USA > Pennsylvania > Tioga County > History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations, portraits and sketches of prominent families and individuals > Part 49
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Lewis Ausburn, Alva Austin, David Armstrong, C. W.
Blake, Harry Braughton, O. S. Babcock, John Brooks, Daniel Bacon, Wells Chafee, Joseph Crawford, John Coleman, William Dimmick, P. N. Dimmick, Thomas Davis, Samuel Dickinson, James English, David Ellis, Amasa Ellis, Elijah Grennell, Jacob Harrington, Reuben Harrington, George Harvey, Thomas Hickox, Oliver Hickox, George Hickox, Charles Hickox, Lorenzo Lind- say, Horton Matteson, Daniel McVoy, Edwin Matteson, Mathers & Scoville, William McCelpin, Benjamin Ogden, Jacob Ogden, Charlton Phillips, Richard Phillips, Samuel Phillips, Moses Pierce, Lewis Smith, O. B. Scoville, W. H. Stratton, Jesse Streeter, Ephraim Steele, William Swartwood, E. Swope, Abraham Swope, Hezekiah Stow- ell, Stowell & Co., Henry Sligh, Curtis Thompson, John Thompson, George Tompkins, Jesse Locke, Erie Wake- man, Josiah Washburn, William Furman, William Free- man. Heman Kelsey, Joel English, Job Rexford, William Rexford, Israel Richards, Roswell Rexford and David Rexford.
The large tracts of unoccupied lands in the township enabled the citizens of Shippen, with the aid of residents above mentioned, to maintain their township organiza- tion, erect small school buildings, and pay the current expenses.
BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.
About this time Phelps & Dodge, of New York city, made large investments in timbered lands in the town- ship (which they now hold, under the title of the Penn- sylvania Joint Land and Lumber Company), and engaged in lumbering extensively, as well as the improvement and cultivation of the soil on the banks of Marsh and Pine Creeks. Samuel Dickinson and Hon. Robert G. White, of Wellsboro, as well as Mathers & Scoville and others, engaged largely in the lumber business. The Ellises, who owned the property where George W. Harrington now resides, paid more attention to farming, and cul- tivated the soil, planting orchards and erecting barns and good dwellings. Although the soil was cultivated to some extent lumbering was the chief occupation of the people until the great forests of pine were cut down and removed. Extensive operations are now being carried on in lumbering in the hemlock forests in Shippen town- ship and along the tributaries of Pine Creek, with here and there a lumber job in the isolated pine tracts which remain. Contractors for Phelps, Dodge & Co. are get- ting into Marsh Creek millions of feet of white pine, while the hemlock forests are attacked on every side to furnish bark for the tanneries on Pine Creek and Marsh Creek. Wright & Bailey have several logging camps, and are putting into Marsh Creek millions of feet of hemlock.
It may be well to describe the modern way of " trailing" logs, instead of hauling them on bob- sleds. We are indebted to a correspondent of the W'ellsboro Gacette for the description. The "trail " is a road down the side of the mountain, usually following the bank of the ravine. The road is wide enough for a team to travel easily upon it, with frequent side tracks to enable the teams to pass one another. In the center of the road a furrow is made, about eighteen inches in width and depth. The logs are collected and " skidded "
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INDUSTRIES IN SHIPPEN-CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS
at convenient points along the trail, where they are mouth of Four Mile Run. There are none now in operation marked with the initials of the owner and purchaser and For many years the post-office was located at the scaled or measured. The scaling is done by a disinter- Manchester Farms, at the mouth of Marsh Creek; but ested expert, and his measurement forms the basis of recently it has been removed to the house of G. W. Har- compensation between the owner and purchaser, and the rington, and is now known as Ansonia. A daily mail owner and "jobber." When the scaling is done and from the east and the west is received at this office. there is sufficient snow to put the trail in proper con- CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES. dition the logs are rolled into it, and where the grade is heavy they move by their own gravity with great There is only one church edifice in the township, and that was erected about thirty years ago, principally by the agents and employes of Phelps & Dodge. Rev. T. Forster, of Harrisburg, a Presbyterian clergyman, officiat- ed at Wellsboro and Marsh Creek in 1843, and led the way to the construction of the church. It is now sup- plied by Rev. A. C. Shaw, D. D., of Wellsboro. rapidity. Where the grade is insufficient for them to go alone a team is hitched to a log. and two horses will drive from twenty to thirty in front of them, the