USA > Pennsylvania > Warren County > History of Warren County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 68
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I. A. Whitney began to deal in general merchandise in this village in 1873, establishing the business himself. He moved into his present quarters in 1882. His stock is valued at about $12,000. The drug store and trade in general merchandise, now conducted by S. S. Connely, was practically established by him in July, 1879, though he then succeeded V. V. Parmer. He now carries stock worth about $2,500. The trade in dry goods, groceries, and general merchandise, now conducted by B. J. Ayers and W. E. Stright, under the firm name of Ayers & Stright, was founded by Mr. Ayers in 1868. The pres- ent partnership was formed in the spring of 1882.
Bucher, Maltby & Co. have been engaged in operating the saw and stave- mill, now in their possession, about six years, at this writing.
The Post-office .- As before stated the post-office was established in Pitts- field village not far from the year 1840, by the appointment of James L. Acocks as postmaster. He retained the position sixteen years. He was succeeded by Leroy L. Lowry, of the mercantile firm of L. L. & N. A. Lowry, the mem- bers of which came from Jamestown about this time and traded here a number of years. The postmasters in the order of their service since then have been Ezra Chaffee, Clarence Chaffee, J. B. Ayers, and the present incumbent, I A. Whitney, who was appointed in the fall of 1885.
Garland .- Joseph Gray was probably the first settler on the site of the village of Garland, as he built a saw-mill on the ground now occupied by that of Hill & Andrews. This was as early as 1800, and it was but a few years before William Carpenter succeeded him in the mill. It was a very small affair, and was not capable of turning out lumber fast. The bottom of the old dam is still visible in low water. About 1825 James Andrews, son of Robert Andrews, sr., came here, purchasing his property of H. J. Huidekoper. His house was built near the mill. He had a saw-mill across the creek from the Carpenter mill, which he kept in operation for a few years. About 1833 or
Peter WrKing
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1834 he exchanged his property here for property owned by his brothers, Moses and Robert, on Spring Creek, seven miles from the site of Garland, and they then removed to this place. They rebuilt the mill and kept it in opera- tion until the death of Robert Andrews, on the first day of March, 1850. His death occurred by drowning, near the mill. He was one of the twelve children of Robert Andrews, sr. Robert Andrews, sr., had two daughters and a son, John, by his first wife; and four sons, James, Arthur, Robert, and Moses, and five daughters, by his second wife.
The name Garland originated in a peculiar manner. An Irishman formerly lived on the site of the village, who emigrated from the city of Mullingar, in Ireland, and succeeded in imparting the name, in a much corrupted form, to the community to which he had moved. The little collection of mills and stores here was soon known in the surrounding country as " The Gar." When Rev. J. McMaster obtained the establishment of the post-office at this point he did not like the unclassical name of "The Gar," and after much thought and consultation determined to name it Gar-land, or Garland.
The first store in Garland was opened about 1854 by Dunstan Patch, who sent his first stock of goods by river from Covington, Ky., by his son Simeon. Here Simeon built a rough structure on the site of the present Johnson House. The building afterward burned. Patch continued to trade here for a number of years, and was finally followed by Truman Pierce. W. B. Sterrett & Co. followed Pierce, and received an accession to their business of H. F. Andrews, who in time himself owned all the stock and the trade. The next store was built by William Langley, on the lot now occupied by O. D. Horn, some five years after the beginning of Pierce's trade. These two stores were for many years the only ones in the village.
Hiram F. Andrews has been dealing in general merchandise in Garland since 1865, when he went into a building which had been erected by Truman Pierce. This building was destroyed by fire, and about five years ago he built the structure which he now uses as a store, and also went into the trade in hard- ware. His partner in the general store is D. J. McMillan.
The drug store of Morris & Neill was started in the fall of 1871 by C. S. Morris, who, at that time, erected the building which he still occupies. On the Ist of November, 1883, A. D. Neill was admitted to partnership with him. Mr. Morris also owns a circular saw-mill and is largely interested in the man- ufacture and sale of lumber.
O. D. Horn, dealer in general merchandise, has kept a store in Garland nearly fourteen years at the time of this writing. He has been unusually suc- cessful in his trade.
The first mill that was started in the village of Garland since the birth of the village was erected by Hiram F. Andrews, in 1871, the year of the open- ing of the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad. There have
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
since then been several owners of this property. The present owners are Robert Hill and Hiram F. Andrews, under the firm style of Hill & Andrews. Its capacity is not far from 20,000 feet a day.
