USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 59
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The Presbyterian Church of Polk was formally organized on the 5th of
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FRENCH CREEK TOWNSHIP.
March, 1854, from members of Franklin and Mill Creek congregations, among whom were the following: John Dewoody, Margaret Dewoody, May Dewoody, Robert Condit, Margaret Condit, and Elizabeth Anderson. Rev- erends Coulter, Condit, and Newell preached for the church as supplies until July, 1868, when Reverend M. M. Shirley took charge of the congre- gation. He was installed pastor in 1873 and continued to exercise the func- tions of that position until his death, after which Reverend Verner became pastor. His successor was Reverend W. T. Garroway, the present incum- bent. It is but proper to state in this connection that the church is largely indebted for its existence and prosperity to the efforts of the late James Gilliland, by whose generous donations the present house of worship was erected. The building is frame, forty by forty-five feet in size, and was formally dedicated in the year 1858. Since its organization the following persons have served the church as elders, viz., James Gilliland, David Run- ninger, James Hays, John G. Duffield, Alexander Billingsly, Joshua Sny- der, and Thomas M. Law.
CEMETERIES.
One of the oldest places of burial in French Creek township is the Lind- say graveyard, on Mill creek, a place of interment for the Lindsays and a few other families. Beneath the somber shades of this old cemetery, long since abandoned as a burying ground, and overgrown with a dense mass of weeds and shrubbery, repose the ashes of some of the first pioneers of French Creek. John Lindsay was buried here as long ago as 1804, but there were interments several years prior to that date of persons whose names have long since been forgotten.
The Mill Creek cemetery, two miles west of Utica on Mill creek, was ' set aside for burial purposes in the year 1800. One of the first (if not the first) person laid to rest in this old burying ground was Margaret Cooper, daughter of Samuel Cooper, whose death occurred on the 28th of Septem- ber, of the above year. Samuel, son of John and Mary Gordon, was buried near the Cooper grave in October, 1802, and the body of John Gordon, Jr., son of the same parents, was lowered to its last resting place in July, 1807. William Cooper was buried here in the year 1806, and among other early , burials were those of Mrs. Mary Gordon and several members of the Cooper and McCracken families, whose graves are marked by appropriate epitaphs carved in moss-covered sandstone slabs. The borders of the bury- ing ground have recently been enlarged and a cemetery association formed. It is the principal place of interment for a large area of country and around it cluster memories of the great majority of French Creek's earliest pio- neers. There is a cemetery connected with the Reynolds church in the western part of the township, but not so old as the ones described.
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
SCHOOLS.
Hand in hand with the church, and scarcely less effectual in its civilizing and elevating influences upon the pioneer communities of French Creek, was the school. The necessity of a rudimentary education was early recognized and appreciated; and as soon as convenient subscription schools were established in the different neighborhoods and well patronized. In all probability the first school in the township was taught as early as the year 1801-2, by James Lowrie, who used for the purpose a small log building which stood on Mill creek, a short distance above Utica.
The second building for school purposes was erected about the year 1803. It stood about three-quarters of a mile above Utica, on French creek, and within its walls James Gilliland, father of Joseph and A. C. Gilliland, wielded the birch in the winter of 1803-4. James Taylor taught a term in a little log house near "Hanna's Gap," as early as 1810, and several years later Samuel Hood taught in the same locality, though not in the same building. A. P. Whitaker, editor of the Venango Spectator, was one of the pedagogues in the same neighborhood in later years. A school was taught in an abandoned dwelling on the Gilliland farm two miles north- east of Waterloo in an early day by a Miss Nash, who is remembered as a very good teacher for that time. A round log house was erected in the same neighborhood a little later, and for two years the children living with- in a radius of two miles of the same were instructed in the mysteries of the alphabet, spelling book, writing, and arithmetic to the "rule of three," by Misses Alice Cummings and Sarah Whann.
James Paden in an early day taught a term of school in an abandoned dwelling which stood on the Runninger farm, and about the same time Lacy Cochran taught for several months in a vacant dwelling on the Simcox place. A log school house was erected in the same neighborhood some time afterward, and the first school in the same was taught by Susan Oliver. There was also an early school building on the Major McClelland place, about three miles from Polk, but of the teachers nothing definite was learned.