logs keep- ing the track, like a train of cars. In this way logs are sometimes transported six miles to the bank of the stream, where they are started at flood time toward their destination. The management of the trail is a distinct A graveyard near this church contains the re- mains of many of the old settlers of Shippen and Delmar townships. Among them are Henry Sligh, who died March 8th 1862, aged 75 years; Reuben Harrington, died April 17th 1862, aged 71 years; Eunice, wife of Reuben Harrington, died February 7th 1874, aged 78 years; Simeon, son of Hezekiah Stowell, died April 12th 1861, aged 23 years; Abiather Swope, died October 18th 1850, aged 43 years; and Israel Merrick, who died April 30th 1844. aged 78 years. Mr. Merrick came into Del- mar in 1809, from the State of Delaware. art in itself, requiring considerable skill. If long enough the trail is divided into sections and a man appointed to keep each of the sections in repair. It must be kept in proper form; no running water is permitted in it, and if the weather is warm enough to soften the sides, opera- tions must be suspended during the day and the work done at night if it freezes. The velocity attained by logs in descending a steep mountain is tremendous and it is not uncommon for them to "jump " the trail, in which case they will demolish every obstruction. Fatal acci- dents often occur to persons who get in the way of logs There are several other graveyards and private burial places in the township. escaping from a trail. In cases where the amount of timber on a tract is not sufficient to warrant the expense SCHOOLS. of building a trail the logs are drawn on sleds; but where the quantity is large enough to permit it the trail is the most economical and expeditious method.
The citizens of Shippen have hitherto been obliged to go to Stokesdale or Wellsboro to reach a railroad. There is every assurance that in the near future the Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway will be completed from Williamsport, via Jersey Shore, up Pine Creek to the mouth of Marsh Creek, at the Manchester Farm, and thence up Marsh Creek to Stokesdale, on the line of the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim Rail- road. A station will be erected at the mouth of Marsh Creek, which will accommodate a large number living on Pine Creek and its tributaries west of that point, and save them much cartage. The townships of western Tioga and eastern Potter will be in closer communica- tion with the outer world. They have been hemmed in as it were ever since their first settlement, and the con- struction of this railway cannot but prove highly ad- vantageous to the people of that locality.
There have been two grist-mills in the township, one built by Hezekiah Stowell, and afterward owned by Reu- ben Harrington, and the Mather grist-mill. There are none in operation in the township at present.
There have been a number of saw-mills in the town- ship. Scoville & Mather built a saw-mill and grist-mill at the Big Bend, below Furmantown, on Pine Creek, and did an extensive business. At the Big Meadows and at Manchester, a little below the mouth of Marsh Creek, Hezekiah Stowell and Samuel Dickinson had four saw- mills in successful operation, cutting about 5,000,000 feet annually. They also had one down Pine Creek, below the
The first school-house in the township of Shippen then in Delmar) was rude in its construction, as all school.houses were in Tioga county 73 years ago. There are now five school-houses in the township, and good taste is displayed in the location of the sites and in their surroundings. The names of the districts are No. 1, Marsh Creek, Warriner, Middle Ridge and Pleasant Val- ley. The school-house in district No. 1 is on the north bank of Pine Creek, in a beautiful grove of second growth white pine, and is a very inviting spot in the heat of summer or the blasts of winter. Near it is "Darling's Grove," composed of white pine, and quite a resort for picnics and like gatherings. Although the number of pupils attending each school is small, being about eighty in the aggregate average attendance, still they are well instructed, and have comfortable places to assemble in.
ELECTIONS.
The elections are held at the Marsh Creek school- house. The vote for township officers in 1882 was as follows:
Supervisors, Horace Broughton, 62; John Morrow, 57. Justice of the peace, C. O. Brown, 58; John W. English, 30. Constable, Stephen Scranton, 57; Tile Sherman, I. School directors, E. F. Taylor, 30; B. F. Knowlton, 24; C. A. Jones, 23; Henry Darling, 20. Assessor, Asa War- riner, 60 ; William Thompson, 4. Assistant asessor, Alonzo Kimball, 62; Samuel Scranton, 54; William Thompson, 1. Treasurer, Wallace Jackson, 64. Town clerk, Wallace Jackson, 64. Judge of election, J. C. Hamilton, 63. Inspectors of election, W. C. Darling, 30; A. W. Dimmick, 25; E. H. Mason, 3; Perry Smith, 1.
26
UNION TOWNSHIP.
