USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 163
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1867 .- Edward Furling, John Fields.
1868 .- A. A. Stockdale, John Danberry.
1869 .- Clark Crow, Jolın Berin.
1869 .- J. F. Jackman, E. C. Furling, Thomas Wood.
1870 .- John Nixon, J. D. Barnum, John W. Berryman.
1872 .- J. R. Jackman, J. Nixon.
1873 .- E. C. Furlong, John H. Crow.
1874 .- James L Krepps, J. F. Philips.
1875 .- John Nixon, John Dunlevy.
1876 .- Clark Crow, Richard Ward, Hugh McKee.
1877 .- James Krepps, John L. Riggs.
1878 .- A. L. Latta, Samuel McKune.
1879 .- John Dunlevy, Mark Stockdale.
1880 .- Allen Kennedy, John Mitchell, Harry Mann, W. D. Martin, John L. Riggs.
1881 .- John Conoway, John Dunlevy, Clark Crow.
Justices of the Peace .- Following is given a list of persons elected as justices of the peace in Allen township from its erection to the year 1880, viz .:
Thomas R. Reed, Oct. 14, 1852. Azarinh Crow, April 10, 1855. Thomas R. Reed, April 13, 1858. Azariah Crow, April 10, 1860. Thomas R. Reed, April 14, 1863. Azariah Crow, June 3, 1865.
Azarialı Crow, March 29, 1870.
A. A. Stockdale, Nov. 30, 1870. Azarialı Crow, Jau. 17, 1874. James D. Barnum, May 19, 1874. Azariah Crow, March 17, 1875. J. Donaldson, Jr., March 27, 1879. W. W. Jobes, March 30, 1880.
Religious Societies .- Many of the early settlers of this section of country were Friends or Quakers, and as early as 1799 trustees of a society purchased a lot on which to build a meeting-house. At what time the society was organized and where they worshiped prior to this date is not known. The deed dated April 17, 1799, is a conveyance by Joseph Allen "to Joshua Dixon, John Allmon, John Heald, and Jacob Grif- fith, trustees on behalf of the society of people called Quakers of Westland Monthly Meeting," four and one-quarter acres and seventeen perches, in consid- eration of ten dollars and sixty-seven cents, " for the proper use of the society of the people called Quakers forever for the purpose of a meeting-house called 'Fallowfield meeting-house." After many years, dis- sensions occurred in the Quaker Churches all over the country, which resulted in divisions, and the Hicksites became a distinct sect. The trouble reached this church, and the society was finally disbanded. A portion of the lot was sold to the Methodists, who built thereon a church that has long been known as the Mount Tabor Church. On the 15th of Septem- ber, 1849, Amos Griffith, Nathan Rogers, and William Hancock, trustees of the Quakers, sold to Cornelius McKenna the remaining portion of the lot on which the Quaker Church, known as "Fallowfield," had stood, it containing three and one-half acres and thirty perches. A part of the lot had been used as a
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ALLEN TOWNSHIP.
cemetery. The Friends were opposed to the erection of tombstones, and the resting-places of the early Friends who are buried are unmarked and unknown.
MOUNT TABOR METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. -The Methodist people in this section of country were organized before the year 1800, and worshiped at what was then known as the Howe Church. The cemetery is still kept up, but the church has long since gone down. A mention of this church, as well as others in this section, will be found in the history of the Methodist Church of Greenfield, written by Mr. Rockwell. In the old church eighty-four years ago the Rev. John Meeks and the Rev. Thomas Harman were preachers. After the abandonment of the old "Fallowfield" Quaker Church a portion of their church lot was purchased by the Methodists, who soon after erected upon it a frame building forty by forty feet, which was formally dedicated May 10, 1851. The Rev. Thomas Hudson preached the dedi- catory sermon from the text, "God is a spirit." The name "Mount Tabor" was given to the church by Mrs. Mahlon Riggs. The Rev. John West and the Rev. Asbury Pool preached in this section to this people before 1815. After the erection of the present Mount Tabor Church the following ministers occupied the pulpit : Revs. Joseph Lee, Joshua and William Monroe, - Lop, Daniel Hitt, J. Connelly. Among the early worshipers, as given by Mrs. Mahlon Riggs, were Eli Several, John and Henry Spohr, William, Jeremiah, and Lydia Riggs, Margaret Howe, William, Joseph, Matilda, and Melinda Wolf, Jacob, Mary, and Annie Crow, and Sarah Merrel. A further ref- erence to the article by Mr. Rockwell will show who had charge of these churches, the districts they were in, and the changes made in the districts.
Howe and Mount Tabor Cemeteries .- Where the old Howe Methodist Church stood many years ago is still the cemetery that was connected with it. Among the early settlers who are buried there is Elizabeth Howe, born in 1772, died March 16, 1834, aged sixty- two years; William Huggins, died April 27, 1844, in the seventy-fifth year of his age; William Gregg, died Feb. 25, 1851, in the eightieth year of his age ; Elizabeth Frye, died June 24, 1836, aged forty-one years ; Mary Baker, died July 16, 1874, in the eighty- fourth year of her age.