The saw-mill of J. B. Moore and H. F. Andrews (Moore & Andrews), sit- uated about a mile below Garland, on the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad, also has the capacity for sawing about 20,000 or 25,000 feet of lumber a day. It was built by L. J. McNutt about 1880.
The mill of the McGrew Brothers, at Pittsfield village, already mentioned, has the capacity for turning out about 30,000 feet a day. The present propri- etors bought the property of E. W. Ross, who was one of the most expert lumbermen in the northwestern part of the State.
O. D. and D. D. Horn, under the style of Horn Brothers, own and operate a saw-mill near Garland of about the same capacity as that of Hill & Andrews. They have been connected with this mill since about 1880. They are grandsons of Daniel Horn, an early settler in Spring Creek, and are sons of Hiram Horn, who previously owned the timbered lot on which the mill now stands.
Z. Mickle owns and operates a saw-mill, of about 10,000 capacity, a mile and a half from Garland. He bought the mill some three years ago of James Upton, who acquired it of the builder, C. D. Scott, The mill was constructed about five years ago.
Henry Kepple's saw-mill, at Torpedo, built about five years ago, has a capacity for sawing about 10,000 feet of lumber a day.
The Post-office .- The first postmaster at Garland was Rev. J. McMaster, who was appointed about 1854 or 1855, but had the office at his house about a mile below the village. In 1856 Hiram F. Andrews was appointed, and held the position four years. He was succeeded by Horace Lyman, and Lyman soon after by Truman Pierce. William Langley then held the office and gave place for a short time to Truman Pierce, who in turn yielded the office to Langley under Grant's administration. C. S. Morris followed Langley and was followed by the present incumbent, D. J. McMillan, who owes his appointment to President Cleveland.
The Johnson House was built in 1856, and James Johnson soon acquired it, and kept it until he died. Since then his heirs have owned it. S. Hill is the present proprietor. The hotel of William Hathaway was opened in about 1882.
Torpedo .- This is a small village of recent origin, situated in the western part of the township. The first mill built here was by John Garner & Sons, as early, probably, as 1845. The mill went down within ten or twelve years, and the site remained unoccupied by an active mill until about 1875 or 1876, when E. W. Ross, of Pittsfield village, and his son, James Ross, of Jamestown, N. Y., built a larger mill on the ground and operated it under the firm name
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of E. W. Ross & Son. It was operated by steam and had a capacity for saw- ing about 30,000 feet of lumber a day. After five or six years they sold to Henry McConnell, together with 100 acres of land. Mr. McConnell immedi- ately built the works over and constructed one hundred vats for a tannery. He and his partner, William Richardson, of Hornellsville, N. Y., under the name of McConnell & Richardson, now carry on the business, which has grown to extensive proportions. H. E. McConnell, son of Henry, has the only store in the place, which he opened at the time of the beginning of operations with the tannery. He has also recently been appointed the first postmaster of the place, and has a shingle-mill there. These interests, with Kepple's mill before men- tioned, constitute the principal business of the place.
The name Torpedo was acquired in a manner more startling and not less unusual than that of Garland. In the winter of 1882-83, a torpedo or glycer- ine wagon on its way from Titusville, and just off the end of the bridge near the railroad track which it was to cross, was delayed long enough by the fall- ing of one of the horses, to be struck by a passenger train in almost full speed. It was tipped over and one of the horses carried by the engine several yards. The wagon happened to be in deep mud, which broke the shock, and an explosion, which would almost certainly killed every person on board the train, beside the driver of the torpedo wagon and others who had the hardihood to try to remove the wagon from the track in the face of the flying passenger train. This propitious result of the accident has been memorized by the endowment of the name Torpedo to the village.
The only other post-office in the township is called Dugall, and was estab- lished about 1855 by the appointment of Oscar Erickson, who also owns and keeps a store at that place. The name of the vicinity was formerly for years "The Dugway," for an obvious reason.
Schools and Churches .- There are now nine school buildings in the town- ship of Pittsfield, including the building in Garland village, which has three departments and an attendance numbering about 120 pupils, and the building at Pittsfield village, which has two departments and a smaller attendance.
