History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 60

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Tioga County > History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania > Part 60

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The first regular physician in the township was Dr. T. M. Haner. Other early physicians were Dr. Harvey Leach, Dr. Seamans, Dr. W. R. Francis and Dr. R. Shaw. The profession is represented at present by Dr. T. A. Bair, who came in 1880, and Dr. A. M. Greenfield, who located in 1892.

Davis Station, or Lansing Postoffice, is the name of a railroad station and post- office on the Addison and Pennsylvania railroad near the Gaines township line. A store is kept by J. M. Davis, who has been the postmaster since the establishment of the office in 1868.

Azelta is the name of a postoffice established June 2, 1892, about three miles

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southeast of Sabinsville. Wilmot H. Abbey has been postmaster since the opening of the office and also keeps a small store.

Clymer is the name of a postoffice recently established west of Mixtown, near the Potter county line. 'The postmaster is Venette Johnson. This office takes the place of the Mixtown office, discontinued in October, 1894.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

SHIPPEN TOWNSHIP.

ORGANIZATION-PRESENT BOUNDARIES AND AREA -- STREAMS-PHYSICAL FEATURES -POPULATION-EARLY SETTLERS-KING AND MANNING'S EXPLORATIONS-BIG MEADOWS-THE FURMANS-ASSESSMENT OF 1824-DIVISION OF TOWNSHIP-SET- TLERS ON MARSH CREEK-EARLY MILLS-SCHOOLS AND JUSTICES-CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES-VILLAGES.

S HIPPEN township, taken from Delmar, was organized in February, 1823. It is bounded on the north by Clymer and Chatham townships; on the east by Delmar; on the south by Delmar and Elk, and on the west by Gaines and Clymer townships. Gaines was taken from it in 1837. As at present constituted, the township is about five miles from east to west by nine miles from north to south, and contains about forty- five square miles. The principal streams are Pine creek and Marsh creek. The former enters the township midway of its western boundary, flows in an easterly direc- tion, for three and a half miles, when it receives the water of Marsh creek, and then turns southwest and enters Elk township near its northeast corner. Marsh creek, the principal tributary of Pine creek, enters the township at the village of Marsh Creek, flowing out of Delmar township. It pursues a southwest direction for a dis- tance of nearly three miles through a level marshy valley to the village of Ansonia, where it joins its waters with those of Pine creek. There is evidence to support the idea, entertained by those familiar with the physical characteristics of the valleys of these streams, within the township, that Pine creek once flowed northeast over the Marsh creek course and emptied into Crooked creek at Middlebury Center. What causes contributed to turn it southward from Ansonia can only be conjectured. After entering the township, Marsh creek receives the waters of Strait run and Asaph run, both of which flow from the north. At the Gaines township line Pine creek receives Painter run, flowing from the southwest, and below Ansonia receives Darling run, which flows from the east. The township is nearly equally divided by Marsh creek and that part of Pine creek west of Ansonia. The farming lands of the township

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

lie in the valleys of these streams and their tributaries, except a limited upland area in the southeast corner. The remainder of the township is mountainous, and was originally covered with a heavy growth of pine and hemlock. This, save a limited area in the northern and southern parts, has all been converted into lumber, lumbering operations at one time being carried on on an extensive scale.

In 1840, after the taking from it of Gaines township, Shippen contained 192 inhabitants. In 1870 the census returns showed 270; in 1880, 441, and in 1890, 732.

EARLY SETTLERS.

In a work entitled, "Pioneer Life, or Thirty Years a Hunter," by Philip Tomb, a son of Jacob Tomb, a pioneer settler of Lycoming county, is found the statement that, "in 1794 James King and a Mr. Manning went on an exploring expedition up Pine creek, to ascertain if any elk were to be found, and also if any Indians were in the neighborhood." They ascended that stream in a canoe and about the seventh or eighth day after starting, "arrived at the third fork of Pine creek. On the west side, opposite the fork, they discovered a large tract of cleared land, consisting of as many as a hundred and sixty acres, to which they gave the name of the Big Meadows. They were the first white men there. It had been cleared by the Six Nations, and they thought had probably been vacated for twenty or thirty years, but they could still discover marks of corn hills. On the opposite side of the creek, near the fork, they found a plum orchard of twenty acres, abounding with fruit. Between the plum orchard and the creek was a tract of cleared land of about thirty acres which appeared to have once been a corn field. In this vicinity they found a great many elk and bears * * * * They then ascended the fork seven miles, when they arrived at a place which they called Big Marsh." He says they next returned to Big Meadows, where they left their canoe, and proceeded on foot twelve miles up Pine creek.