As early as 1837 or '38, Miss Anna Moore taught a term in the house of John Martin, on the Heydrick farm, and a year or two later Miss Delia Hammond was employed to teach in the same place. Subsequently a log building was erected in the neighborhood on land now owned by John Lesher. Robert Stout, William Gordon, and James M. Daily were among the early pedagogues in this building.
The first school patronized by the residents of Utica was taught in a small log building which stood near the present site of the United Presby- terian church. It was erected as early as 1831 and was first used by James Scott, who is remembered as a scholarly man and an excellent teacher for that time. Among the various teachers who came after Mr. Scott the fol
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FRENCH CREEK TOWNSHIP.
lowing are recalled, viz. : Daniel Stephens, William Gordon, William Wright, Edward Hughes, Esther Clough, William Hutchinson, W. W. Whitley, and Allen McCracken.
The old log building was destroyed by fire some time in the forties and immediately thereafter a small frame building was erected near the mouth of Mill creek, in which the following pedagogues wielded the birch at different times, namely, J. L. Hanna, Bowman Glenn, James Heydrick, Mr. Lord, Mary J. Coulter, C. W. Gilfillan, and others.
In course of time this building was found to be entirely too small to accommodate the school population of the village, and accordingly a move- ment to erect a house of enlarged dimensions was inaugurated about the year 1854. This was started as a private enterprise, known as the Utica Academy and Lecture Room Company, the object being to erect a building in which not only the common school could be taught, but also a school for the advancement of the higher branches of learning. The building, a two-story frame structure, was erected in 1855 and the same year a private school was duly organized by C. W. Gilfillan, who taught for a time. The next teacher was Professor Bell, who with his wife, also an experienced teacher, established a school for instruction in the higher grades which was quite well patronized. Professor Bennett was the next teacher.
In the meantime the United Presbyterian church secured the use of a part of the building for church purposes which was completed by the con- gregation for a lien upon the property. In the year 1865 the school di- rectors purchased the church's interest in the building, obtained possession of the property, and converted it into a public school which still went by the name of the Utica Academy. It was used until the winter of 1886, when the entire structure was consumed by fire, entailing a heavy loss upon the borough. The present building, a large two-story frame structure con- taining four commodious rooms, was erected the same year at a cost of three thousand two hundred dollars.
The first school building within the present limits of Polk was a small plank structure erected near where the present building stands as early as the year 1829. It was used about thirty years and then replaced by a frame house which stood until the erection of the present brick building in 1868. Among the early teachers in the village the following names are recalled: Isaac Bunnell, Benjamin Hall, A. White, Wilson Walker, James Daily, and Robert Montgomery.
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
CHAPTER XXX.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP.
ORGANIZATION AND POPULATION-PIONEERS-EARLY INDUSTRIES-VILLAGES -CHURCHES-SCHOOLS.
A S originally defined in 1806, the boundaries of Richland included much more than its present area, to which it was reduced in 1839 by the erection of Clarion county. It is one of the smaller subdivisions of Venango county. Rockland adjoins on the west and north and the Alle- gheny river on the west. The surface is much diversified and well watered. The population in 1870 was one thousand and twenty-three; in 1880, one thousand two hundred and twenty-one.
PIONEERS.
The earliest settled portion of the township was the region about the mouth of Ritchey's run. This stream derives its name from the Ritchey family, of which the first representative here was James Ritchey; he was from Westmoreland county and the date of his settlement here is placed as early as 1796. He located on the Clarion county side of Ritchey's run a mile and a half from its mouth. The maiden name of his wife was Jane Kennedy and she was the mother of thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters. Of the descendants who once lived in Richland, James Ritchey was elected county commissioner in 1857 and was the only member of the family who held a county office. The property now owned by his heirs was the original home of his father, Alexander Ritchey.
Other early settlers in the southern part of the township were Johnson McGinnis, Moses Porter, Andrew Porter, Samuel Stewart, and one Carr, whose surname has been forgotten. He was merely a squatter and made the first improvements on what was known as the Duncan tract, owned by non-residents. McGinnis located on the farm now owned by Thomas Bailey. He reared a large family and has numerous descendants in Scrub- grass township. Moses Porter lived where Joseph Porter now lives and Andrew Porter near Mariasville. Samuel Stewart first improved what is called the Knauss farm. Along the bank of the river John Kerr made an improvement at a very early date upon the site of Emlenton.
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RICHLAND TOWNSHIP.