The first regularly organized religious society in the township was of the Presbyterian denomination, and centered at Garland. The most prominent of the early members of this church were Robert and Moses Andrews and their wives, James and Henry White and their wives, David Sanford and his wife, Jonathan Hamilton and his wife, and Jacob Young and his wife. They erected a church there about 1845. Previous to that time services were held in houses and barns. Many of the early congregations filled some barn to overflowing, young fellows being perched on the scaffolds and even on the big beam. The first pastor was the Rev. John McMaster, who was installed soon after the erec- tion of the edifice, and preached here and at Pittsfield for many years. The present pastor is the Rev. W. L. Breckenridge.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
Previous to 1845 the Methodists had formed a class about Garland, of whom the leader was John McCray. His wife was also a member, in company with Mrs. Catharine Mandaville (grandmother of Hiram F. Andrews), Joseph Mead and wife, Samuel Sanford and others. They used to worship in the old school-house about a mile south of Garland, and after the completion of the Presbyterian Church frequently held meetings therein. About 1853 they built the house of worship which they still occupy. The present pastor is Rev. H. G. Hall.
(For history of the Roman Catholic Churches in the county see History of Warren.)
The Presbyterian Church at Pittsfield village was organized about 1852. The first meeting was held in the school-house at that place on the 27th of July, 1852, by Rev. John McMaster, who was the pastor of this church and that at Garland nearly or quite twenty years. The original members were, Paul Huffman and Dorcas his wife, T. A. C. Everett and Julia his wife, William F. Dalrymple, Mrs. Catharine Long, Mrs. Ruth Ford, John P'. Jones and Susan his wife, John Long, Mrs. Stephen Littlefield and Mrs. William B. Acocks. On the first of August following William F. Dalrymple and T. A. C. Everett were chosen and ordained ruling elders. The first and present church edifice was built of wood, at a cost of two thousand dollars, in 1854. Rev. John Mc- Master, Rev. John Gordon, and Rev. E. I. Davies are the only pastors who have had charge over this church. The membership of the church is now about thirty, and the value of the property about three thousand dollars.
The Wesleyan Methodist Church at Pittsfield village was organized and their house of worship built about the year 1876. There is also a Swedish church here, built about five years ago.
CHAPTER LI.
HISTORY OF MEAD TOWNSHIP.
T "HIS township was erected from portions of Sheffield, Kinzua and Pleasant townships, the report of the commissioners being confirmed absolutely on the 7th of June, 1847. It lies east of the center of Warren county, and is bounded north by Allegheny River, separating it from Glade, east by Kinzua and a small part of Sheffield, south by Sheffield and Cherry Grove, and west by Pleasant. There are four post-offices in the township, each a nucleus of a more or less populous village or settlement, viz., Stoneham, Clarendon, North Clarendon, and Tiona.
SAMUEL GROSSENBURG.
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MEAD TOWNSHIP.
Settlement and Early Condition of the Township .- The territory lying within the present boundary lines of this township was not generally inhabited by civilized man as early as many other portions of the county. Along the Allegheny River were a few early settlers, some of them squatters, who have left no impress of their settlement. The most prominent and permanent, as well as the earliest of the settlers, were three brothers, Jeremiah, Samuel, and James Morrison, who came from Jersey Shore, Pa., at least as early as 1800, and made clearings and built habitations on the south bank of the river, in the northern part of the township, on the site of the present Rogers mill. In the list of taxables for 1806 they were each taxed with a one-third interest in a saw-mill, which stood where the Rogers mill now stands. They have many descendants in Warren county at this day.
But immigration did not penetrate into the depths of the wilderness for nearly forty years after the beginning of this century. When, in 1839, Sam- uel Grossenburg, of whom there is a biographical sketch in this volume, im- migrated hither from Warren, there were but four or five families living within the limits of the township as it is now bounded. Mr. Grossenburg's nearest neighbor was Joseph Haaser, his brother-in-law, who occupied the farm next north from that on which Mr. Grossenburg settled, and on which he recently died. About 1841 Haaser sold to Michael Itle, who remained here a number of years, dividing his time between lumbering and farming.