The "Big Meadows" referred to in the foregoing, is now known as "Ansonia" and the "Third fork" as Marsh creek. It thus appears that King and Manning, the two men who made this exploring expedition, were "the first white men that ever penetrated the wilderness lying on Pine creek and its tributaries," and were also the first white men to appear within the boundaries of what is now Shippen township.

Ten years later-in 1804-a party of hunters-one of whom was William Fur- man-found their way up Pine Creek valley, above the mouth of Marsh creek. So pleased was William Furman with the country and the abundance of game, that upon his return to his home at Sunbury, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, he per- suaded his brothers, Aaron and Josiah, to join him in making a settlement. This they did in the spring of 1805. William and Aaron settled at Furmantown, in Gaines township, and Josiah located at Big Meadows, or Ansonia, as it is now called, thus becoming the first settler in Shippen township. Benjamin, another brother, came later and settled at Furmantown. A man named Mills, whose daughter Josiah Fur- man married, appears to have been the next settler at Ansonia. Then came Robert Steele, a Revolutionary soldier. Mills and Steele both settled at Big Meadows. Elijah Dimmick came into the township early in the present century-before 1820- and settled on the J. C. Hamilton place. Richard Ellis also settled before 1820.

In 1824 when the first assessment of the township was made, there were living

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within its present boundaries, Elijah Dimmick, Paul Dimmick, Richard Ellis, John Ellsworth, Asaph Ellis, David Ellis, Consider Ellis, Richard Ellis, Jr., John Ellis, Robert Francis, Josiah Furman, Reuben Herrington, George Huyler, Levi Murdock, Morris Miller, Richard Phillips, Robert Steele, John Steele, James Steele, Ephraim Steele and Frederick Tanner.

In December, 1837, the township was divided, the western half being erected into a new township called Gaines. The next assessment made in 1838 showed sixty- three taxables within the township as now constituted. The settled portion of the township embraced the valley of Pine creek, west of the mouth of Marsh creek. That portion of the valley of this latter stream in the township settled slowly owing to its marshy character. As late as 1864 there were but seven families in its valley between Ansonia and the Delmar township line. There were, beginning at the west, Nelson Swope, William Dimmick, a Mr. Pollison, Andrew Lovejoy, a Mr. Willoughby, a Mr. Hiltbold and Charles Grinnell.

EARLY MILLS.

The first saw-mill in the township was erected on Pine creek, about a mile and a half above Ansonia, by Richard Ellis. It appears on the assessment list of 1816, as does also a grist-mill erected by Asaph Ellis, to whom in 1818 the saw-mill was also assessed. These mills were owned jointly in 1823 by Richard Ellis, Sr., and Asaph, David, John and Richard Ellis, Jr. In 1826 Reuben Herrington erected a saw- mill in the same neighborhood. Richard Phillips erected a saw-mill on Pine creek about 1827. About 1833 he and Samuel Phillips established a carding machine in connection with the mill. In 1829 Leonard Pfoutz erected a saw-mill and a grist-mill on Pine creek at Manchester, below Ansonia. In 1831 Daily & Beecher bought out Herrington. In this year also John Mathers erected a saw-mill near the Gaines township line on Pine creek. Leonard Pfoutz sold his mills to Stowell & Dickinson, who, in 1833, were operating two saw-mills. In 1834 they were operating four saw- mills and a grist-mill. In 1838 the firm of Mathers & Scoville was formed, and in 1839 Stowell & Dickinson became Stowell & Company. In 1841 the firm of Mathers & Scoville was changed to John Mathers & Company, which in 1845 was succeeded by Jesse Locke. In this year White & Maynard erected a gang saw-mill. The Locke mills appear to have passed into the possession of Bache, Ross & Company, who sold them to Smith, Wisner & Company in 1854. In 1850 the Stowell & Company mills were transferred to Phelps, Dodge & Company, afterwards known as the Pennsyl- vania Joint Land and Lumber Company, who during the next twenty years carried on operations on an extensive scale. Gradually, however, but surely, the available timber supply began to give out and the mills ceased operation. At the present time the only mill in active operation in the township is that of E. Matson & Son, at Marsh Creek, near the Delmar township line. This mill was established near the mouth of Heise run, in Delmar township, in 1883, and moved to its present location in 1891. It employs about thirty hands and has a capacity of 30,000 feet of lumber a day. There have been no grist-mills operated in the township for over twenty years. The Herrington mill was destroyed by fire, being owned at the time by Charles and Horace Herrington; the others ceased operations for lack of profitable patronage.

