USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 70
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The Small family was early represented. The first to locate here, Samuel Small, was a carpenter by trade, who was born in Ireland, settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and removed to Venango in 1811, with his wife and children, of whom two were sons, Samuel H. and Moses, and two daughters, Mary and Jane. The latter removed to the west, but the former remained upon the paternal tract of three hundred and seventy-five acres.
The Crain family were once a numerous connection. Their progenitor in this township was William Crain, from eastern Pennsylvania, who had five sons: George, William, James, John, and Charles. A number of the family are buried at Sugar Creek churchyard.
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William McIntosh, a soldier of the war of 1812, settled on Sugar creek, above Cooperstown, at an early date, where he operated a distillery and grist mill. Two living children, A. J. and Mrs. Millicent Green, are resi- dents of Plum township.
John Bleakley, Sr., died at his residence, in Jackson township, Septem- ber 11, 1869. Born in Murphy parish, County Tyrone, Ireland, October 23, 1788, he immigrated to America in June, 1819. At the time of his departure from Murphy parish all its inhabitants, with a single exception, bore the name of Bleakley.
John Gibbon was one of the earliest settlers on the Lake branch of Sugar creek.
BOROUGH OF COOPERSTOWN.
The confluence of three principal branches of Sugar creek occurs about four miles from its mouth and very near the geographical center of Jackson township. In a rolling country such as this the courses of the roads usually coincide with the streams, and as a consequence the highways of this part of the county converge toward this point. The growth of a town here is the natural result of its advantageous location, aided by the energy and enter- prise of its citizens.
William Cooper, from whom the town derives its name, was a veteran of the Revolution, and in the allotment of lands in the sixth donation dis- trict, secured the tract upon which Cooperstown is situated. He was from one of the eastern counties of Pennsylvania and probably located here in 1797. He had five sons: Samuel, William, John, Philson, and James; and one daughter, Jane, the wife of Robert Mason. James kept store, but re- moved to Iowa early in the forties; John was a hatter by trade and William a blacksmith. William, Sr., was born in 1747 and died February 1, 1813, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. Rachel, his wife, died May 16, 1821, in her sixty-seventh year. Both are buried in the Methodist churchyard at Cooperstown.
The first person outside of the Cooper family to locate here was Robert Bradley. He came to the county with his father's family in 1816, and set- tled at Cooperstown in 1824. He was a millwright by trade. He served one term as county commissioner and was justice of the peace many years. He died March 23, 1872, at the age of seventy-six.
James Kingsley, a cloth dresser by trade, was born at Fort Ann, New York. At Centerville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, he married Louisa, daughter of Joseph Patton, the founder of that town, and in March, 1827, removed to Cooperstown, where he established one of the first cloth dressing establishments in the county.
Edward Sweeny was another of the prominent citizens of the borough during its early history and until his death. He was born and reared in Ireland. It was the intention of his parents to educate him for the priest-
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
hood, and with this object he attended the Roman Catholic College of May- nooth, Dublin. His plans did not harmonize with the wishes of his parents, however, and before completing his studies he left the college and embarked for America. Having arrived at Philadelphia he secured employment as a bookkeeper. He had friends at Murrinsville, Butler county, and made his way thither, where he was similarly employed for a short time. He then ob- tained a position in the office of the furnace company at Oil Creek, and while thus engaged purchased a farm near Cooperstown, the present resi- dence of his son. He removed thereon in 1828. He was justice of the peace thirty-five years and frequently served as school director. He was almost invariably called upon to execute legal documents and enjoyed to a remark- able degree the confidence of the community, of which, being a man of more than ordinary intelligence and erudition, he was a useful member. Po- litically he was a Democrat.
The population increased slowly, but the place gradually assumed the proportions of a small village. In 1837 the inhabitants were distributed as follows: Robert Mason, son of James Mason, a pioneer of Oakland town- ship, and son-in-law of William Cooper, Sr., lived in a house on the Frank- lin road and at the confines of the town in that direction. He was a farmer and miller and took charge of Cooper's mill after the death of Mrs. Rachel Cooper. .