The pioneers of the region about Nickleville were James Say, John Don- aldson, John Bell, William Nickle, William Adams, Daniel O' Neil, Samuel Huston, Alexander Sullinger, James Downing, William Davidson, John Levier, James Levier, John McDonald, Henry Mays, Andrew Weaver, George Myers, Robert Criswell, Washington Mays, Abraham Persing, Abra- ham, William, Jacob, Isaac, and James Karns. James Say was the son of David Say, who settled in Scrubgrass in 1796. John Donaldson was the son of Andrew Donaldson of Cumberland county, who settled on Slippery Rock creek in Butler county, and from that place his son removed to Rock- land township in 1815. There he settled the farm owned by Levi Nickle. In 1822 he came into Richland, where he purchased three hundred and fifty acres of what was known as the college lands. When he came here he had a family of five children. He sold half of his purchase to John Bell, who was from Butler county. His brother George came out first and made a small clearing, and in the following year John Bell removed with his fam- ily. This property is owned by his son, George Bell. Other purchasers of the college lands, which comprised twelve hundred acres and were sold by the county commissioners, were William Adams, Samuel Huston, Alex- ander Sullinger, and James Say. William Nickle was from the North of Ireland, and first settled in one of the eastern counties of Pennsylvania, In 1821 he went to Clarion county, where he was engaged at the furnaces. In 1824 he came into Richland and made the first improvement where John Persing lives, and in 1828 he removed to the vicinity of Nickleville. There he purchased the improvements made by John Downing. John Levier, born in Butler county in 1799, of French parentage, came into this town- ship in 1827 and located where D. B. Levier, his son, now resides. James Levier, his brother, who was born in 1796 and died in 1887, followed him in the following year. There were two new arrivals in 1831 in this neigh- borhood, George Gardner and Abraham Persing. The former was from the Kishocoquillas valley, Mifflin county, and had purchased the property of James Say the previous year. Persing was from Union county.
EARLY INDUSTRIES.
The earliest mill was built by Henry Myers. It was constructed of un- hewn logs and had a large stone chimney, the topmost stone bearing the date 1828. It is the natural inference that this was the date of erection. The mill was owned and operated by G. Washington Mays, a son-in-law of Myers. From him the property passed to Andrew Spinogle and John Goodman from Lancaster county, by whom the present mill was built. Louis A. Giering was the next proprietor, and the mill is now owned by his heirs.
William Adams, a tanner by trade, came into Richland in 1828, and established a tannery within a short time thereafter on the farm that
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
John Persing now owns. It was equipped with vats and a bark mill, but the proprietor did most of his work for a share of the product, receiving hides from the farmers and tanning them for half the leather. Robert Hewey operated this establishment for a time. Stephen Arnold also had a tan- nery on the farm of Leslie Adams. John Owens bought this property and conducted the business many years.
James F. Agnew established the first carding mill, on Ritchey's run, two miles from its mouth. At the time of his death, August 21, 1878, he had been postmaster here more than fifty years, and was probably the oldest postmaster in point of service in the United States. The place was known as Agnew's Mills.
Of distilleries there were two-William Karns' near Disler's Corners, and John Mulligan's. The latter was first located half a mile above Gier- ing's mill and afterward removed to a point the same distance east of Keefer's Factory on the road leading from that place to the Emlenton road. At the period when the only way of disposing of grain was to eat or drink it, the distillery was scarcely less useful than the grist mill.
Stapley furnace was the scene of an active industry some years ago. It was built by Charles and Richard Shippen on Mill creek five or six miles distant from the river and was so named in honor of a connection of the Shippen family. The cupola, warehouse and store rooms, and houses once occupied by the operatives are still standing, but have long since fallen into decay.
VILLAGES.
Nickleville is situated at the intersection of the Rockland and old Frank- lin roads, the latter being the earliest road opened through this section. A fifth road leads to Richland church. The village was laid out by William Nickle, Jr., son of the pioneer of that name. He was justice of the peace . many years and opened the first store. He was also first postmaster. At present there is one store, a hotel, blacksmith shop, and a population of per- haps fifty. The only industrial feature, and one exceptional in a village of this size, is the pottery of Samuel Jones, established in 1873.