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

SCHOOLS AND JUSTICES.

The early schools of the township, like those in other townships of the county, were supported by subscription, the buildings were log cabins, like the homes of the settlers, and instruction was confined to an elementary knowledge of reading, writing, arithmetic and spelling. After the township became more thickly settled, better buildings were erected and a corresponding advance was made in the methods of teaching. At the present time there are five school houses in the township. Good teachers are employed and the pupils receive the benefits of the most approved methods of instruction.

Since the organization of the township the office of justice of the peace has been held by the following named persons: Chauncey Alford, 1827; David Ellis, 1830; Joseph Aiken, 1832; Jesse R. Ray, 1833; John F. Donaldson, 1834; Daniel Holiday, 1835; Simeon Houghton, 1836; Levi I. Nichols, 1836; Samuel Phillips, 1841; Alvah Austin, 1842; Henry Sligh, 1845; re-elected, 1850, 1856; George M. Herrington, 1847; Chester Ellis, 1850; Rufus Fisk, 1851; Joseph A. Darling, 1855; re-elected, 1860, 1865, 1870; Thoms Keeney, 1865; John W. English, 1877; re-elected, 1882; John A. Covert, 1878; C. O. Brown, 1881; R. M. Keeney, 1885; Nelson Swope, 1887; re-elected, 1892; J. B. Van Gelder, 1891; Clayton Butler, 1895, and E. W. Brough- ton, 1897.

CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES.

In 1840 a frame church building was erected at Ansonia by Phelps, Dodge & Company, Hon. William E. Dodge being the leading spirit in the enterprise. Mr. Dodge was a Presbyterian, and in September, 1840, the building was dedicated as the Presbyterian Church of Manchester, that being the name applied to the place at the time. It has since been more familiarly known as the "Pine Creek Church," and is to-day the second oldest house of worship in the county. Though dedicated as a Presbyterian church it has always been open to other Christian denominations. The building was erected under the supervision of Israel Richard, boss carpenter, who followed a model furnished by the father of Hon. William E. Dodge, from a little church in Connecticut. Rev. Mr. Spaulding, of Southport, New York, officiated at the dedication. Among those present were Hon. William E. Dodge and wife, and his sister, Mrs. E. C. Steadman, wife of Edmund Clarence Steadman, the banker-poet. She wrote a poem, inspired by the occasion and surroundings, which appeared in the Tioga Eagle. In 1854 the church was repaired and re-dedicated, and again repaired and re-dedicated in 1886. No church society seems to have been organized at Ansonia. In 1843 and 1844 the members of the congregation became members of the church at Wellsboro, and the Ansonia membership has since constituted a branch of the Wellsboro church, the pastors of which have held stated services in the church at Ansonia. Rev. Thomas Foster was supply during 1843, since which time there have been but two pastors, Rev. J. F. Calkins, who came in 1844 and remained until 1880; and Rev. A. C. Shaw, who came in 1880, and is the present pastor.