The next house above Mason was a frame building erected by Alexander McCalmont in which the first store of the place was opened under the man- agement of William W. Shaw. James Cooper succeeded to the business and was in charge in 1837. He removed to Iowa early in the following decade.
The third house in order from Mason's was the present residence of Robert Crawford. It was built by John McKinzie, a son of Angus McKin- zie, of Sugar Creek township, who kept the first hotel of the place there. John Kelly, a retired farmer from Centre county, purchased it in 1837.
John Cooper, a hatter by trade, lived in a frame building on the same side of Sugar creek and did a fair business.
William Cooper, his brother, was a blacksmith, and lived near the resi- dence of Joseph Hillier. He removed to Erie county in 1837 and sold his property to David W. S. Cook, from Centre county, who purchased several mills and at once became a man of local prominence. These were all the families living on the east side of the creek at that date.
James Cook, brother to David W. S., had a tannery on the south side of Factory street near the creek and bridge and a dwelling house on the same lot. He was born at Spring Mills, Centre county, January 11, 1798, and died February 26, 1878.
Proceeding up Franklin street the first house was the dwelling and store of William W. Shaw, which is still occupied.
The next was Robert Bradley's residence, in the rear of Bradley's store
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building. In partnership with John Fetterman he bought Shaw's store and was engaged in business many years. They dealt largely in live stock.
On the same side of Franklin street opposite the academy James Kings- ley had built a large frame building, afterward used as an hotel.
James Foster owned two small houses on the east side of Franklin street, in one of which he lived, while the other was occupied by William Perrine.
Edward Sweeny lived near the present residence of his son.
Joseph Hillier lived in part of the factory building, and there were a number of tenements in that vicinity.
Doctor James Williams, a Baptist minister, resided on the west bank of the creek below the bridge. He was also interested in various business en- terprises in addition to his professional and clerical duties.
About this time an effort was made by Doctor S. Bates and others to give to the town the name of Pekin. Although it is so referred to in several legal notices, the name never acquired popular significance.
Industries. - The industries of the town and surrounding country have been an important factor in its growth and prosperity. The mills for grind- ing flour and sawing lumber were among the earliest in the county. Will- iam Cooper's grist mill was the first on Sugar creek, and was built early in the present century. It was situated on the east side of the creek just above the bridge, where a depression in the surface indicates the course of the mill race. This was originally a small one-story building equipped with very primitive and meager apparatus, for which improved machinery was afterward substituted. After Mr. Cooper's death his widow, Mrs. Rachel Cooper, assumed charge of the property, performing the work about the mill herself until relieved by her son-in-law, Robert Mason, who had charge of the business many years.
The Fetterman mill, two miles above Cooperstown, was built by John Fetterman. It was subsequently owned by Jacob Geist, Arnold Plumer, and Doctor Robert Crawford, and still later by Samuel McAlevy, afterward sheriff of Venango county.
Rich, Booth & Hillier built a grist mill at Cooperstown in 1846-47, which is still in operation. At the lower bridge, a mile and a half from Cooperstown- Robison built a mill which was owned for a time by David W. S. Cook. John McKinzie built a mill on the Lake branch early in the forties, and operated it until about seven years since, when it was destroyed by fire. A saw mill on the same stream was owned and operated by Alex- ander Wilson, and performed valuable service in clearing the timber of that region. Mr. Wilson also had a store and postoffice; the latter was known as Wilson's Mills but has been discontinued at this point.
There were two distilleries in the vicinity of Cooperstown at an early date. That of James and Alexander Gordon was on the farm of Doctor Robert Crawford. A similar establishment, also above Cooperstown in the valley of the creek, was operated by William McIntosh.
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
The tannery of James Cook was situated near the creek below the bridge. It was equipped with vats and a bark mill, and ranked with the most com- plete establishments of its kind in the county. A large business was trans- acted here.