BY JOHN L. SEXTON JR.
HE township of Union, situated in the extreme southeastern corner of Tioga county, was organized in February 1830, being taken from the township of Sullivan. It is one of the many granddaughters of Covington. It extends from the Tioga River on the northwest to Roaring Branch, or the Lycoming Creek, includ- ing some of the highest ranges of mountains in the county. It inclines generally toward the southeast, where its lowest altitude is about 940 feet; in the north-
late John Newell, and Mrs. Rebecca Riley, widow of the late Henry Riley, of West Burlington, Bradford county. When Mr. Loper first settled in Union there were only two other families within miles of the place. He cleared up a farm, lived until about the year 1842, and was buried in West Burlington. The McNetts came soon afterward. In 1827 Joseph Groover settled in the township; he is now alive, a hardy and well pre- served old gentleman, the father of eighteen children.
Settlers, however, came slowly. Of the hardships
western part it reaches nearly 2,400 feet above tide. Its incident to the settlement of a new country only those average altitude is therefore about 1,500 feet above tide who have experienced them can form any adequate idea. water.
Union was a township heavily timbered, and until about
Its surface is diversified, consisting of rolling lands, the year 1854, when the Elmira and Williamsport Rail- plateaus and valleys. The principal streams in the town- road was under construction, there was no market for ship flow southward and eastward, some emptying into the timber and lumber and most of it had to be burned tributaries of the Lycoming and west branch of the Sus. upon the ground where it was felled. It required cour- quehanna, others flowing eastward into the north branch, age, health and an inflexible will to clear up and bring finding an outlet near Towanda, while a few small streams under cultivation such a township as this. A few of
on the north flow northward into the Tioga River. A large portion of the soil in the township produces excel- lent crops of oats, corn, potatoes and grass, and the orchards bear fruit in abundance. The township con- tains several hamlets-Ogdensburg, Roaring Branch, Taylor's Corners and Gleason-and a thickly populated section on the west line known as the " Irish Settlement." The population of the township at the census of 1880 was 1,789. It now has nearly 2,000 inhabitants.
the early settlers were native Pennsylvanians, but a large portion of them were from Washington and Delaware counties in New York; and another portion, who located in the northern and western portions of the township, were sons of the Emerald Isle. From the very earliest period of the settlement there was always the best of feeling existing between the early settlers; as an old pioneer expressed it, "We were like a band of brothers." The name of the township was Union, and the early set- THE PIONEERS. tlers possessed that sentiment in an eminent degree. On the west of them was Liberty township, toward whose in- Among the early settlers were William Taylor, Eli, habitants there was a very friendly feeling existing, and Samuel and John McNett, Wright and Nelson Rutty, the watchwords "union and liberty " were very signifi- Jewett Spencer sen., Jewett Spencer jr., Lyon Spencer, cant and appropriate. From a few sturdy pioneers a Charles O. Spencer, Martin Robinson, Laban and Ezra half century ago has grown up a community of intelli- Landon, Uriah Loper, Joseph Groover, John Newell, gent, industrious and respectable people, now numbering Charles M. Dibble, John and Luther Ogden, Joseph nearly two thousand inhabitants (528 taxable), owning Wilber, George W. Terry, Alfred Jackson, Nathan property assessed at $215,696-which means in truth Palmer, Martin Middaugh, Martin R. Harrington, Peter more than double that amount-with twelve school- and Patrick Skelley, Abram Rundell, William Barrows, houses, three churches, comfortable dwellings, good Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Tebo, Ithiel B. Reynolds, barns and all the improved agricultural implements Thomas Stull, Hiram Gray, Charles Whitcomb, William necessary to cultivate the soil and gather in the harvest. Rathbone, Thomas Decoursey, G. G. Collins, Peter B. Harrington and Patrick McCormick.