The cemetery now known as Mount Tabor Ceme- tery was in use very many years by the Friends, and was part of the grounds owned by the Friends, known as Fallowfield Meeting-House of the Westland Quar- terly Meeting. After the abandonment by the Friends it came into use by the present society, and is used by them as a burial-place. Among those buried there are the following : John Jackman, died Dec. 17, 1876, in the eighty-sixth year of his age; Samuel Allen, died March 11, 1833, aged seventy-two years ; Sylves- ter Smith, died Oct. 12, 1846, aged seventy years ; Aves Smith, died Jan. 11, 1862, aged eighty-two years.
It was not the practice of the Friends to erect a monument or tablet over the graves of their dead, and as a consequence many of the resting-places of the early settlers are unmarked and unknown. The little mounds with which the burial-place is filled only signifies that some one is buried there.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
SOLOMON C. SPEERS.
Henry Speers, the older, and Regina Froman, his wife, were born in Germany, came to Western Penn- sylvania in 1772, and settled on what is now known as the Gibsonton Distillery farm, below Belle Vernon, in Rostraver township, Westmoreland County, Pa. Henry Speers died in 1773, having lived only about one year after his arrival in Western Pennsylvania. By his will, dated May 14, 1773, he conveyed this farm to his son, Noah Speers, who by his will, dated June 2, 1832, gave it to his son, Noah W. Speers. He also owned the tract where the ferry is now located, and for which a patent in connection with the farm above mentioned was granted to Benjamin Frey and Regina Speers, in trust for the heirs of Henry Speers, deceased, bearing date June 21, 1784. Henry Speers had four sons,-Jacob, Solomon, Henry, and Noah.
Jacob immigrated in early days to Kentucky, where he was a successful business man for many years, and from whom the Kentucky Speers had their origin. Solomon was killed by the Indians on Salt River in Kentucky, where he had gone to engage in trading and trapping. Noah died on the old home- stead, now known as the Gibsonton farm. He laid out the town of Belle Vernon. The first sale of lots took place April 18, 1814. He died from a kick of a horse June 9, 1832. His wife was a daughter of Samuel Frye, Sr., who was a son of the older Abram Frye, who came to Western Pennsylvania contempo- rary with Henry Speers the older. The remains of Noah Speers and his wife rest on the old homestead farm. Henry Speers the younger was born July 8, 1756, being sixteen years old when his parents settled near the present town of Belle Vernon. He married Rebekah Frye, daughter of Henry Frye, Sept. 24, 1777. She was born March 17, 1761, and died July 16, 1835. Henry the younger had thirteen children : Samuel, born Jan. 29, 1779.
Sarah, born Dec. 28, 1780.
Rebekah, born Dec. 4, 1782.
Katherine, born Feb. 4, 1785.
Henry, born Feb. 7, 1787.
Rachel, born March 1, 1789.
Elizabeth, born April 8, 1791.
Fanny, born July 1, 1793.
Polly, born Sept. 16, 1794.
Pleasant, born Nov. 24, 1796. John, born Jan. 17, 1798.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Apollos, born Sept. 8, 1801. Nancy, born Sept. 13, 1803.
Henry Speers the younger resided all his married life on the farm called Speers' Intent, opposite Belle Vernon, in the present Allen township, Washington County, Pa., being the same on which his son Apollos lived so long after the death of his father, and which is now owned by Noah and Solomon C., sons of Apollos.
The patent to this farm was granted to Henry Speers, Jan. 12, 1789, on a survey made and entered by John Reef, May 23, 1769, and conveyed to Henry Speers by deed dated Sept. 14, 1784. Henry was not only a farmer, but also engaged extensively in trapping and running the ferry in the most primitive mode of the Indian canoe. He was long a member of the Baptist Church, and his earnestness as a worker and his consistency as a Christian gave him a power and prestige among the early settlers that few men possessed. He was licensed to preach by the church of Enon May 5, 1793, a copy of which license reads as follows :
"The Baptist Church of Jesus Christ at Enon, in Washington County, Fallowfield township, State Pennsylvania, Holding Believers Baptism by Immersion Justification by an Imputed Righteousness Perticular Election and Regeneration, Final Perseverance in Grace, &c. To all whom it may concern we send our Christian Salutation, Greeting :
" We do hereby Certify that our Beloved Brother, Henry Speers, is a member of our church in full union and communion with us, and As we believe that the Lord has called him to the ministry of his Blessed word which gifts he has improved amongst us to our satisfaction, We do hereby License and permit him to Exercise his gift in preaching the word and in Exortation Wherever it may please the Lord to cast his lot, hoping the brethren of our sister churches may receive him in love, and pray- ing that he may grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, and that our Lord Jesus Christ may by his Holy Spirit Bless his Labors and make him useful to the Comforts of Saints and convictions of Sinners.