Mariasville was so named in honor of the wife of Benjamin X. Junkin, magistrate of Richland township before its division and the owner of that part of the village that lies in Clarion county. It appears that Jacob Shirey was the original owner in Venango. In 1844 Joseph Schmidt, a native German, bought eight acres from Shirey and cleared it for farming pur- poses. In the meantime Emanuel Widle had made an improvement on the corner opposite Laughner's store, and Elias Widle established a foundry across the line in Clarion county. This was continued only a few years. M. O. Laughner was the first postmaster of the village and his immediate successor was the present incumbent, Levi Grimm.
Keefer's Factory, a post-village under the name of Porterfield and known
585
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP.
also as Santa Fé, has been for many years the leading industrial point in the township. An account of Giering's mill has been given. David Shaw established a carding and fulling mill here in 1846. Good Intent Woolen Mills were built in 1856 by W. L. Keefer, and comprise a three-story frame building thirty feet by sixty feet with engines of twelve-horse power and one set of cards. At one time ten or twelve thousand pounds of wool were manufactured annually into cloth, but of recent years this branch of the business has been entirely discontinued and exclusive attention given to yarns for country trade. The postoffice was established in 1867 with W. L. Keefer as postmaster.
CHURCHES.
Valley Church of the Evangelical Association is probably the oldest in the township. It was organized in 1834 or 1835, at the Weaver school house by Reverend Solomon Altamouse. The first leader was Samuel Weaver, and the first members were Joseph and Sallie Weaver, Andrew and Catherine Weaver, Thomas Weaver, and Samuel Weaver. The Starr, Bushey, and Mitchell families united with the organization soon afterward. The first church edifice was built about 1840 on ground given by Andrew Weaver. Many of the early members are buried at this place. The second church building was erected in 1865. David Weaver donated the ground upon which it stood. This was removed in 1889, and replaced by the pres- ent frame structure. Reverend J. Esch is the present pastor.
Zion Church of the Evangelical Association was organized at the house of Samuel King. Among the members of the first class were Jonas Gilger, Samuel King, David Dutt, Abraham Biery, Samuel Luntz, and Samuel Dreibelbis. Services were held at King's house and at Salem until 1844, when a frame church was built, an acre of ground having been given for that purpose by Samuel Dreibelbis. The present place of worship was erected in 1875 and dedicated February 21, 1876. Adam King, Nicholas Gilger, Emanuel Shirey, and John Martz composed the building committee and Reverend G. W. Cupp was pastor. Reverend J. Esch is the present incumbent. The first Sunday school superintendent was Abraham Mull. The present burying ground was given in 1850 by Joseph Disler and David Martz.
Academia Presbyterian Church .- Richland church, organized in 1823, included the Presbyterian element that formed this body prior to its organi- zation, which occurred August 2, 1856, with the following members: Samuel and Mary Huston, William and Martha Davidson, William and Elizabeth Nickle, James and Elsie Say, John Bell, Robert and Hannah Criswell, Robert Hewey, David and Esther Say, Nathaniel and Mary McFeeter, Alexander and Jane Sullinger, Sophia and Jane Campbell, William and Sarah Platt, Laura Downing, Elizabeth Beels, Mary Beels, Margaret Owen, Rachel Rumbarger,
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Jane Grant, James and Mary Clark, Elizabeth McDonald, Daniel Nickle, Sophia and Sarah Gardner, John and Nancy Donaldson, Jane, Mary, Han- nah, and Margaret Nickle, and Elizabeth Bell, Jr. The first elders were Samuel Huston and William Davidson. Years before this Reverend Robert McGarrugh from Lawrenceburg, Clarion county, had preached in this vicin- ity, in the barn of George Gardner, the school house, and elsewhere. The succession of regular pastors has been as follows: William McMichaels, S. P. Kinkaid, M. M. Shirley, Andrew Virtue, J. C. Hench, S. P. Dillon, and A. S. Elliott. The church edifice at Nickleville was built in 1850. The building committee consisted of T. K. Gardner, Alexander Sullinger, and Robert Criswell.
Mt. Pleasant Church, Church of God, was organized August 23, 1888, at a camp meeting in Rockland, when the first elder, Samuel Gilger was ordained. A church building erected in 1856 by the Methodists, was pur- chased in 1888.
SCHOOLS.