The Methodist Episcopal Church has a class at Ansonia that is a branch of the Dexter Methodist Episcopal Church of Delmar township. For over thirty years ser- vices have been held in the Presbyterian church. During the earlier years these ser- vices were irregular, but for some time past they have been held once in every two

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weeks. The pastor of the Dexter church conducts them. He has also within his charge the classes at Marsh Creek, Asaph and Pine Ridge, in Shippen township, as well as the church at Middle Ridge in Delmar township. These all constitute what is known as the Ansonia charge. The names of the pastors will be foun 1 in the history of the Dexter church, in the chapter devoted to Delmar township.

The Shippen Baptist Church was organized May 3, 1891, with the following members: J. D. Webster, Mrs. Permelia Webster, E. S. English, Mrs. Rosetta English, Harris Dartt, Mrs. Caroline Dartt, Mrs. Lillian Dartt, W. Harrison, Mrs. Betsey Harrison, Miss Lodema Harrison, Milon Wilson, Mrs. Mary Wilson, Lemuel Sherman, Mrs. Lavina Sherman, Tile Sherman, Mrs. Lucinda Sherman, John Mor- row, Mrs. Alta Morrow, William Hazleton, Mary Hazleton, Mrs. Dora Knowlton, Miss Lydia Knowlton, Miss Olivia Jones, Miss Sylvia Ester, Mrs. Mattie Hall, Alonzo L. Bowen, Rev. W. H. Playfoot and Elijah Phillips. The following named persons have served this church as pastors: Revs. W. H. Playfoot, 1891-93; J. T. Bradford, 1893-95, and Rev. P. Reynolds, who took charge June 18, 1896. Meetings are held in the Shippen school house. The present membership is forty-two. There are about thirty pupils in the Sunday-school, of which Mrs. M. L. Hall is the superintendent.

The Ansonia Cemetery occupies a plot of ground adjoining that of the Presby- terian church, the ground for both being acquired at the same time. Here lies the remains of a number of early pioneers, among them Israel Merrick, Sr., who settled in Delmar township in 1805, and died April 30, 1844, aged seventy-eight years; Henry Sligh, Reuben Herrington, Abiatha Swope and others. There are also several private burying grounds in the township.

VILLAGES.

Ansonia is the name of a village situated at the junction of Marsh and Pine creeks. The level area here covers several hundred acres. It is thought to have been at one time the site of an Indian village, the first explorers finding evidences of the land having been cleared and cultivated some years before their coming. They gave it the name of Big Meadows. It was here, in 1805, Josiah Furman settled, and soon after had for neighbors a man named Mills, whose daughter he married, and Robert Steele. About 1829 Leonard Pfoutz erected a saw-mill a mile and a half below on Pine creek. A few years later he was succeeded by Stowell & Dickinson, who also carried on a store. The place took the name of Manchester, and the present site of Ansonia, Manchester Farms, to which place Stowell & Dickinson afterwards moved their store. About 1838 Phelps, Dodge & Company-otherwise known as the Joint Land and Lumber Company-purchased large bodies of timber lands in Delmar and Shippen townships and began lumbering operations on an extensive scale. In 1850 they acquired the Stowell & Dickinson mills. A company store was run at An- sonia. This was closed in 1871 and the place was without a store until 1883, when J. F. Howe embarked in business. He was succeeded in 1884 by W. H. Thomp- son, and he in 1894 by Gilbert E. Tate. Another store is carried on by J. D. Gross. These constitute the mercantile enterprises of the village. In 1884 a hotel building was erected by Phelps, Dodge & Company, the present landlord of which is E. J. Bradley. The first hotel in the township, however, appears to have been kept by John Mathers, who was assessed as a tavern keeper in 1834. About this time, also,

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

David Ellis engaged in the business, keeping hotel for a number of years. Reuben Herrington and after him George W. Herrington kept this house. It was closed in the spring of 1895, Charles Scott being the landlord at the time, and is now used as a private dwelling.

