USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 71
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120
The following clergymen have been stationed at Cooperstown: 1842, T. D. Blinn; 1843, G. F. Reeser; 1844, John Abbott; 1845, I. H. Tackitt; 1846, W. Monks; 1847-48, H. Luce; 1849, I. T. McClelland; 1850, John Abbott, E. T. Wheeler; 1851, John Abbott, A. S. Dobbs; 1852-53, E. Hull; 1854, A. Keller; 1867, J. G. Hawkins; 1868-69, John Abbott; 1870, I. D. Darling; 1871, J. B. Wright; 1872, J. Flower; 1873-75, O. Babcock; 1876, J. A. Hume; 1877-80, S. Fiddler; 1881, John Abbott; 1882-83, J. K. Adams; 1884-85, A. M. Lockwood; 1886-88, C. H. Quick. 39
702
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
The Freewill Baptist Church, two miles north of Cooperstown, was built in 1850 upon land given for the purpose by Samuel H. Small. The organization was formed by Reverend George Collins, May 26, 1835, and originally numbered the following persons: Jane and Mary Smith, John Carter, Samuel H. Small, William Williams and wife.
Sugar Creek Memorial Presbyterian Church .- A number of the members of Sugar Creek church were dissatisfied with the removal of the place of worship to Cooperstown and formed a new organization with William Boughner and William Andre as elders. A frame church building thirty - six by forty-eight feet in dimensions, with a spire seventy-two feet high, was erected by a building committee composed of David Homan, John Bleakley, and William Bean, and dedicated May 28, 1871, Reverend J. R. Hunter officiating. The pastoral succession has been the same as at Sugar Creek church. Wilson Mead and William List constitute the present session.
CHAPTER XLI.
PRESIDENT TOWNSHIP.
TOPOGRAPHY-ERECTION AND POPULATION-SETTLEMENT-ECONOMIC RE- SOURCES-VILLAGES-CHURCHES-SCHOOLS.
P RESIDENT township is situated in the eastern part of Venango coun- ty and on both sides of the Allegheny river. North of the river the adjoining townships are Allegheny and Cornplanter; south of the river, Cranberry and Pinegrove. Pithole creek forms the line of division from Cornplanter; the other streams on the north are Muskrat run and Stewart's run. The principal stream on the south is Hemlock creek, which rises in Pinegrove and has a rapid current. As elsewhere in its course the river is here bounded by high hills, and the surface for several miles inland is scarcely susceptible of cultivation. There is probably less arable land in President than any other township in the county. This is abundantly com- pensated by the resources of timber and oil, which are, however, largely un- developed.
This township was erected from parts of Pinegrove, Cornplanter, and Tionesta, April 3, 1850, by act of the legislature. The population in 1870 was six hundred and eighteen, and in 1880, four hundred and sixteen.
703
PRESIDENT TOWNSHIP.
SETTLEMENT.
The first settler was Patrick McCrea, a native of Ireland, and a member of the Catholic church. He was a son of Michael McCrea, a captain of light horse in the British army, who was killed at the battle of Brandywine. Patrick McCrea held a commission in the same service, but having no love for the English flag he left the army and settled at Richmond, Vir- ginia, where he taught school. He had studied medicine in Ireland, and was a man of good education. In 1797 he removed to the wilds of western Pennsylvania and located at what has since become the village of Eagle Rock. He was the only settler along the river between Franklin and Warren at that time, and was, no doubt, the first Catholic who settled in Venango county. The log cabin in which he lived for a while was about eighteen by twenty feet in dimensions, with clapboard roof and wooden chimney, and was removed nearly seventy years ago. He also had a log barn, which stood upon the present site of Hugh McCrea's house. The cabin was several rods farther up the river. He secured three hundred and ninety-three acres of land, but never having been accustomed to work he did not engage in farm- ing to any extent. He never hunted, although game was plenty and deer often grazed in sight of his door, and never pursued the craft of Izaak Wal- ton, although the river teemed with fish. He enjoyed the confidence and friendship of Cornplanter, and often acted as agent for the Indians in dis- posing of their peltries, honey, and bears' grease. As other settlers arrived he gave them a warm welcome, and was a valued member of this community until his death.
John Henry came into the county in 1798, and in 1802 settled on a one hundred acre tract at Henry's bend. He had quite a large family, none of whom are now represented in the township. Henry was an Irish Catholic, and a very worthy, intelligent citizen. In the Spectator of March, 1858, is found an obituary of Mr. Henry, which proves that he came to Venango county over ninety years ago, and resided fifty-six years on the farm whereon he died. His death occurred March 16, 1858, at the ripe old age of eighty-seven.