His next neighbor was Alson Rogers, on the river near Glade, whose sons, Burton, Alson, and Lucien, live there now. In 1839 the old mill had gone to decay and had not been rebuilt. The site of Stoneham in 1839 was known as the Rink farm, from the fact that one Jacob Rink had been been living there, and had made quite a clearing and planted an orchard, one tree of which re- mains to this day. Rink had gone west a short time previous to 1839. He and Francis Yost were the first settlers-after the Morrison family-in this town- ship. Yost settled as early as 1827 on the farm now owned and occupied by Mrs. Grossenburg and the one next north. It was then a part of Kinzua township. About 1838 he went to Rock Island county, Ill., where Rink had gone. In 1839 a Mr. Wheeler owned and operated a saw-mill on the site of Tiona, which he afterward sold out to Amasa Ransom. The mill of Clapp & Co. stands on the same site. The township derived its name from Darius Mead, who came here at the same time as Alson Rogers, with whom he acted in partnership. In 1839 the mail was carried through this part of the county from Warren to Ridgeway on horseback, and distributed along the route. It was in the year 1832 that Francis Yost began to work on a portion of the Warren and Ridge- way turnpike, the first traversable road in the township. The mail was first carried in 1833 by Daniel T. Stanton. Previous to the opening of the turn- pike the only track for travel through the town was a footpath from Warren to Barnes in Sheffield, which led to the east of the turnpike and occasionally crossed its lines.
578
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
To lay before the reader a description affording a true idea of the strides made in settlement and improvement for the next thirty years, we cannot do better than to quote, substantially, from D. W. Brennan, of North Clarendon, whose residence in town began in 1868. Mr. Brennan was born in Dover, Morris county, N. J., on the 5th of April, 1825 ; married Sarah A. Cantrell, a native of Ireland, at Monticello, N. Y., where he was then living, on the 3d of June, 1851, and in 1868 came to this township from Chemung county, N. Y. He removed into his present dwelling house in March, 1870.
According to his statements the township had advanced very little in either settlement or improvement. There was a small tannery at Stoneham and a clearing of perhaps 100 acres. There was no settlement at the village of Clarendon. The clearings along the river were about as they were in 1839. Samuel Grossenburg had perhaps the most extensive clearing on his farm. The rest of the township was a dense wilderness; the pine trees had been taken away, but hemlock timber was still thickly distributed through the forests, and had attained a large size. There were no families between the river and Stone- ham, though there were nearly a dozen families about that place. Between Stoneham and the Grossenburg farm lived David Riddlesperger. About in the center of the present borough of Clarendon lived Thomas J. Place, Gross- enburg's nearest neighbor in that direction. Near the present Catholic Church Mr. Brennan made a small clearing and occupied a small house. Nelson El- son resided in what is now the south part of the borough, which is still in the possession, as owners, of his heirs. About half a mile southwest of the pres- ent borough limits had settled a farmer by the name of C. M. Davis. There were no other buildings in that direction until the farm of C. K. Bean, in the north part of what is now Tiona, was reached. Mr. Bean was engaged both in agriculture and lumbering. Joseph Hall, now of Louisville, Ky., owned and operated a saw-mill at Tiona, and had considerable property there. He and his men were the only inhabitants of that part of the town. The com- munity was known as Halltown, the name Tiona having been a gift of the rail- road. Stoneham had then derived its name from Leroy Stoneham, an early settler there. Previous to 1868, while the railroad was in process of construc- tion, and until 1872, there had been a post-office for a short time in the cen- tral part of the present borough, which was known by the euphonious title of Pattonia, from Thomas Patton, a contractor on the road ; it was then changed to Clarendon, in honor of Thomas Clarendon, of New York city, the partner of F. H. Rockwell. About 1869 or 1870 a post-office was established at Stone- ham by the appointment of J. K. Palmer as postmaster. He was afterward succeeded by Willard W. White. The next post-office was established at Tiona, soon after 1870, John Wood being the governmental appointee. At the older village of Clarendon, about 1874 or 1875, F. H. Rockwell was ap- pointed the first postmaster. About 1880 Max Koch had a penny-post be-
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tween Clarendon and North Clarendon, which resulted in his appointment as the first postmaster of North Clarendon. His successors are as follows: N. M. Orr, H. E. Norris, and the present incumbent, A. H. Simpson, who was ap- pointed in June, 1885.
Of the various mills and manufacturing industries in the township it may be said : The tannery at Stoneham was started about the year 1868, by Palmer, Hill & Co., who after a time failed. Charles Boardman owned the property for a brief period, and was followed by W. W. White. White & Co. now own and operate this mill.
F. H. Rockwell started the tannery and saw-mill at Clarendon village about seven years ago. Brown Brothers & Co. started their saw-mill and planing- mill at North Clarendon about six or seven years ago.
There are now five saw-mills in town, that of the Rogers Brothers, Burton Alson and Lucien (sketch of Alson Rogers, in other pages) ; that of Edward Armstrong in the north part of the township at the head of Dutchman's Run, which has been there seven years; that of F. H. Rockwell at Clarendon ; that of Brown Brothers & Co., at North Clarendon, and that of Edward Clapp & Co., at Tiona. This mill was purchased from Hall by E. G. Wood, who sold to the present owners about 1870 or 1871.
