History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including, Part 103

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868-
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co.
Number of Pages: 1323

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Although eminently qualified to perform the duties of any public posi- tion, Mr. Heydrick had no particular taste for official life. For him rural life had its charms. The splendid domain which came into the possession of his ancestors more than a hundred years ago, and descended to him, was his pride. There, surrounded by his flocks and herds and fertile fields he loved to greet his friends and dispense warm hospitality to all who came. There he was seen at his best, and there the visitor could feel the truth of the old phrase-"God made the country, and man made the town." This old farm, beautified by more than half a century's intelligent culture, is also historic ground. On it Custaloga, the tricky Indian who gave Washington so much trouble, built his town. There beneath the old trees, still standing, the Redmen held their councils, and there lie the remains of Guyasutha, a renowned and powerful chieftain. In caring for

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Guyasutha's grave and preventing all desecration of the old chief's last resting place, Mr. Heydrick evinced the kindly side of his own nature. God permitted him to live to a ripe old age, measurably free from its usual attendant cares and infirmities. As the years came upon him he lost none of his early interest in human affairs. The happiness of those around him was happiness for himself. When alone his cultured mind found company in books and recreation in thought. His strong hold upon the regard of his neighbors and friends, acquired by years of kindly intercourse, was his to the last. Growing old gracefully, he reaped the recompense of that rare but happy condition in the continuous care and affection of his children, and escaped the neglect which accompanies, more or less, querulous and complaining old age. Venango has had no better citizen than Charles H. Heydrick .- A. P. W.

REVEREND ROBERT GLENN was born on the 22nd of March, 1802, in Wolf Creek township, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, to which place his father, Samuel Glenn, had removed from York county prior to the year 1800. Graduating from Jefferson College in 1828 he entered the Western Theo- logical Seminary at Allegheny, and on the 2nd of February, 1831, at a meeting of the Presbytery of Erie, held in Mercer, Pennsylvania, was licensed to preach. The ensuing year and a half he spent chiefly in preach- ing to the vacant congregations at Amity, Mill Creek, and Sandy Lake. At a meeting of the Presbytery of Erie held at Mill Creek September 12, 1832, he was ordained and installed pastor of the congregations of Mill Creek and Amity for two-thirds of his time, the remaining third being spent as a stated supply in the church of Sandy Lake. The relation to the church at Amity was dissolved April 3, 1850, and about the same time that to the church at Sandy Lake was suspended. A call from the congregation of Big Sugar Creek was then accepted, and on the 18th of June, 1850, he was installed as its pastor, and until the time of his death, which occurred Sep- tember 6, 1857, he spent his time in the congregations of Mill Creek and Big Sugar Creek.

In educational matters Mr. Glenn was particularly active. Select schools with competent teachers were organized, and when no more suita- ble place could be secured, the church building at Mill creek was made to do double duty-an innovation not looked upon with any special mark of favor by the stern old Presbyterians who worshiped there; and to his efforts principally was due the erection, in 1855, of the then commodious building known as the Utica Academy, recently destroyed by fire. To his faithful- ness and zeal as a pastor many old citizens of the county gladly testify.

Mr. Glenn was thrice married. His first wife, Miss Rebecca Wycoff, of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, died fifteen years after their marriage, leav- ing the following children to survive her: William Wycoff, now of Coos county, Oregon; Samuel M., now a Presbyterian minister at Zanesville,

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Ohio; John B., a physician of Franklin; Eliza B., wife of Reverend W. W. Mckinney, of Baltimore, Maryland; Sarah J., who died in 1878, the wife of Thomas Alexander of Mercer, Pennsylvania, and Caroline F., who died June 8, 1863. His second wife, Miss Mary Ann McCracken, lived but eight months after her marriage. On the 10th of December, 1849, Mr. Glenn was again married to Miss Harriet Finley of Evansburg, Crawford. county, Pennsylvania, with whom he happily spent the remaining years of his life. His remains lie in the old grave-yard at the Mill Creek church, where he passed the whole of his ministerial career. Three children of his third marriage survived him: Robert F., residing in Franklin; Harriet A., and George Stuart, born August 12, 1855, who died February 18, 1873. His widow still survives, and is now a resident of the borough of Utica.