Other settlers in the vicinity of Eagle Rock were Samuel Rhoads and Francis Culbertson. Rhoads arrived perhaps as early as 1803. In 1813 or 1814 he sold his property, consisting of one hundred acres of land, to Cul- bertson. The latter was from one of the eastern counties of Pennsylvania. In addition to what he purchased from Rhoads he secured three hundred acres by virtue of settlement and improvement, and this tract adjoined Mc- Crea. In 1821 Richard Williams, from Philadelphia, located at the mouth of Muskrat run. Alexander McCray and Thomas McCalmont were early residents on the north side of the river above President.
In the extreme eastern part of the township there was a ferry at an early date. It was established by Alexander Holeman, just below the island
704
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
that bears his name. Prior to this time Patrick McCrea was the ferryman; two canoes lashed together were made to serve the purpose of a ferry-boat and in this manner horses were transported across the river. Holeman opened a road at his private expense from the state road at a point near Fryburg to the vicinity of Pithole, in order to bring patronage to his ferry, but his plans were utterly frustrated when the Susquehanna turnpike was constructed in 1819.
South of the river settlement began rather late and expanded slowly. Robert Elliott removed from Franklin to a tract of one thousand acres at the mouth of Hemlock creek. Here he built the first mill in the township. He was a man of comparative wealth and an influential citizen. His son, William Elliott, became prothonotary of the county.
ECONOMIC RESOURCES.
In 1854-55 Ralph Clapp built a blast furnace on Hemlock creek about a mile from its mouth, where the ruins are yet distinguishable. It was about equal in size and capacity to the majority of similar establishments in the county. The surrounding country furnished timber for charcoal as well as the ores from which the product was made, and power for the blast was derived from the waters of the creek. The period of profitable iron manu- facture in this section was past, however, and within a few years the Presi- dent furnace was banked, never to resume.
The first oil in the township was obtained about two miles above the mouth of Pithole. The first well drilled began at six hundred barrels per day, and produced sixty thousand barrels before it was abandoned. Directly opposite on the Henry farm a very large production was obtained in 1860. The proprietors were Hussey & McBride. A number of oil companies were engaged in prospecting in various parts of the township during the follow- ing years, with varying success. At the present time the Clapp tract is probably the largest undeveloped territory in the oil regions. The Deshner farm adjoining is the scene of active developments under Standard auspices, and the product is piped to Oil City by a line recently constructed by the National Transit Company. The pump station, a mile from President vil- lage, in charge of T. J. Richards, was placed in operation May 7, 1889.
In August, 1888, the attention of C. C. Joy was called to the fact that in the early operations between the years 1860 and 1865, at Walnut Bend, a considerable number of fairly productive wells was obtained, the largest of which produced two hundred barrels per day. The prevailing theory at that time was that oil courses coincided with water courses; hence opera- tions were limited to a comparatively small area along the river, while the crude methods then in vogue precluded the possibility of a thorough exhaus- tion of the territory. This knowledge decided Mr. Joy in re-leasing all the old territory together with extensive tracts inland aggregating a thousand
705
PRESIDENT TOWNSHIP.
acres, and making such tests thereon as would demonstrate its productive- ness. Five test wells were drilled in the spring of 1889, each of which has yielded satisfactory returns, thus establishing the productiveness of five hun- dred acres of land, and the correctness of Mr. Joy's theory with regard to territory worked over during the early years of the oil industry.
VILLAGES.
President is a straggling village of perhaps a dozen houses at the mouth of Hemlock creek, opposite President station on the Western New York and Pennsylvania railroad. The earliest settlement was made by Robert Elliott, but the place attained its greatest prosperity while the furnace built by Robert Clapp was in operation. During the period of lumber rafting it derived some degree of business activity from that industry. There is a large hotel built by E. E. Clapp, a store, blacksmith shop, and ferry. A number of well-constructed roads radiate from the village to different por- tions of Mr. Clapp's estate.
Eagle Rock is a station on the Western New York and Pennsylvania railroad. An account of the early settlement of this locality by Patrick McCrea has been given. The village came into existence during the ex- citement incident to the first developments on Pithole creek and was an active place during the construction of the railroad. There are now a store and postoffice and a population of about fifty. In the old McCrea burying ground, several rods from Hugh McCrea's house, several of the pioneer families are represented. This is the oldest burial place in this part of the county.
CHURCHES. .
Patrick McCrea and John Henry were Catholics, and often entertained priests en route from Pittsburgh to the parishes in the upper portion of the Allegheny valley. Among these was Reverend Francis P. Kenrick, after- ward bishop of Philadelphia and archbishop of Baltimore. After a priest was stationed at Tionesta they became members of that parish. While the railroad was undergoing construction, services were held in a small frame building since removed and never dedicated, but after the population thus attracted had dispersed these services were discontinued.
