen in number, consisting of Hubbard and Eunice Clark, James and Mary Campbell, Samuel Snow, Nahum Kelley, Sabra Daily, Dolly and Sarah Bottom, Hannah Culver, Jane Ellison, William and Caroline Clark, Milla Cummings and Eliza Phelps. Samuel Snow was chosen deacon of this church. The first meeting was at the Rathbun farm. September 26, 1830, this church and the First Congregational church, organized in 1832, at Elkland, met in the Ryon school house at Elkland, and united in one church, under the name of the First Congregational Church of Elkland. There were thirty-two members. On Friday, July 23, 1835, this society was changed to a Presbyterian church, under the name of the First Presbyterian Church of Elkland. It became the parent of the Presbyterian churches at Beecher's Island and East Farmington.

The First Presbyterian Church of Beecher's Island was organized March 2, 1844. It consisted of the following members to whom letters were granted,-in order that they might form this church-from the First Presbyterian Church of Elkland: Joel and Mary Jewel, Joseph and Anna Campbell, John and Mahala Hazlett, Charles and Mary Ann Lugg, Charles and Lovina Blanchard, Harris T. Ryon, Samuel Hazlett, Edward Mapes, Sarah Campbell, Mary Ann Campbell, Oliver Blanchard, Robert and Susan Casbeer and Enoch Blackwell. James and Joseph Campbell and Joel Jewell were the first ruling elders. Soon after the church was organized Joel Jewell was licensed to preach and became the first pastor. Dur- ing his pastorate, which continued until May, 1846, the house of worship, still stand- ing, was erected by his brother, Edward Jewell. He assisted in the work of build- ing. This building which stands on land acquired from John Hazlett, represents with the improvements and repairs an expenditure of about $2,000. The names of the pastors who have served this church are as follows: Revs. Joel Jewell, 1845- 46; E. D. Wells, 1846-48; S. J. Mccullough, 1848; Rev. John Sailer, 1851; pulpit supplied by various pastors till 1855 when A. C. Woodcock came; J. Gordon Carnahan, still living, December 14, 1856, to September 2, 1858; supplied, 1858-60; Francis Rand, 1860-64; Frederick Graves, 1865-67; S. A. Rawson, 1867-72; Benjamin Russell, 1874-80; C. B. Gillette, 1881-85; R. G. Williams, 1885-88; S. P. Gates, 1889-90, and Hallock Armstrong, who came in July, 1891. Mr. Arm- strong was ordained in 1851 and during the fifty-five years of his ministry has missed but two Sundays on account of sickness, and has moved but twice in the

411

NELSON BOROUGH.

last thirty-four years. The church now numbers thirty-six members. The average attendance of the Sunday-school is fifty. Charles Merritt is the superintendent. There is a Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor connected with this church.

The Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church of Nelson, incorporated December 5, 1867, was organized about forty-five years ago. There are no records of its early history accessible. It has been in the Knoxville, Farmington and Lawrenceville charges and was set off from the latter in 1881. Among its early pastors was Rev. William Potter, who entered the ministry in 1847. The pastors of the various charges named served this church up to 1881, since which time the following named ministers have officiated: Revs. F. C. Thompson, 1881-83; James Scovil, 1883-85; C. J. Bradbury, January to October, 1885; M. D. Jackson, 1885-86; William S. Crandall, 1886-88; D. L. Pitts, 1888-90; J. Melvin Smith, 1890-91; John Miller, 1891-94; A. G. Cole, 1894-96, and W. J. Wilson, the present pastor, who came in October, 1896. The present church building was erected in 1868, and dedicated in September, 1869. It cost $1,600. In 1890 the residence of James Paul was purchased for a parsonage. It cost with repairs $1,000. The church now numbers about sixty-five members. There are forty pupils in the Sunday-school, of which Rev. Charles Weeks, a retired minister, is the superintendent.

The Cemetery adjoining the Presbyterian church is on ground acquired from John Hazlett at the same time as the lot on which the church now stands. The first funeral service held in the church and one of the first bodies to be buried here was that of Mrs. Charlotte (Baxter) Hoyt, wife of David Hoyt. She died March 1, 1845. Below the village, near the Merritt place, is the old Hazlett family burying ground. With the exception of an occasional family graveyard these comprise the burial places within the borough.

SOCIETIES.

The secret, social and benevolent orders are well represented in Nelson. Nelson Lodge, No. 434, I. O. O. F., which was instituted February 14, 1874, with fourteen charter members, is growing and prosperous. Wallace Bogart Post, No. 362, G. A. R., was organized September 1, 1883, with seventeen members. Not- withstanding deaths and removals it maintains its organization and meets regularly. Nelson Lodge, No. 67, I. O. G. T., was organized March 27, 1893, and embraces in its membership a large number of the young people of the borough. Alert Grange, No. 905, P. of H., was organized January 18, 1890. It now numbers over sixty members and contemplates erecting a hall building in the near future. Nelson Tent, No. 180, K. O. T. M., was organized June 5, 1893. It has now about fifty members and is growing rapidly.

CHAPTER XXX.

DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP.

ORGANIZATION-CHANGES OF AREA-STREAMS, SOIL AND FOREST GROWTH-POPULA- TION-EARLY SETTLERS- THE STRAWBRIDGE LANDS-BUSINESS AND MANUFAC- TURING ENTERPRISES-SCHOOLS-EARLY PHYSICIANS AND JUSTICES-CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES-VILLAGES.