A postoffice was established in 1845, John Mathers being the first postmaster. The office was named Shippen. His successors have been John Dickinson, Deroy Herrington, who held the office during the Civil War; Henry Sligh, Henry Broughton and George W. Herrington, who held until March 28, 1884. In 1876 the name was changed to Ansonia, in honor of Anson Phelps, of Phelps, Dodge & Company. In the meantime the office had been without a permanent location. A portion of the time it was at Ansonia, but as a rule the postmaster kept the office at his residence. March 28, 1884, the name of the office was changed to Ebenton-being named for Ebenezer B. Campbell, for many years a foreman for Phelps, Dodge & Company. J. F. Howe was appointed postmaster, and the office located at Ansonia. He held it until the fall of 1884, when W. H. Thompson took the office. His successors have been T. L. Reese, appointed August 31, 1891; Gilbert E. Tate, July 17, 1894; resigned in the spring of 1896, and John D. Gross was appointed. In the spring of 1895 the name Ebenton was dropped and that of Ansonia restored.

In 1884 the Pine Creek railroad was completed from Stokesdale Junction to Williamsport, and a station established at Ansonia. In 1894 the Buffalo and Sus- quehanna railroad was built from Galeton to Ansonia, and the Fall Brook Station was moved one-fourth of a mile northeast to the junction of the two roads. This station is now in charge of L. G. Davison, who acts for both companies, and is also the ' agent of the Western Union and Postal Telegraph companies at Ansonia.

Shippen Grange, No. 902, P. of H., meets at Ansonia. It was organized January 8, 1890, and has now a membership of nearly forty. Pine Grove Lodge, No. 20, P. of T., organized February 26, 1896, contains over fifty members and meets at the old Herrington house, west of the village.

Marsh Creek is the name of a postoffice established in 1874 with Samuel Scranton as postmaster. His successors have been C. F. Gee, Bloss Holiday, C. F. Gee, a sec- ond term, and E. Matson. During the incumbency of Mr. Gee the office was in Del- mar township, his residence, store and saw-mill being just east of the township line. The office is at present in the store of E. Matson & Company, who operate a large steam saw-mill here. Morning Dawn Lodge, No. 61, I. O. G. T., meets in this village. It was organized August 4, 1893, and now embraces about forty members. The P. O. S. of A. have also a lodge here, with a goodly number of adherents who subscribe to the principles of that order.

Asaph is the name of a postoffice established May 18, 1889, in the store of O. S. Butler near the mouth of Asaph run. Mr. Butler, who has held the office continuously to the present time, established a store here in 1881. The distance between this office and that of Marsh Creek is less than half a mile. Asaph is also the meeting place of two secret societies, viz: Asaph Tent, No. 183, K. O. T. M., organized July 12, 1893; and Asaph Hive, No. 94, L. O. T. M., organized September 26, 1895, both of which have a fair membership.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

GAINES TOWNSHIP.

ORGANIZATION-REDUCTION OF AREA-DERIVATION OF NAME-PHYSICAL CHARAC- TERISTICS - STREAMS - TIMBER AND GAME - POPULATION -- EARLY SETTLERS -PAST AND PRESENT ENTERPRISES-THE GAINES COAL AND COKE COMPANY -EARLY SCHOOLS - PHYSICIANS AND JUSTICES - CHURCHES - CEMETERIES-SO- CIETIES-VILLAGES AND POSTOFFICES.

B Y an order of the court of quarter sessions, dated December 29, 1837, the town- ship of Gaines was created, its territory being taken from the western half of Shippen township. In December, 1850, a strip two miles wide was taken from it on the north and went to make up the township of Clymer. As now constituted, it is about six miles from east to west by eight and a quarter miles from north to south and contains fifty square miles. It is bounded on the north by the township of Clymer, on the east by Shippen township, on the south by Elk township and on the west by Potter county. It was named in honor of General Gaines, who was conspic- uous in the removal of the Creek Indians during the administrations of John Quincy .Adams and Andrew Jackson.