Methodist services have been held at President from an early period, but no particulars regarding the organization of the first class are available. Ralph Clapp was a local preacher of much eloquence and an active sup- porter of the organization. President circuit embraces a number of preach- ing points, and since its formation in 1861 has had the following appoint- ments: 1861, J. Howe; 1862-63, J. McComb; 1865, N. C. Brown; 1866, F. Vernon, L. G. Merrill; 1867, R. F. Keeler; 1868, McVey Troy; 1869, S. Coon; 1870-71, B. Marsteller; 1872, J. Mechlin; 1873, D. C. Plannett; 1874, A. Wilder; 1875-76, S. L. Wilkinson; 1877, R. M. Felt; 1878, E.
706
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
R. Knapp; 1879, W. J. Barton; 1880, supplied; 1881, W. J. Barton; 1882, W. E. Frampton; 1883-84, D. A. Platte; 1885-86, W. S. Gearhart; 1887-88, L. W. Showers.
SCHOOLS.
Patrick McCrea was an educated man; he taught his children at their home, and while this was not a school in the general significance of the term, it was undoubtedly the earliest educational effort in the township. At a later date there were school houses at Walnut Bend, President, Big Rock, and on the Culbertson farm, all of which assisted in educating the youth of the township.
CHAPTER XLII.
CLINTON TOWNSHIP.
TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES - PIONEERS - TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION - THE BULLION OIL DISTRICT - BOROUGH OF CLINTONVILLE - VILLAGE GROWTH OF THE PAST AND PRESENT-SCHOOLS-CHURCHES.
O' F the three townships of Venango county that border upon the Butler line, Clinton occupies the middle position. The Allegheny river forms its northeastern boundary a distance of two or three miles; with this exception the township lines are regular, the distance from north to south being seven miles and from east to west a little more than four. Scrub- grass creek and its numerous branches drain almost the entire area. This stream rises in Butler county and pursues a general southeasterly course. Trout and Bullion runs are its principal affluents from the west. The val- ley of this creek is generally narrow and bounded by precipitous hills covered with pine forests. On the uplands the country is comparatively level; there is much fine farming land and valuable timber. The creek derived its name from a variety of coarse grass that once grew along its banks, but is now rarely seen. It was used in the early homes of this sec- tion to polish spoons, knives, etc., but does not appear to have had any value for other purposes.
PIONEERS.
The region drained by Scrubgrass creek was settled earlier than any other portion of the county, with the possible exception of Franklin and its
.
707
CLINTON TOWNSHIP.
immediate vicinity. Following the Allegheny river, the tide of immigra- tion to this section of the state passed over Butler county and into Venango without apparent regard for county lines. Here was a stretch of country well watered, conveniently accessible from the older settlements by a great water highway, and, judged by the usual criteria, of fairly productive soil. It is not surprising that the Scrubgrass region should have been improved earlier than less favored localities in other parts of the county.
Colonel Samuel Dale, deputy surveyor, has left a record of his work, from which it appears that occupation and improvement, rather than warrant and purchase, was the more general method of perfecting title with the pio- neers of Scrubgrass. The number of acres in each tract, names of adjoin- ing owners, and date of survey as shown by Dale's notes, were as follows:
Craft Ghost. - Three hundred and seventy acres adjoining lands of John Phipps, Daniel Wasson, Robert Calvert, and Robert Donaldson; surveyed November 20, 1800, by virtue of improvement and settlement.
John Phipps .- Three hundred and sixty-one acres, adjoining lands of Samuel Eakin, Patrick Jack, and Craft Ghost; surveyed November 20, 1800. Four hundred and one acres, adjoining Samuel Eakin, Nathan Phipps, Craft Ghost, and Patrick Jack; surveyed August 22, 1804. Three hundred and seventy-six acres, adjoining Patrick Jack, Aaron Austin, Dan- iel Wasson, and William McKee; surveyed March 5, 1807, in pursuance of warrant granted December 2, 1805.
Patrick Davidson. - Four hundred and twenty-nine acres, adjoining lands of David McConehey; surveyed November 15, 1800, by virtue of improvement and settlement.
John Witherup .- A large tract at the mouth of Scrubgrass creek, adjoining lands of Samuel Doty and Aaron Austin; surveyed June 25, 1801, by virtue of improvement and settlement.
Samuel Eakin. - Three hundred and eighty-five acres, adjoining Aaron Austin, Wasson & McKee, John Phipps, and Patrick Jack; surveyed May 11, 1803, by virtue of improvement and settlement.