It was only by concert of action that the pioneers were enabled to clear up farms, erect dwellings and barns, selves with the comforts of life which they now enjoy. "Logging bees," as they were termed, were frequent in
Uriah Loper sen., one of the very first settlers of build churches and school-houses, and provide them- Union, was a native of Salem county, New Jersey, and located in the township of Union eighty years ago, on the farm now known as the John Simpkins place. His the early settlement of the township. A settler would family consisted of a wife and nine children, all of whom chop a "fallow," pile the brush in heaps and at a snita- are dead, with the exception of Prethena, widow of the ble time set them on fire, thus burning; up all but the
211
WORK AND PLAY IN OLD UNION.
trunks of the trees. After the burning of the brush of the improved cooking stoves and ranges, with hot these would be cut into suitable lengths for "logging." ' water reservoirs, pastry ovens, and all other modern ap- This work completed, the settler called upon his neigh- pliances, were thought of. The ovens then were made bors for help in drawing the logs together and rolling of sheet iron, with tin reflectors, and placed before the them up in huge piles for burning. Here was where the fire; or consisted of large, round cast-iron bakekettles, spirit of true neighborly friendship was manifested. with covers, which could be put into the fire and covered with coals and ashes; yet with the rude utensils then at hand they managed to cook a savory as well as whole- some meal and set it before the family. Messages were sent to all settlers for miles around, noti- fying them that on a certain day Mr. A would have a "logging bee." The work generally began immediately after dinner. Every ox team in the neighborhood was Besides working in the field in the spring and autumn, called into action. There were always selected from the in winter the women were frequently left in care of the company the "hitchers," the "rollers," the drivers and cattle and sheep while the husbands and older sons were or at the mines at Blossburg, Morris Run, Fall Brook, Ralston and Astonville. Upon the highlands of Union the winters were long and severe and the snows deep. To take charge of the cattle in the frosts of winter, and to look after the fires, was if possible a more severe task than laboring in the field in the heat of summer. The love these pioneer women had for their husbands and fathers, their homes and the groups of little children, prompted them to perform all these severe labors with cheerfulness and good nature. Many of them reside in Union now, and have lived to reap their reward in the possession of pleasant homes and the comforts of life, those to attend to the skids. A dozen gangs perhaps | away in the lumber woods ot Pine Creek and elsewhere, would thus be distributed over the fallow, all striving to accomplish the most work in the allotted time. Although the men were generally temperate, even to abstinence, yet upon such occasions an old and trusty man would be selected to pass around the " jug " of the best rye whis- key, while a boy would accompany him with a pail of water and a dipper. The whiskey would be dealt out with a cautious hand. It was a rare case when any one drank to excess; they took just enough to brace their nerves and quench their thirst. Thus would the work go on, and by the time the sun had set behind the Lib- erty hills five, six and even ten acres would be "logged up " and ready for the burning. In the twilight a long and they revert to those early scenes with pride and table was set in the open air, loaded with substantial food pleasure. With spartan heroism they fought the battle for the loggers. The settler had made arrangements for against adverse circumstances, and have conquered; and the occasion by killing a sheep or two, and from the as they now in the twilight of life stand and look over steaming pot, hung over a fire either in the old fashioned the fruitful fields, or gather around the cheerful fireside, chimney or in an improvised fireplace in the open air, recounting their past struggles, there is a satisfaction in- the good wife and her assistants would deal out a most finitely greater than though their early years had been a sumptuous pot-pie good enough for a king. The supper bed of down, or their pathway strewed with roses.
being over the guests departed for their homes, some of them miles away. It was thus the union spirit mani- fested itself, at logging bees, " raisings," or any like work where the settler was unable to perform the labor him. self. One old settler informs us that he has attended forty such "bees" in one year, spring and fall. All honor to those who have thus contributed to the present prosperity of the township and made it one of the most productive in the county. It must not be understood that the life of the pioneer was one continued round of work and no play. Far from it. Although for many years there were no regular mu- sicians, this did not prevent the young folks, and even the old folks, from assembling at some settler's house and enjoying themselves in a dance. There could always be found at these gatherings one who could sing, while another would call the changes for a basket cotillion, or a square quadrille, interspersed with reels, jigs, horn- pipes, and other favorites of that age. "The Road to Boston " was then quite popular, and very suggestive of Revolutionary times, and was a dance or promenade in which many took great delight- even staid grandmothers and grandfathers would join the younger people "on quently engaged in planting corn and potatoes and work- "their road to Boston." By and by Billy Owens, from Chemung county, N. Y., made his appearance and took up his residence in the township. He could play the violin well, and could make also all the different calls required. He was a full orchestra. He introduced Among other dances, says an old pioneer, which Billy in-
We must not forget to give the wives and older daugh- ters the credit which belongs to them for the part they acted in pioneer life. In addition to household duties, which were many and arduous, they frequently assisted in the more rugged work of the field. They were fre- ing in the hay and harvest fields. Perhaps the wife had left at the house an infant in the cradle with a small child to watch it, while she and the older daughters were assisting in the work of men in the meadow or grain field; and after toiling in the sun for hours would, an many new and old dances, and became a great favorite. hour before meal time, leave the field, go to the house and prepare over a blazing fire the frugal repast, thus | troduced was a Highland reel, danced by the gentlemen, bearing a double care and burden. In the early days of with two ladies, to the tune of " Roy's Wife." "Out of this dance," said the pioneer, "I could always get the worth of my money. Then there was another dance that just suited my taste; it was 'Life let us cherish.' Union the facilities for cooking were not as good as now. Then the huge fire-place, with its iron crane and tram- mel hooks swinging over the fire, was in use, and none
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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.