The first school in Richland township was taught in 1824 by Samuel Stroup, and one of his early successors was Charles McClatchey. This house was on the Donaldson farm, and as a work of architecture challenges ad- miration. The dimensions were about twelve and fourteen feet; the walls were built of unhewn logs; clapboards kept in place by weight poles formed the roof; huge logs were burned in a large open fire-place, while the smoke found exit through a wooden chimney; light was admitted by a long and narrow opening between the logs; the door was formed of a single chestnut puncheon and swung on wooden hinges. The Huston school house was built in 1830, where the roads to Emlenton and Red Valley diverge. Stephen Arnold and John Gilliland were the first teachers. The Swamp school, since known as Maple Hollow, was also one of the earliest, and Hannah Nickle taught here. Mrs. Andrew Porter is remembered as the teacher in a building owned by James Agnew at an early date. The first house for school purposes in that part of the township was built on land given for the pur- pose by Joseph Fox.
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587
CHERRY TREE TOWNSHIP.
CHAPTER XXXI.
CHERRY TREE TOWNSHIP.
ORGANIZATION - STREAMS - POPULATION - PIONEERS-EARLY INDUSTRIES- VILLAGES-THE FIRST OIL WELL-THE BENNINGHOFF ROB- BERY-SCHOOLS-CHURCHES-CEMETERIES.
C CHERRY TREE occupies a nearly central position on the northern line of Venango county. On the east it is separated from Oil Creek town- ship by the stream of that name; Cornplanter and Oakland adjoin on the south and Plum on the west. The area has not been materially reduced since the original division of the county into townships in 1806. As part of the proceedings of that date, however, Cherry Tree and Plum were united under one administration, and not separately organized until 1817.
The two principal streams of northern Venango county, Sugar creek and Oil creek, drain the whole of Cherry Tree. Little Sugar creek flows through the northwestern part of its territory; Cherry Tree run, a branch of Oil creek, has its sources in the central and southern parts, and numerous smaller streams contribute to the volume of the latter after rapid but uneventful courses through the hills on the east.
The population in 1850 was nine hundred and thirty; in 1870, two thousand three hundred and twenty-six; in 1880, one thousand six hun- dred and eighteen.
PIONEERS.
The first permanent settler of Cherry Tree was William Reynolds. An Englishman by birth, he came to America with his son John and upon their arrival at New York they were promptly met by land agents, among whom were the representatives of the Holland Company. The representations of the latter induced them to make a journey to northwestern Pennsylvania. Here they secured a four hundred acre tract on Cherry Tree run, embracing the site of the village and church of that name. This was in 1797. In the following year the father went to Philadelphia to meet the rest of his fam- ily and conduct them to their new home west of the Allegheny mountains. They are remembered as people of worth and respectability. The father was a Baptist in faith but extended his hospitality to the ministers of all denominations. In politics he was Democratic. There were four sons:
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
John, William, Joshua, and Edward A., and five daughters. Edward A. held a commission as brigade inspector in the local militia.
There were two arrivals in 1798, James Tuthill and John Strawbridge. The former was from the eastern part of the state and first located on the Irwin farm on the Oil creek road, where he owned a four hundred acre tract. He reared a large family, but none of the name are residents of that locality at this time. Strawbridge was from the upper Susquehanna valley, prob- ably the vicinity of Williamsport. He formed his first acquaintance with western Pennsylvania as assistant to a surveyor and was thus employed in the neighborhood of Meadville when that city consisted of but two houses. In 1797 he purchased four hundred acres of land in Crawford county, and having sold this to James and Daniel McCombs, he secured two hundred and thirty-seven acres in Cherry Tree on the road leading from Cherry Tree village to Breedtown. He married Elizabeth Lucas, sister-in-law of Francis Buchanan, a pioneer of Oil creek in Cornplanter. They reared ten children, six sons and four daughters. Two of the former, William and Joseph, are among the oldest citizens of the county. John Strawbridge was a soldier in the war of 1812. In politics he was a Democrat.
The Irwins of Cherry Tree were a prominent and influential family, not only in the township but throughout the county. The family traces its descent to David Irwin of County Armagh, Ireland, who married Margaret Berry in 1725 and reared a family of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. Six of the sons immigrated to America. It is from Richard, who was born in 1740 and married Ann Steele at New London, Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1764, that the family in this county is descended. Afterward he removed to White Deer township, Union county, then North- umberland, where he was one of the members of a committee of safety formed for the protection of the Buffalo valley in 1778, and resided until his death in 1809. Four of his sons settled in Cherry Tree at the beginning of the century-Samuel, John, James, and Ninian; and a fifth, Richard, followed some years later.
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