D EERFIELD township, so named from the abundance of deer within its bounda- ries at the time of its first settlement, was organized in 1814, and was taken from Delmar township. Its original area of about 150 square miles, embraced the territory within the boundaries of Brookfield, Westfield and Chatham townships, nearly all of Clymer, and the greater part of the borough of Osceola. The territory embraced in Westfield, Brookfield and the larger part of Clymer was taken from it in 1821, and that of Chatham, as first created, in 1828. In 1850 the area embraced within the limits of Knoxville borough was separated from it. In 1878 it recovered from the northern part of Chatham a strip two miles north and south, by six miles east and west. The same year an L-shaped strip was taken from its northeastern quarter and added to Osceola. As now constituted, it contains, exclusive of Knox- ville, an area of 20,725 acres. It is bounded on the north by the State of New York and Osceola; east by Osceola and Farmington; south by Chatham, and west by Westfield and Brookfield.

The Cowanesque river enters the township from the southwest, and flows through it in a northeasterly direction. Near the Brookfield township line it receives Inscho run and, at Knoxville, Troup's creek, both of which flow from the northwest, out of Brookfield township. At Academy Corners it receives Yarnall brook, which flows north out of Chatham township. Other small, unnamed streams find their way down the ravines on either side of the river valley, which is wider here than in Westfield township, the hills that line it being less bold and precipi- tous. The valley land is noted for its richness and productiveness, and is cultivated like a garden. The hillsides and uplands are also fertile, and Deerfield, as a whole, ranks among the leading agricultural townships of the county. The alti- tude above tide water in the river valley will average 1,200 feet; the summits of the hills rise from 400 to 600 feet higher. When the township was first settled its entire surface was covered with a heavy forest growth of white oak, maple, walnut, butternut, buttonwood, pine and hemlock. This has nearly all disappeared before the woodsman's ax, and the land whereon it stood now produces annual crops of grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables.

In 1814, when it was created, it contained sixty-three taxable inhabitants. The census returns of 1820 showed a population of 678; 1830, 568; 1840, not separately mentioned; 1850, 721; 1860, 677; 1870, 665; 1880, 908, and 1890, 883.

413

DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP.

EARLY SETTLERS.

James Strawbridge, the first white man to settle in the township, is supposed to have located on the site of the village of Academy Corners during the Revolu- tionary War. Here the settlers who came in 1798 found a log house and a partly cleared field, enclosed with a log fence, on the north bank of the Cowanesque river, and on the south side, near the mouth of Yarnall brook, a nearly completed. mill race. One tradition asserts that he was compelled to abandon his home here on account of the hostility of the Indians, at the time of Sullivan's Expedition up the Susquehanna and Chemung rivers, while another fixes the date of his settlement six years later, and asserts that he "was driven away by white squatters, who killed his oxen, purloined his plow, and destroyed his crops, on the belief that his claim to title in the lands was antagonistic to their interests." Be that as it may, the fact remains that on May 17, 1785, Strawbridge obtained land warrant, No. 451, which he located June 25, of the same year, on land along the Cowanesque river, and on a portion of which stands the village of Academy Corners. Strawbridge subsequently located other warrants, and also acquired the lands located upon by warrants issued in 1785 and 1786 to Thomas Proctor, and in 1790 to James Stewart. This gave him the ownership of all the land in the Cowanesque valley north of the river within the township. To each tract, according to an English custom, he gave a distinguishing name. The one where he made his first settlement, he called "James' Choice." That on which the borough of Knoxville stands was named "Delight," while the others received such names as "Mount Pleasant," "Blooming Grove," "Fertility," "Richland" and "Spring Field." These lands, as a whole, be- came known as the "Strawbridge Tract."

It appears that James Strawbridge, the patentee, during his lifetime, exe- cuted a mortgage to Jonathan Smith and others, of Philadelphia, as trustees, for the widow and heirs of John Strawbridge, deceased, which mortgage was foreclosed and these lands sold by the sheriff at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, November 30, 1807, when George Strawbridge, a brother of James Strawbridge, became the pur- chaser, and from him the settlers derived title. January 24, 1822, he conveyed the unsold lands to Jonathan D. Ledyard, his brother-in-law, who on March 6, of the same year, sold to Silas Billings the same lands, amounting to "about 7,000 acres,". from whom and his heirs they afterwards passed into the hands of actual settlers. In 1792 and 1793 the lands south of the river were surveyed upon patents issued to Thomas M. Willing, Robert Blackwell and William Lloyd. They were subsequently acquired by William Bingham, the elder, and became a part of the "Bingham Estate."

Although James Strawbridge, either through fear of the Indians, or by reason of the depredations of white squatters, was compelled to leave his improvements on the Cowanesque, he did not abandon the title to either them or the land. In 1797 he approached Ebenezer Seelye, a native of Connecticut, and a Revolutionary soldier, then residing temporarily near Painted Post, New York, and offered him the land, including the improvements, for $2.50 an acre. Seelye accepted this offer, but not caring to venture into the wilderness alone, he offered to William Knox, Sr., the improvements if he would join him. The offer was accepted by Knox, and in

414

HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

1798 he and his son, William, camped on and enlarged the Strawbridge clearing. In the spring of 1799 the two families journeyed from Painted Post to Nelson, first known as Beecher's Island, and from there traveled up the Cowanesque river on the ice to their new home in the wilderness. The Knox family located on the old Strawbridge clearing and the Seelye family half a mile further east, building a cabin of bark, which was replaced a year and a half later by a log house. These two families thus became the first settlers in the township.

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.

History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 52

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