At the time when timber was practically of no commercial value, and the usual method of disposing of it was to roll the logs together in great heaps and burn them, the manufacture of saleratus, alkali, and potash from the ashes thus produced in such abundance was a profitable industry. There were two asheries in operation in Jackson township. That at Cooperstown was built by Rushmore Brothers, but passed into the hands of James Cooper shortly afterward. The other was situated a mile and a quarter up the Lake branch, and was established by one Gilman.
The Cooperstown woolen mills were the first of any magnitude estab- lished in this county. The original projector was John Rich, of Chatham's run near Jersey Shore, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where he also owned and operated a woolen mill. In 1834 he visited this locality, secured the location for a mill site, and arranged for the erection of a factory building. In the following year the mill was placed in operation by Joseph Hillier. The business has been successively conducted by Rich, Booth & Hillier, Booth & Hillier, and S. B. Hillier. The plant consists of a frame build- ing sixty feet long and two stories high equipped with all the necessary appliances of a full one-set mill. The ledgers of fifty years ago are still preserved, and reveal many curious incidents. There is an account with Hamilton Mcclintock and others on Oil creek, extending through a series of years, and showing large purchases of oil at prices ranging from fifty cents to one dollar a gallon.
The iron industry attained considerable proportions about the year 1850. There were four furnaces in operation within a radius of four miles of Cooperstown: Liberty, Texas, Union, and Valley, the latter, however, in Sugar Creek township. Texas furnace was built and operated by James Porter from Indiana county. McCalmont & Bush were lessees for a time. It had a capacity of ten or fifteen tons per day. Motive power for the blast was derived from Sugar creek; ore was received at different banks in the neighborhood, and charcoal was obtained without difficulty from the surrounding forests. Liberty furnace, four miles west of Cooperstown on Trout run, was built by Reynolds, Lowrie & Company, and Union furnace, a mile above that borough on the east side of Sugar creek, by Geist & Williams, who afterward sold the plant to Hughes & Benn, the last pro- prietors. There was also a foundry at Cooperstown where stoves, plow irons, etc., were made. Kraemer & Company were proprietors.
The Roll carding mill was built in 1849 by James Kingsley and operated more than forty years by himself and his family. The buildings and fran- chise have been acquired by A. P. Miles, who has established a planing mill.
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This, with J. G. Wagner's flour mill and the woolen mill referred to, con- stitute the only industries of importance in the borough. A creamery was built by a local company in 1888 but burned in August of the following year, and has not been rebuilt.
Oil Developments .- On the 6th of September, 1860, in removing a frag- ment of steel from their well in Cooperstown, Messrs. Booth & Hillier struck oil at a depth of two hundred and eighty feet. This was the first discovery in that part of the county. A light production has been obtained several miles to the north.
Secret and Other Societies .- A number of organizations of this charac- ter are sustained. Cooperstown Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, organized March 30, 1874, with thirty members, was the first in Venango county. The first officers were T. S. Strohecker, M .; Edward Samuel, O .; W. H. Shaw, L .; Thomas Rodgers, S .; J. G. Bradley, A. S., and W. S. Strohecker.
Company E., Sixteenth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania, known under the local name of Cooperstown Guards, was organized October 1, 1872, with James S. Gates, captain; R. E. Van Naten, first lieutenant; Dan- iel Jones, second lieutenant, and a full complement of men. Captain Gates resigned in August, 1878, and was succeeded by R. E. Van Naten, but in 1880 he resumed his former position, retiring in May, 1885, in favor of Leonard L. Ray, present captain.
Cooperstown Lodge, No. 130, A. O. U. W., was instituted March 1, 1878. The first officers were R. S. Haslet, P. M. W .; F. M. Allison, M. W .; L. L. Ray, G. F .; Thomas Minium, O .; Thomas L. Shirley, R., and Charles Keas, receiver.
Venus Union, No. 495, E. A. U., was organized October 26, 1882, with J. M. Dille, chancellor; Nelson Wilcox, advocate; J. A. Wood, president; Mrs. N. Wilcox, secretary; L. W. Ranney, accountant, and Washington Karns, treasurer.