The Borough of Clarendon .- We have seen that the borough of Clarendon is of recent origin even as a settlement. It is purely a product of oil oper- ations and oil excitement, and has had a mushroom growth that would indi- cate in most villages a rapid decline and an early death. From its local sit- uation and the other interests that have been founded here, however, it is quite evident that this borough is destined to a longer career of prosperity than most oil towns. It may be that the oil excitement and the free circulation of cur- rency that accompanies the fever will be ephemeral and that the time will come when gloomy prophets will think they see their predictions on the road to verification ; but it is more than probable that the near future has for Clar- endon a more healthy growth and a more solid prosperity than has been its lot in the past.
The borough was chartered in the spring of 1882, when the following offi- cers were chosen : W. P. Nutting, burgess, resigned and immediately succeeded by J. R. Clark ; councilmen, J. R. Clark, Dr. J. W. Heath, L. E. McNett, J. B. Davis, R. J. Thompson, and G. M. Hill ; clerk, F. M. Aiken, resigned and succeeded by John A. Wilson ; treasurer, L. E. McNett.
A considerable part of the land in Clarendon borough is leased, the owners numbering but three or four. All of the land within the limits of the borough, and south of the Sheffield road, was leased by Cornelius Eleston, and reverts to his heirs. That north of the Sheffield road was originally owned by James Aiken, who sold out; James Barrett, who leased his property ; Martin Flana- gan, who sold out; James Malone, who merely leased his right, and Thomas Grace, who yet owns the soil, having sold merely an oil right.
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580
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
To show how sudden has been the rise of Clarenden borough, a resident of the village has given the following description of the site as it was in 1878. The only business here then was the planing and saw-mill of Brown Brothers & Co. (this mill is not now running). The only residents on Main street were James Barrett, James Jackson, James Eagan, Henry Welch, Martin Flanagan, James Malone, Thomas Grace, Robert Thompson, John Burns, L. E. McNett, John Belz, and Stacy Coggswell. James Kelly lived on Erie street, on the south side of the railroad, and Albert Wood had just built a house near the tannery property. These were the only inhabitants of the village. The first impulse toward the growth of a village was probably received as many as ten years ago, when the first oil well in the vicinity was drilled on Dutchman's Run by Samuel Towles.
When the Keystone House was built by J. W. Crawford in 1882 (since June, 1883, it has been kept by T. H. Willoughby), the oil excitement had reached about its highest pitch. The Narrow Gauge Railroad was not then open, and the Plank Road from North Clarendon to Garfield brought its toll- keepers in from $100 to $150 a day. All the hotels and boarding-houses were crowded with people, willing to pay the best of prices for meals and lodg- ing, while others often failed to find a suitable place whereon to lay their heads. Well No. 646 in Garfield, opened in March, 1882, was producing nearly 2,500 barrels a day. Oil well supply stores were opened, and had a flourishing trade. There are now in Clarendon borough four large stores which keep a stock of oil well supplies- the Jarecki Manufacturing Company, the store of L. Emery, jr., the Oil Well Supply Company (limited), a stock company, of which John Eaton is president, E. T. Howes, treasurer, and K. Chickering, secretary, and the supply company and general hardware store of Beecher & Copeland, which is a part of the business which this firm have established in Warren.
The first store in what is now the borough of Clarendon was that of J. N. Thompson, which he kept about a year from 188o. G. M. Hill, baker, and dealer in groceries and provisions, located here in October, 1880, and was the first merchant to settle here from away. Soon after this, or about the same time, Asa Phillips established the Central drug store, as it is now called. The present proprictor, C. S. McCandless, purchased it of W. P. Turner in 1881. Next was started, in 1880, the dry goods store of Levi H. Hershfield, which was purchased by R. N. Hershfield, his brother, in July, 1885. Since then the following stores, named about in the order of their establishment, have been started and continued to the present : In 188:, drug store, established by Thomas Griffith, now owned by Dr. D. P. Robbins and F. N. Chapin, the former of whom has had charge of it since October, 1881 ; the general store of T. S. Flynn, started by T. S. Flynn & Co., on the 16th of May, 1881 ; the shoe store of G. S. Rittmeier, founded in October, 1881 ; the news, stationery
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