WILLIAM DUFFIELD, the ancestor of the Duffield family, of Venango county, was a native of Ireland, born in 1743. He immigrated to America about 1760, and settled in eastern Pennsylvania, removing to Centre county in 1773, where he married Elizabeth Hasson. In 1800 he removed to Ve- nango county, and located one mile below Utica, on French creek, where he died in 1827, his wife surviving him until 1838. They were the parents of ten children, all born in Centre county, viz .: Jane, who married D. John- ston, and afterward John Cochran; John; Mary, married to Thomas Smi- ley; Armstrong; William; Isabella, married to John McQuaid; Esther, married to John Cooper; James; Margaret, married to John L. Hasson, and Elizabeth, who became the wife of Charles L. Cochran. All of the children are dead. Armstrong Duffield was the fourth child of William and Elizabeth Duffield, was a farmer by occupation, and resided about two miles below Utica, on French creek, where he died in 1851. He married Eliza- beth Gilmore, who was born and reared in Utica, and also died in 1851. Their children were as follows: James; John G. ; Brice; Mrs. Nancy Cram; David; Mrs. Ruth Cram; Elizabeth, deceased; Robert; Jane, and Charles, deceased.

JOHN G. DUFFIELD was born in Venango county, May 24, 1823, and grew to manhood on the homestead. Attaining his majority he engaged in the lumber business at Tionesta, Forest county, Pennsylvania, which he con- tinued about ten years, and then began the mercantile business at Polk, Venango county, which he carried on for about the same length of time. Disposing of his store he opened a hotel in the same village, of which he is still proprietor. He was married March 3, 1848, in Forest county, to Miss Frances Heshman, who has borne him five children: Mary E .; Eddy H .; Thera; Charles, and Laura E., all deceased except the last named, who is the wife of F. C. Rand, ticket and freight agent at Polk. Mr. Duffield united with the Presbyterian church of Franklin in 1859, and is now a rul- ing elder in the Polk congregation. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and a firm adherent of the Democratic party.

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JOHN L. DUFFIELD, farmer, eldest son of James and Jane (Lindsay) Duf- field, was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, June 25, 1823. His father was a native of Westmoreland county, and a son of William Duffield, and his mother was born in Centre county, and a daughter of John Lindsay, one of the pioneers of French Creek township. Their children are as fol- lows: John L .; William, deceased; M. S .; Ellen, deceased; James; Charles, and Harvey. John L. Duffield was reared on the home place in French Creek township, and received his education in the common schools. He remained under the parental roof until twenty-three years of age, when he began farming for himself, and in 1868 purchased his present place a short distance south of Utica, where he has since resided. He was married April 7, 1846, to Miss Harriet E., daughter of James and Eliza Adams, a union blessed with nine children, six of whom are living, viz .: Montrose; Lavinia H .; Lewis C .; Annette, married to H. W. Wilson, of Nebraska; J. C., and Ernest L. The names of the deceased children are Albert W .; Lizzie J., and Cora C. Politically Mr. Duffield is a Democrat and cast his first ballot for James K. Polk for the presidency.

JOHN HANNA. - John Hanna and his wife Jane, whose maiden name was Stewart, were born in County Down, Ireland. They came to America in 1796, landing at New Castle, Delaware, and settling in Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, where they remained two years. From Lancaster they went to Lew- istown, Miffin county, Pennsylvania, and from thence the family arrived in Venango county December 25, 1802. They located on a tract of four hun- dred acres in French Creek township five miles west of Franklin. The place of their settlement is now known as "Hanna's gap." The country was then a wilderness, and John Hanna was one of the earliest pioneers. He had gained a knowledge of the weaver's trade in his native country, and soon after settling in French Creek township he engaged in the manufacture of carpets, and woolen and linen goods. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and took a deep interest in religious matters. Seven children were born to John and Jane Hanna: William; James; Stewart; John; Mary, who married John Gilmore; Jane, who became the wife of William Hays, and Nancy, who married Isaac Tallman-all of whom are dead. The par- ents both died in Venango county many years ago .- A. P. W.

THE GILLILAND FAMILY .- Among the pioneer families of French Creek township were the Gillilands, a name familiar throughout the county from its earliest settlement to the present time. The ancestry came from Ireland and settled in Pennsylvania, east of the mountains. James Gilliland came to Venango county in 1802, when a young man, and made a settlement on Little Sandy creek, about a mile north of Polk, where he resided until his death in 1860, at the age of eighty-six years. He is remembered as one of the leading citizens of the community in which he lived, was an earnest member of the Presbyterian church, and it was largely through his efforts

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and liberality that the congregation at Polk was organized and a house of worship erected. His wife, Margaret, was a daughter of James McClaran, one of the early settlers in the vicinity of Polk. She survived her husband seventeen years and died in 1877, aged eighty-four years. Five children were born to her: James; Mrs. Jane Billingsly; Mrs. Mary Hughes; Joseph, and A. C., the last two being the only survivors. By a previous marriage Mr. Gilliland was the father of two children: Hannah and Eliza, both deceased.