Albert H. Jackson Post, No. 299, G. A. R., was mustered in January 9, 1883, with the following comrades as members: T. S. Strohecker, A. M. Beaty, A. Frazier, H. W. Hoffman, R. Blanchard, W. H. Slonaker, G. N. Crodle, John Gurney, Daniel Jones, J. S. Gates, Nicholas Ribb, J. B. Galbraith, Jonathan Wygant, R. I. McClellan, David Ray, Joseph Mason, R. W. Da- vison, W. G. Hale, George Boughman, L. Shields, John Jackson, R. B. Rodgers, J. F. Davison, James Mitchell, H. A. Rifenberg, James K. Hays, L. E. McFadden, John Wygant, George Ghearing, J. Boals, Jr., J. D. Sny- der, A. W. Robertson, S. S. Stearns, P. Hindman, S. D. Hasson, E. Sam- uel, H. M. Adams, David Greenwalt, E. K. Bortz, C. H. Moore, D. S. Sutton, William McElhaney, J. Foster, Thompson Beatty, Justice Smith, W. A. Mckay, R. E. Van Naten, and G. W. Grove.
Hope Lodge, No. 532, K. & L. of H., was instituted December 1, 1883. R. E. Van Naten, W. H. Slonaker, W. J. Bradley, C. W. Karns, C. W.
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Ranney, Joseph Monnin, and J. W. Gurney were among its first members.
Cooperstown Lodge, No. 956, I. O. O. F., was instituted April 8, 1887, with R. E. Van Naten, N. G .; H. W. Hoffman, V. G .; C. W. Karns, secretary; R. D. Reynolds, assistant secretary, and A. P. Williams, treas- urer.
Municipal Government .- Cooperstown was incorporated as a borough November 25, 1858. The petition was filed on the 23d of August, approved by the grand jury on the following day, confirmed nisi on the 27th of that month, and absolutely on the 25th of November. The first election of offi- cers occurred on the third Friday of March, 1859, and resulted in the choice of J. P. Byers as burgess, and L. W. Ranney, Robert Crawford, Thomas Kelley, N. Wood, and R. A. Bower, members of council. The following is a roster of borough officers to date:
1860 .- Burgess, Samuel Carpenter; council: L. W. Ranney, W. A. Holby, W. A. Hale, W. J. Bradley, and Jacob Wood.
1861 .- Burgess, L. W. Ranney; council: W. A. Holby, W. A. Hale, J. M. Dille, Samuel Bradley, and R. T. Bradley.
1862 .- Burgess, D. W. McLane; council: Samuel Carpenter, Joseph Hillier, J. M. Dille, D. B. Glenn, and W. J. Booth.
1863 .- Burgess, W. A. Holby; council: Samuel Bradley, Philip Kerns, Lewis Lamberton, R. W. Jackson, and J. A. Wood.
1864 .- Burgess, Edward Sweeny; council: Robert Crawford, L. W. Ranney, J. P. Byers, R. Beatty, and Peter Bower.
1865 .- Burgess, Lewis Lamberton; council: O. D. Waterman, John Doyle, Jacob Harvey, W. J. Bradley, and Thomas Minium.
1866 .- Burgess, Jacob Wood; council: James Kingsley, Joseph McCal- mont, Philson Cooper, T. H. Kelley, and Robert Bradley.
1867 .- Burgess, R. A. Custello; council: L. L. Proper, D. Ray, L. M. Hanna, J. Galbraith, and Joseph Beachdel.
1868 .- Burgess, William McCauley; council: Philip Karns, Robert Gregg, Jacob Harvey, A. G. Wilkins, and R. Beatty.
1869. - Burgess, Thomas Minium; council: James Kingsley, G. N. Cro- dle, Jacob Wood, R. Beatty, and Edward Sweeny.
1870 .- Burgess, J. R. Crawford; council: J. W. Byers, G. W. Dille, S. B. Hillier, R. E. VanNaten, and R. D. Reynolds.