It is one of the most rugged and picturesque townships in the county. Pine creek traverses it from west to east, and divides it into two parts, that on the north being a trifle the larger. During its passage through the township, this creek re- ceives the water of a number of branch streams. On the north are Phoenix creek, near the Potter county line; Long run, which rises in Clymer township and has its confluence at Gaines; Shim Hollow run, which empties in at Manhattan, and Mill run which empties in at Frumantown. On the south are Elk run, which empties in at Watrous; Lick run, which empties in near Manhattan, and Painter run, which empties in between Manhattan and the Shippen township line. The branches of Long run are Blue run and Benn Gully run on the east and Gal run on the west. All these brooks and runs flow through narrow valleys, lined by mountains that rise to a height of 600 to 900 feet. While they add to the picturesqueness of the scenery of the township, they greatly limit its tillable area, and compel its farmers to cultivate the steep hillsides as well as the restricted valleys, in an effort to utilize as much of their land as possible.

When first settled the township was heavily timbered, pine and hemlock predom- inating. This has about all disappeared, having been either sawed into lumber within the township or rafted in the form of logs down Pine creek to Williamsport and be- yond. Its many clear streams and its rugged mountains made this township a veritable paradise for the hunter and the fisherman, and during a week's tour among its oldest citizens enough material could be collected to make a good-sized book of hunting and fishing anecdotes, incidents and adventures. There are men alive to-day

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

who tell of catching trout by the bucketfull, of killing hundreds of bears and thous- ands of deer and wolves, and of passing through innumerable thrilling adventures and hair-breadth escapes from death. Like the pine and the hemlock, the bear, the wolf and the deer have disappeared, and the trout are only to be found in a few se- cluded spots.

The township has grown slowly but steadily, the most marked increase in popu- lation being between 1880 and 1890. In 1840 it had 215 inhabitants; in 1880, 508, and in 1890, 1187.

EARLY SETTLERS.

About 1804 a party of hunters found their way up the Pine Creek valley above the mouth of Marsh creek. One of these was William Furman, of Sunbury, Northum- berland county, Pennsylvania. So pleased was he with the country and the abundance of game, that upon returning to his home he induced two of his brothers to join him in making a settlement, which they did in the spring of 1805, all bringing their fami- lies. Josiah, one of the brothers, settled at the mouth of Marsh creek, in Shippen township. William and the other brother, Aaron, settled on Pine creek, in the eastern part of Gaines township, the place taking the name of Furmantown, which it still retains. Benjamin another brother came in 1823. Aaron K. Furman, born in 1819, a son of Aaron, and Martin W. Furman, born in 1829, a son of William, still reside on the farms settled by their parents. Mrs. Hannah Ogden, a daughter of Aaron Furman, is the oldest living person born in the township. She was born in 1812. In 1811 John Phoenix, better known as Captain Phoenix, settled near the Potter county line at the mouth of the creek that bears his name. About the same time a man named John Smith settled at the mouth of Long run. A number of Indians were still to be found here and there along the stream. They were friendly and mingled freely with the settlers until the breaking out of the War of 1812, when they disappeared. Thinking they had gone to join the British and were likely at any time to return with other than friendly intentions, the settlers felt considerable alarm. A few did return after the war, but finding they had lost the confidence and friendship of the settlers, soon disappeared. John Persing, a native of Northumber- land county, and a soldier in the War of 1812, came in 1814 in a canoe from Williams- port, with his wife and one child-leaving the eldest, a son, with his grandparents- and settled on the flat at Gaines village. In 1840 he removed to Hector township, Potter county, returning later to pass his last years in Gaines township, dying October 12, 1886, aged 99 years and 14 days. A man named Fisher settled on the bottom north of the road at the Long run bridge. The water washed his cabin away, and he removed to the mouth of Elk run, where he made a clearing and built a log house. After living here two years he sold out to a carpenter named Frederick Tanner, who, being a single man, soon sold to another newcomer, Conrad Bernauer, a native of Germany. With Mr. Bernauer came his father-in-law, a Mr. Zubers, with his daugh- ter, a Mrs. Miller and her baby. Mr. Zubers and his wife and Mrs. Miller's baby were shortly afterwards killed by a falling tree, which crushed in the cabin during a storm. John Benn who came into the county as early as 1817, built a saw-mill in 1825, above the mouth of Long run, on Pine creek, operating it until 1831. John Blue, a native of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, settled in 1829 on Long run, two

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 60

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