JOSEPH P. GILLILAND was born on the old homestead December 4, 1818, and there grew to manhood. He chose agriculture for his life's calling and began on the place where he now resides, about two miles northeast of Polk, in the year 1842. He has added to his original farm from time to time, and now owns two hundred and fifty acres of valuable land, the greater part of which is under a good state of cultivation. Mr. Gilliland has made farming and stock raising a business, and as an agriculturist ranks among the suc- cessful men of the township. He is a representative Democrat of the old school and takes pride in the fact that his first and last presidential ballots were cast in opposition to William Henry and Benjamin Harrison, respect- ively. He was married November 4, 1841, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac and Ellen (Cannon) Bunnell, natives of Ireland. Twelve children were born of this union: Lewis; Samuel I .; Ellen M .; Ursula J. ; John A .; Frances E .; Joseph P .; William B .; Daniel B .; Rankin S .; Ada B., and Robert L., all of whom are living except the eldest. Mrs. Gilliland died on the 5th day of July, 1888.

JOHN ADAMS, retired farmer, Polk, is the oldest member of the Adams family now living in Venango county, and is a son of Welden Adams, who settled in French Creek township in 1796. The latter was a son of James Adams, a native of eastern Pennsylvania, born October 30, 1734. James Adams was married April 26, 1756, to Isabel Welden, born September 22, 1736. They died in October, 1824, and in September, 1825, respectively, and were the parents of the following children: Joseph; Jacob; William; Jonathan; Jesse; David; Lydia; James; John; Isaac ;. Welden; Eli, and Levi.

Welden Adams was a man of some local prominence, served as county commissioner, and carried on a hotel in Franklin several years. He mar- ried Mary Miller, daughter of Thomas Miller, an early settler of the Kish- ocoquillas valley, Mifflin county, and reared a family of ten children: Mary, deceased; John, deceased; James, deceased; John (second); Lydia, deceased; Mrs. Rebecca McCutcheson; David, deceased; Thomas; Mrs. Elizabeth Best, and Isabel, deceased. Mr. Adams died May 9, 1849.

John Adams, fourth child of Welden and Mary Adams, was born in French Creek township, Venango county, February 2, 1807. He was reared on a farm, received his educational training in the schools of Frank- lin, and on attaining his majority located near the village of Polk. He sub- sequently purchased a farm in Sandy Creek township, where he resided

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until 1882, when he sold his place and retired from active life, purchasing a home in the borough of Polk. Politically Mr. Adams has always been a stanch Democrat; he cast his first presidential ballot in 1828 for Andrew Jackson, and his last for Grover Cleveland in 1888. He was elected sheriff of Venango county in 1850, and served one term. He has filled the office of justice of the peace for a number of years, and has always taken an active interest in the public affairs of his township and county. Mr. Adams was married May 2, 1833, to Miss Sarah Whann, daughter of Francis and Jane (Smith) Whann, who has borne him the following children: Mrs. Sarah Whitaker; Francis W .; William S .; John E., postmaster of Franklin, and Hannah M., deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Adams are members of the Method- ist Episcopal church, with which they have been identified for many years, Mr. Adams having been first class leader of Center church in Mineral township.

WILLIAM S. ADAMS, farmer, was born in French Creek township June 17, 1827, and is a son of James and Letitia Adams, natives of Venango county. James Adams was a son of Welden Adams, a farmer by occupa- tion, and held several positions of trust, among which were those of county commissioner and commissioner of the French Creek canal. He died in Illinois, to which state he removed a number of years ago. His wife, Letitia, was a daughter of James and Eleanor (McElheny) Cannon, and died in 1851. They were the parents of twelve children: William S .; James C. ; Mrs. Eleanor Griffith; Welden, deceased; John, deceased; Arnold P .; Mrs. Mary A. Murphy; Harvey H .; Mrs. Eliza J. Woods; Thomas; Charles B., and Mrs. Caroline M. Patrick.