1871 .- Burgess, N. W. Robertson; council: W. J. Bradley, L. W. Ranney, William Crider, W. T. Stevenson, and D. B. Glenn.
1872 .- Burgess, A. W. Robertson; council: W. J. Byers, J. H. Wilson, Joseph Monnin, J. K. Crawford, and W. T. Stevenson.
1873 .- Burgess, W. A. Crawford; council: J. H. Wilson, Joseph Mon- nin, J. H. Crawford, A. W. Robertson, and J. P. Byers.
1874. - Burgess, R. E. VanNaten; council: Thomas Minium, R. D. Reynolds, W. J. Byers, G. N. Crodle, D. Jones, and S. B. Hillier.
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1875. -- Burgess, R. E. VanNaten; council: G. N. Crodle, D. Jones, Thomas Minium, W. J. Byers, J. S. Gates, and S. B. Hillier.
1876 .- Burgess, S. B. Hillier; council: L. P. Proper, James Galbraith, Edwin Sweeny, James Rodgers, R. Blanchard, and Peter Bower.
1877. - Burgess, S. B. Hillier; council: J. S. Gates, J. W. Byers, T. S. Minium, G. W. Dille, W. S. Slonaker, and R. E. VanNaten.
1878 .- Burgess, S. B. Hillier; council: T. S. Minium, J. S. Gates, William McCauley, J. W. Byers, N. Wilcox, and Jacob Wood.
1879 .- Burgess, T. S. Minium; council: J. W. Byers, W. A. Holby, G. W. Dille, R. D. Reynolds, L. L. Ray, and J. G. Wagner.
1880 .- Burgess, M. B. Ray; council: R. Blanchard, William McCauley, G. N. Crodle, A. P. Williams, J. P. Byers, and W. J. Bradley.
1881 .- Burgess, T. S. Minium; council: J. W. Byers, G. W. Dille, S. B. Hillier, H. I. Hanna, C. C. Hillier, Homer Crawford, (and Samuel Whit- man, vice Crawford, resigned.)
1882 .- Burgess, M. B. Ray; council: T. S. Minium, C. C. Hillier, G. W. Dille, W. J. Byers, H. I. Hanna, and Samuel Whitman.
1883 .- Burgess, M. B. Ray; council: J. G. Wagner, W. J. Bradley, S. S. Adrian, W. A. Crawford, J. A. Wood, and G. N. Crodle.
1884 .- Burgess, T. S. Minium; council: A. P. Williams and J. G. Wag- ner, elected for three years; W. J. Bradley and J. N. Wood, for two years; R. E. VanNaten and T. M. McClimans, for one year.
1885 .- Burgess, Samuel Whitman; council: Samuel Adrian and Jacob Harvey.
1886 .- Burgess, J. S. Gates; council: J. P. Byers and G. W. Dille.
1887 .- Burgess, James Minium; council: William Bower and G. N. Crodle.
1888. - Burgess, J. D. McGaffic; council: A. P. Miles, R. Blanchard, and J. G. Karns.
1889 .- Burgess, R. E. VanNaten; council: G. W. Dille and W. J. Wright.
The Population of the borough was two hundred and sixty-four in 1870 and two hundred and ninety-seven in 1880.
SCHOOLS.
The report of the state superintendent of public instruction for 1877 states that Ithiel Dodd was one of the first teachers in this section of the county. He was a good musician and conducted several singing schools. He was the father of Levi Dodd, an elder in the Franklin Presbyterian church more than fifty years, and grandfather of S. C. T. Dodd, general counsel for the Standard Oil Trust at New York. Among his successors were Eliza Hamilton, Thomas Benn, Edmund Warner, Misses Patton, Mc- Alevy, and Keys, and William Myers. The Fetterman school house was
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undoubtedly one of the earliest in the valley of Sugar creek. It was attended by families living beyond the present limits of Jackson township.
The Cooperstown Academy, established by S. S. Briggs and under the control of a local board of directors, was an institution of high character, and for a time enjoyed a prosperous career. The building was afterward used for public school purposes.