John Kerns. - Four hundred and nine acres, adjoining lands of Thomas Baird, Philip Ghost, Patrick McDowell, and Adam Kerns; surveyed August 23, 1804, in pursuance of warrant bearing date May 31, 1804.
Adams Kerns .- Four hundred and fourteen acres, adjoining lands of John Craig, Samuel Monjar, John Kerns, Adam Huffman, and John Cubison.
John Vogus .- Four hundred acres, adjoining lands of Philip Ghost, James Hoffman, Matthew Riddle, and Philip Hoffman, surveyed April 1, 1808, in pursuance of warrant bearing date May 6, 1807.
Patrick Farrelly and John W. Hunter .- Four hundred and twenty-five acres, adjoining lands of David Phipps, John Phipps, and Robert Donald- 'son; originally improved by Patrick Jack; surveyed by virtue of settlement of Stephen Sutton, December 22, 1813.
708
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Patrick Farrelly and Henry Hurst .- Four hundred and twenty-five acres, adjoining lands of David Phipps, John Phipps, and Robert Donaldson; sur- veyed January 22, 1818, in pursuance of warrant bearing date March 24, 1817.
Robert Calvert. - Four hundred and three acres, adjoining lands of William Carter, Matthew Riddle, Robert Donaldson, Daniel Wasson, and Andrew Allison; surveyed April 27, 1814, in pursuance of warrant dated February 26, 1814.
Samuel Grimes .- Four hundred and eight acres, adjoining lands of Patrick Davidson, David McConehey, John McClaran, and Robert Scott; surveyed March 6, 1807, in pursuance of warrant bearing date September 29, 1806.
The first settlers were Thomas McKee, Matthew Riddle, Thomas Baird, Robert Calvert, John Vogus, Archibald and Patrick Davidson, and Patrick McDowell, who arrived in 1796. As the names indicate, they were princi- pally of Irish extraction. Thomas McKee was born in Franklin county in 1771. He was a surveyor by profession and for the purpose of securing employment came to Venango county in 1796. He surveyed much of the land in this county west of the Allegheny river. His own settlement was a tract of four hundred acres including the site of Clintonville, and some of it is still in possession of his descendants. He was an enterprising business man, and was largely interested in the purchase and sale of land. In 1809 he brought the first wagon into the township. He was one of the first merchants of this locality, built one of the first saw mills, and had extensive lumber interests. He served as justice of the peace a number of years, and was one of the first associate judges of the county.
Matthew Riddle, a native of Roxburghshire, Scotland, and a veteran of the Revolutionary war, came to Venango county as chain bearer for Thomas McKee. His first acquaintance with Clinton township was made in 1795, and in the following year he removed his family from Westmoreland county. He secured a tract of twelve hundred acres, partly in Scrubgrass, and at his death in 1820 this was divided among his four children: John, Robert, Annie (Pollock), and Elizabeth. His wife died in 1817. Matthew Riddle, a grandson, born in 1814, was one of the early teachers.
John Vogus was of German origin. He settled upon land now owned by William Vogus in 1796. He had one son, Francis, from whom the present generation of the family is descended.
Archibald and Patrick Davidson, of Irish extraction, came to Venango county in 1796. from one of the counties east of the mountains and settled upon two adjoining four hundred acre tracts. The former was married, the latter not. Patrick, while clearing his land, broke his arm, and during his convalescence at his brother's house Peter Walters took possession of his claim; this difficulty was adjusted by the payment of a cow to Davidson.
710
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
in the lumber business while at Pittsburgh, and furnished under contract building materials for the first court house of Allegheny county. He him- self hewed the first stick of timber placed in position in that structure, an incident he was wont to relate with pride. He settled at the mouth of Scrubgrass creek in 1800. Here he built the first grist mill in Clinton township and engaged in farming, milling, and lumbering. He was elected first sheriff of Venango county in 1805, and was also justice of the peace a number of years. During the war of 1812 his son, Captain Abraham With- erup, led a company to the defense of Erie. The wife of John Witherup was Mary Brockingham, also a native of England, and they reared a family of six children. He died in 1843.
John Hovis, the first of that family in Clinton township, was a son of John Theodore Hofius, a native of Prussia, whose first settlement in Penn- sylvania was in Bedford county. Thence he removed successively to Wash- ington and Mercer, locating near the borough of Sharpsville in the latter county in 1800. He died eight years later at an advanced age. John Hovis' settlement was made upon the land now owned by David Hovis. He married Susanna Cogan, of Bedford county, and was the father of eleven children. He was one of the early constables of the township.