William S. was reared on the old homestead in Sandy Creek township, attended the common schools at intervals until twenty-one years of age, and soon afterward purchased a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1877 he moved to his present farm of one hundred and seventy-seven acres on Mill creek, about two miles west of Utica, where he has since resided. Mr. Adams is a successful farmer and representative citizen of the community in which he lives. He was married April 23, 1850, to Martha, daughter of John and Mary (Foster) Martin, who bore him one son, William M., now a resident of Ashtabula, Ohio. Mrs. Adams died January 25, 1851, and he was again married March 18, 1852, to Martha, daughter of Wilson and Isabel (McMaster) Russell. Their children are as follows: Charles; Henrietta M., wife of Leander Cousins; James W., deceased; Caroline I., wife of W. H. Hulburt; Angeline, and one who died in infancy. They also have an adopted son, James P. Politically Mr. Adams has always been a stanch Democrat, and in religion a member of the Presbyterian church, to which faith his wife also adheres.

JAMES R. ADAMS, farmer, Utica, is a native of Venango county, Penn- sylvania, and son of James Adams, whose father, James Adams, Sr., was

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the first settler on the present site of Utica. James Adams, Jr., was reared in this county, was a farmer by occupation, in connection with which calling he carried on the manufacture of woolen goods at Utica for a number of years. His wife, Eliza, was the daughter of John McDonald, one of the pioneer settlers of Venango county in the vicinity of Franklin. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Elizabeth Duffield; Mrs. Mary McCracken; James R .; Mrs. Jane Williamson; John. and Rachel, the last three deceased. Mr. Adams died in August, 1880, aged eighty-five years, his widow surviving him nearly four years, and dying in January, 1884, having reached the same advanced age. James R. Adams was born June 1, 1836, and grew to manhood on the home place, within the present limits of Utica, which he still owns. His early educational advantages embraced the branches taught in the schools of Utica, and later he attended a select school at Salem, Ohio, and the Iron City Commercial College, Pittsburgh, where he completed a business course. He then accepted a position as book-keeper with the firm of Mason & Company, Pittsburgh, but soon severed his connection with this house for the purpose of making a tour of the southern and southwestern states. Returning to Venango county, he en- gaged in the oil business, but abandoned it a few months later, and in the fall of 1862 entered the army as first lieutenant of an independent company of infantry known as the Keystone Rifles, with which he served for a period of ten months. Before the expiration of his term of service he was elected captain of a volunteer company from the District of Columbia, but on ac- count of poor health was obliged to decline the promotion and returned to his home. For four or five years after quitting the service Mr. Adams operated a woolen factory in Utica, and in 1869 engaged in farming, which he still carries on. In connection with his farming interests he is engaged in the stock business, making a specialty of fine blooded horses. Mr. Adams was married July 3, 1864, to Miss Jane Pinkerton of Venango county, who died the following year, leaving one child, John E. On the 31st of Decem- ber, 1867, he was again married to Miss Sarah, daughter of William and Jane Gilmore, who has borne him the following children: Quinton, de. ceased; Harriet; Charles; Ralph, deceased; Edgar; Eliza J .; William, and Mabel L. In politics Mr. Adams was formerly a Republican, but of Jate years he has been a supporter of the Greenback party.

THOMAS NESBIT was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, April 19, 1835, son of John and Anna (Matthews) Nesbit, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Ireland. In 1842 they removed from Ohio to French Creek township, Venango county, Pennsylvania. John Nesbit died in Utica, whither the family had removed from the farm, in 1871, and his widow in 1875. Both were Presbyterians and died in that faith. Thomas came with his parents to Venango county, and has resided in Utica and vicinity during the past forty eight years. He received a good education, and began teach-

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ing at the age of seventeen, and continued teaching, clerking, and working on the home farm at intervals until after his majority. In 1857 Mr. Nesbit engaged in merchandising at Utica, and followed that business actively until 1875, and finally disposed of his interest in the store in 1885. For several years prior to the latter date he was interested in the Utica flouring mills, and is still connected with them, and also engaged in farming. Since 1880 he has been a stockholder in the Exchange Bank of Franklin, and vice-pres- ident of that institution for the past three years.

Mr. Nesbit has been twice married. His first wife, Mrs. Clara Nesbit nee Leasher, died in 1876, leaving two children: John and Clara. His second marriage was with Miss Effie Gallagher, who has borne him one daughter: Ethel. Politically he is a Democrat, and in religion a Presby- terian. Beginning in early manhood on a very small capital, Mr. Nesbit has gradually accumulated through the passing years a handsome compe- tency. He is recognized as one of the most safe, energetic, and substantial business men of his adopted county.