This was a grand basket cotillion. I tell you, Billy could of these old-time suppers a lady of eighty-five said just make the old fiddle talk while we danced 'Life let to us, "Oh! if I could only sit down to one of the meals that I used to cook forty or fifty years ago, I would not exchange it for the most sumptuous one ever placed be- fore a king." us cherish.' Such scenes as these kept up my energy and spirit, and prepared me for the life of a pioneer. Oh ! how I would like to engage in them again."
Amid the trials and privations incident to a pioneer life there was a spirit of mutual dependence and a free interchange of the civilities of life. None had their car- riages and fine turnouts, and consequently there was a republican or democratic state of society; there were no superiors where all moved in the same sphere or plane. The great purpose of life was to make themselves homes, and all the social ameni- ties were supports and helps in this grand struggle. Evening visits among neighbors were therefore frequent, especially during the long winter nights, accomplishing the double purpose of binding by social intercourse their mutual interests more firmly together, and perfecting plans for the future success of the township. In the early settlement of Union few if any horse teams were owned or used. The patient and serviceable ox not only was employed for the purpose of logging up and plow- ing fallows, but was pressed into service to convey visit- ing parties from one house to another. When the long winter evenings came the pioneer would hitch the oxen to his wooden-shod sled, bundle in his wife and children, and start for a visit to a neighbor who lived perhaps miles away. The night would be keen and frosty, the snow on the ground deep, and many times the road not beaten. The route was through the woods, over a log road. The precaution was always taken to place an axe in the sled to use in case of finding fallen trees across the road. Thus equipped, after having been in many in- stances compelled literally to cut their own road up hill and down, across swamps and ravines, often upsetting and spilling out wife and children, who would take the mishap good naturedly as a part of the programme, they reached their destination, and were kindly welcomed to a huge fire burning briskly in the great open fireplace in the log house of the neighboring settler, who like them- selves was hewing out a home in the wilds of Union. The good wife of the host would assist in unwrapping the children and placing them in a warm corner, while the men looked after the team at the little log barn, see- ing that it had hay and a comfortable place to rest. This done they would return to the house, when the real bus- iness of the evening commenced. What a happy, noisy group were the heads of the two families with their half dozen children each. Apples, cider, butternuts and doughnuts would be brough forth. After spending an hour or more in social chit chat over their cider, apples and nuts, the good wife would go the loft by means of a ladder and return with a saddle of venison or a fat spare- rib, which she proceeded to prepare for the evening meal, over and before the fire, in the long-handled frying- pan or in the tin and sheet iron oven. When the meat was prepared it was served up with potatoes, corn cake, honey, butter, maple molasses, doughnuts, tea, or rye, maple, or pea coffee, and buckwheat cakes. In speaking
The supper being over, the visitor would help her hostess in clearing up the table, washing the dishes and placing them away in the neat little cupboard, all the while talking in the most friendly manner. By this time a number of the younger of the visitors had gone to sleep and were quietly laid away. After an hour more spent in chatting and smoking the time arrives for the pioneer and his family to take their departure. The oxen are hitched to the sled, the children aroused and wrapped in coverlets of tanned sheepskins and stowed away in the sled, and with "Good night " and "Come again," and "Come and see us," the visitors leave for their highland home. It would be midnight when they reached home; then the fire they had left burning would be stirred up, the fore stick changed and the back log turned, and soon the cabin would be cheerful and bright. It was thus the early pioneers of Union made their even- ing calls, which were earnest, honest, devoid of ceremony and conventionality, and true tokens of neighborly affec- tion and respect. In view of the present conveniences of traveling, with smooth roads, elegant carriages and fine spirited teams of well groomed horses, the customs of thirty, forty and fifty years ago may seem rude and common, but they were as fully and worthily enjoyed as the more polite and genteel arrangements of the present.
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