Alexander Porter, son of one of the pioneers of Washington county, lo- cated upon the land now owned by Samuel and Thomas Porter, his grand- sons, at the time when Clinton was a very sparsely settled region. His de- scendants claim he came to this county in 1798. Here he was the first blacksmith, and pursued his trade under a variety of difficulties. It is re- lated that an iron wedge driven into a stump was made to do service as an anvil, a piece of an old ax was used as a hammer, and the bark of trees was utilized as fuel. Iron was brought from the furnaces of Huntingdon county on pack horses.
James Hoffman, born of German parentage in 1773, removed from Westmoreland county to Venango in 1797. The land upon which he made his first improvements is now owned by Andrew Hoffman. He was a wagon maker by trade. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Ghost, daughter of Major Philip Ghost, and they were the parents of a large family.
John McClaran was a native of Westmoreland county. His first resi- dence in Venango was in Irwin township, but about 1800 he removed to Clinton and settled upon the land where his daughter, Mrs. Mary Major, lives. He married Martha Dovison and was the father of six children. He was a school teacher and an early magistrate.
Benjamin Williams was one of the first settlers along the river above the mouth of Scrubgrass creek. He came from Northumberland county in 1803, bringing with him a large family. 'He lived here until his death, which occurred on his seventieth birthday.
During the first years of their residence here the settlers were obliged to
.
711
CLINTON TOWNSHIP.
carry their wheat to Westmoreland county in order to have it ground. The first mill on Scrubgrass creek was built by John Witherup near its mouth. Craft Ghost built the second where the road from Clintonville to Mercer crosses that stream. James Hughes had a mill below Kennerdell and opened the first store in the township here in 1820. About 1834 James Perry built what was afterward known as the Crawford mill. Where William Daugh- erty now lives, John Phipps had a tannery at an early date, and Jacob Sowash was engaged in the same business a mile and a half from Clinton- ville. The various enterprises of David Phipps at Kennerdell, and William Cross at Janestown, are mentioned in connection with those villages.
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.
January 28, 1854, upon petition of citizens of Scrubgrass and Irwin, John Adams, J. D. Mc Williams, and C. Heydrick were appointed commissioners to prepare a draft of a proposed new township to be erected from their ad- joining portions, and report upon the advisability of its erection. At the following term of court a remonstrance was filed, and at October sessions the report submitted by the commissioners was set aside. At December term the same commissioners were reappointed; but not having made any report, at January sessions, 1855, C. Heydrick, Matthew L. Whann, and John McElphatine were appointed in their stead. They filed a report at April sessions, with a plat of the new township, which was approved by the court and its organization forthwith ordered. The first election was held at the houses of Robert Cross and Thomas Hoge, with David Phipps as judge, William Atwell and Richard Surrena, inspectors.
The population in 1870 was nine hundred and one; in 1880, one thou- sand seven hundred and fifty-two.
THE BULLION OIL DISTRICT.
The first drilling for oil in Clinton township was done in 1864-65 on the Kennerdell property by the Big Bend Oil Company, the members of which were Philadelphians. They obtained oil but not in paying quanti- ties. Several years later a farmers' company drilled a well half a mile east of the Gealy farm, meeting with no success whatever. The first productive well was drilled in 1867 at the mouth of Scrubgrass creek on the Witherup farm. In 1871 Jonathan Watson drilled two wells on the Kennerdell prop- erty and a third was drilled by Prentiss & King on the Aiken farm, with no returns whatever. About the year 1875 a farmers' company drilled on the land of S. Simcox; the result was a gas well of heavy pressure. Phillips & Dean drilled on the Coulter farm in 1876, and there was various other unprofitable prospecting east of Scrubgrass creek, but the honor of opening the famous Bullion district was reserved for John Taylor and Robert Cun- dle, two drillers of small means but large perseverance. August 9, 1876,
712
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
they struck oil on the farm of George W. Gealy, and their well began to flow at the rate of one hundred and fifty barrels per day. Phillips Brothers bought the well as soon as it was completed, and from that date their opera- tions in the Bullion district were quite extensive. They leased the Simcox farm on the west and the Berringer farm on the south. The Sutton farm was leased by Frank Nesbit and the Henderson farm by Crawford, Mitchell & Company. Thirty acres of the Taylor farm were sold in fee to Isaac Dean for Shirley, Tack & Company for ten thousand five hundred dollars, and fif- teen acres of the same tract were leased by Porter Phipps. The latter sub- sequently passed to Brownson & Emerson, who struck a seven hundred bar- rel well and paid Taylor sixteen thousand dollars for his royalty in the fifteen acres.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.