CHURCHES.
Sugar Creek Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest denominational organizations in western Pennsylvania. Doctor Eaton states in his History of the Presbytery of Erie that it was formed in 1813 or 1814. Among the original members were Robert Beatty, John McFadden, John Wilson, John Foster, and John Rodgers, of whom, in all probability, Wilson and Foster were elders. The earliest records extant begin with the year 1840, when the elders were John McCurdy, John Foster, and Joseph Bowman. There were twenty-five members, many having withdrawn on account of the divis- ion of the Presbytery of Erie. The first election after that event was held in March, 1842, and resulted in the choice of Joseph A. Gilliland and John Boal, elders; Alexander McKinzie and James Cooper, deacons. Reverend . Ira Condit, ordained November 8, 1814, served this church as pastor in connection with Fairfield until December 28, 1825. Reverend Thomas An- derson, ordained September 19, 1826, was pastor until 1837. He resided near this church and rode seven miles to Franklin and twenty to Concord, the other places in his charge. Reverend Cyrus Dickson, installed June 24, 1840, was released January 1, 1846; Reverend James Coulter, installed in September, 1848, was released January 16, 1850; Reverend Robert Glenn, installed June 18, 1850, was released by death, September 6, 1857; Rev- erend J. D. Howey, installed September 21, 1859, was released April 26, 1865. After this Reverends Lamb, Patton, Reeves, and Stewart successively served as stated supply; the latter became pastor and was followed by Rev- erend J. R. Robertson. Reverend S. L. Irvine has been supply during the past year.
Four acres of ground were appropriated by Robert Beatty for church and burial purposes, and upon this a place of worship was provided within a few years after the organization, or perhaps before, 1810 having been assigned by reputable authority as the date. At all events a log building was erected at the upper end of the burying ground. Its interior arrange- ments were characterized by a stern simplicity indicative of a community not burdened with wealth, individually or collectively. There were slab benches ingeniously supported by chunks of wood or split legs that pro- truded above, adding nothing to the comfort of the individual who might be compelled to sit in immediate proximity. The pulpit harmonized with its general surroundings. On warm summer days the congregation ad-
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journed to"the graveyard, and disposed themselves beneath the shade of venerable trees, while the minister preached from a stand erected near the center of the inclosure.
The second church edifice, of which Mr. Anderson was architect, was built during his incumbency, and stood to the west of the Memorial church. It was a large frame building and such massive timbers entered into its construction that it was often irreverently called "God's barn." The in- tention was to have had two side and one end gallery, and with this idea there were two rows of windows, giving the appearance of a two-story build- ing. A door in front and one on each side provided a means of ingress and egress, but the former was not available, being some distance above the ground. At a later date extensive repairs were made. The interior was plastered; the end gallery was constructed; the side doors were closed, and an embankment made in front so that the people could walk in from that direction. This is plainly distinguishable and accurately defines the loca- tion of the building described. After continuing as a house of worship many years this venerable edifice sustained such damage from a severe hail storm that its removal was decided upon. The place of worship was changed to Cooperstown and the church at that place, in the erection of which J. P. Byers, William Foster, Jackson Alexander, and W. K. Gilliland were act- ively concerned, was dedicated June 26, 1870, Reverends D. Patton and S. J. M. Eaton, D. D., officiating.
Cooperstown Methodist Episcopal Church is one of the older organiza- tions of that denomination in the county. As the early records are no longer in existence it is impossible to give the date of the formation of the society, but in all probability this occurred in 1836. Joseph Hillier was the first class leader. Philson Cooper gave the ground for church and burial purposes, and a frame building was erected thereon in 1837-38. This was the place of worship until 1883, when the present edifice was built on ground given by W. J. Byers. The building committee consisted of F. D. Muse, R. Blanchard, and W. J. Bradley. The extreme dimensions are sixty and thirty-six feet, with an addition twelve by twenty, and tower one hundred and four feet high and twelve feet square at the base. The work of construction was begun in the spring of 1883 and the dedication oc- curred in July, 1885.
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