B. F. CRAIN, merchant, Utica, was born near Cooperstown, Venango county, December 3, 1835. His paternal ancestors were of Irish and Scotch descent, and among the early residents of Pennsylvania, members of the family locating in the eastern part of the state, a number of years before the opening of the present century. About 1800 William Crain, grand- father of B. F., settled not far from the present site of Cooperstown, Ve- nango county. A son, James Crain, father of the subject of this sketch, came to Venango county when three years old, and was an honored and respected resident of the same until his death in 1871. His wife, Julia (Snyder) Crain, was the daughter of Henry Snyder, who moved to Sugar creek valley, this county, from the eastern part of the state, as early as 1830. Mrs. Crain died about 1858. James and Julia Crain had a family of six children, of whom the following are living: B. F .; Lucy, wife of Charles Bowman; Hul- dah J., wife of Abram Argrave, and Amanda, wife of John G. VanOrman.

B. F. Crain was reared in this county, and in the common schools re- ceived a practical English education. He began life for himself as a farmer and after following this calling in Venango county until 1868 emigrated to Iowa, locating near Ottumwa, Wapello county, where he resided three years. On his return to Venango county in the fall of 1870, he took service with . Thomas Nesbit in the mercantile business at Utica, and four years later opened a store of his own, making the hardware trade a specialty. Subse- · quently he added boots, shoes, and groceries to his stock, and took in his son, Thomas Crain, as partner. The firm thus constituted still continues, being one of the most substantial and well-known business houses of Utica. He entered the army in September, 1864, as a member of Company I, Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry, with which he served until honorably dis- charged on the 2nd of July, 1865. During his period of service he was with

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his command in several campaigns in Virginia, and participated in a number of battles, among which were Hatcher's Run, Stony Creek, High Hill Bridge, and was present at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. After the surrender his command returned to Petersburg, Virginia, and from that time until mustered out did patrol duty at Lynchburg. Mr. Crain was married February 8, 1866, to Miss Mary E., daughter of John Nesbit, of Venango county. Mr. and Mrs. Crain have two children: Thomas S. and Ethel Grace. Mr. Crain was formerly a Republican, but of late years has been identified with the Prohibition party. He is an active member of the Pres- byterian church, as is also his wife, both belonging to the Utica congre- gation.

S. O. STEVENSON, merchant and miller, Utica, was born in Mercer, Penn- sylvania, March 16, 1840, and is a son of Thomas and Sarah (Devore) Stevenson, natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania. His paternal an- cestors came from Scotland and were among the early settlers of Virginia, in which state his grandfather, William Stevenson, was living at the time of the Revolutionary war. William Stevenson was an ardent patriot during that struggle, and served under Washington. Shortly after the close of the war he removed to Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he died about 1850. Thomas Stevenson, father of S. O., was born in Washington county, and was a merchant by occupation. He carried on a successful business for some years in the city of Pittsburgh, and later operated a large store in Mer- cer, where he died about 1847. His wife, Sarah Stevenson, was the daugh- ter of S. Devore, whose ancestors were among the pioneers of Washington county, and were of French ancestry. Mrs. Stevenson died in Franklin, Pennsylvania. The following are the names of their children: Margaret, wife of William Hanna; S. O .; William, and Mary, the last two deceased. S. O. Stevenson spent his early years in Mercer, Franklin, and Meadville, in tbe schools of which he received his early educational training. While still young he accepted a clerkship in a mercantile house at Meadville, and after three years spent in that city was similiarly employed in other places until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when he entered the army as a private in the First West Virginia Cavalry, and served with his command in many of the bloodiest battles of the war, including Winchester, second battle of Bull Run, Gettysburg, Cedar Mountain, Port Royal, Fisher's Hill, Blue Gap, Cedar Creek, and numerous other engagements, in all about sixty. His term of service extended over three years, during which time be never lost a day from duty, and although in the thickest of the many battles in which his command participated never received a wound or injury of any descrip- tion. After his discharge in the fall of 1864, he returned to Pennsylvania, and for about one year thereafter clerked in the store of Devore & Nesbit, at Utica. He subsequently effected a copartnership in the business with Mr. Nesbit, and the firm thus formed still continues, and is one of the sub-

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History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including, Part 103

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co. Number of Pages: 1323

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868-
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co.
Number of Pages: 1323