" Signed in our church part for the whole. Passed by order of the fifth of May, A.D. 1792.
"STEPHEN BARCLAY, Cor. Sec'y. " WILLIAM ALBIN. " CHARLES WHITLATCH.
" JOHN BAILEY.
" SAMUEL VAIL.
" JESSE VANDOLAH.
" NATHAN ELLIS.
" PETER VANDOLAIS.
" JOHN STEWARD.
" WILLIAM JACKMAN, JR.
" THOMAS CLOUD.
" PETER YATMAN, 1796."
He was ordained by Rev. John Corbly on the last Saturday of March, 1797, and continued pastor of that church until the day of his death, which occurred Jan. 2, 1840. He was chiefly instrumental in build- ing up the congregation of Enon, the members of which worshiped first in the old log church, but more recently in the brick house still standing on the hill near the ferry, opposite Belle Vernon, and now owned by Solomon C. Speers. A few years since the con- gregation abandoned the building, and now worship in the new frame church near the residence of John S. Carson, on Maple Creek. The brick dwelling- house now owned and occupied by Noah Speers, near the ferry, was erected in 1806 by said Henry Speers.
Henry, son of Henry Speers the younger, was a ' soldier in the war of 1812, and was in the battle of New Orleans with Gen. Jackson. He died many years ago in the old log house on Maple Creek in
which the late Joseph Beazell resided. Samuel was also a soldier in the war of 1812; exposure in the army caused him to be a cripple in his last. days, which were passed in the family of his brother Apollos. John passed most of his life at Dunbar, Fayette Co., Pa., where he followed milling and farming. One of the daughters (Nancy)-the only one now living-of Henry Speers married George Hill, of Ten-Mile; he was the father of George L. Hill, the present Washington County treasurer. Another daughter (Pleasant) married William Ward. Katy married John McCrory. Apollos, another son after his marriage to Elizabeth Cooper, daughter of the late Valentine Cooper, resided for a short time at "Fish Pot," on Ten-Mile; with this exception he lived in the brick house at the ferry until his death, which occurred Feb. 23, 1857. His wife died in Marshalltown, Iowa, Sept. 13, 1874; she was born March 22, 1803. Her remains were interred with her husband in the Enon graveyard. Apollos and Elizabeth had five sons-Solomon C., Noah, Henry V., Jacob B., and Jasper-and five daughters,-Mar- garet, Nancy, Mary L., Sarah R., and Clara E.
Noah lives at the ferry, of which he is sole owner.
When the Rebellion broke out, Henry V. enlisted in Capt. J. J. Young's battery, and Jacob B. in the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers. Both served until the close, and went to Marshalltown, Iowa, where they have been engaged in business ever since. Jasper died when sixteen years of age.
Solomon C. was born May 12, 1832, and married May 6, 1857, Anne Eliza Walker, who was born April 5, 1836. She is a daughter of the late Nathaniel R. and. Martha Walker. He was a native of Boston, Mass., and she a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Brownfield, of Smithfield, Fayette Co., Pa. They have two sons-Charles P., born Dec. 11, 1862, and. Albert C., born Oct. 16, 1865-and two daughters,- Mary Bessie, born Sept. 13, 1870, and Jessie L., born Dec. 2, 1873.
Solomon C. and his wife began housekeeping in the house in which they now reside, on the farm a part of the "Speers' Intent." The dwelling was erected in 1860 by the late firm of Kiddoo & Moore, of Monongahela City. Solomon, whose portrait ap- pears in this history, is proprietor of the Clipper Sand-Works, near the ferry, from which have been sent to market as high as thirteen thousand tons of sand in one year, used in the manufacture of glass and as building material, etc. He was engaged in steamboating from 1853 to 1868. His early educa- tion was obtained in the common schools, but pre- pared himself for business in graduating from Duff's Mercantile College of Pittsburgh, Pa. By strict at- tention to business, in connection with unbending integrity, he has acquired quite a competence of this world's goods and a reputation as an honorable and successful man. He now lives at ease in his beautiful residence on the banks of the Monongahela, where,
Henry than
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with his family around, he enjoys the largest measure of the good will of all those with whom he holds an acquaintance.
HENRY SPHAR.1
" VIRGINIA, FR :
" At a General Court held at the Capital in the City of Williamsburg, the 21st of April, 1767, Mattern Sparr, a Native of Switzerland, who hath resided in this Colony upwards of Seven Years, and hath not been out of the same the space of two Months at any one time, came into Court between the Hours of nine and twelve in the forenoon, and pro- duced a Certificate of his having Received tho Sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the Act of Parliament in that case made and pro- vided, and took and subscribed the Oath appointed to be taken instead of the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy. The Oath appointed by an Act of Parliament made in the Sixth Year of the Reign of his present Majesty King George the third, entitled An Act for Altering the Oath of Abjuration, and the Assurance and for amending so much of an Act of the Seventh Year of her late Majesty Queen Anne, entitled an Act for the Improvement of the Union of the two Kingdoms. After the time therein limited requires the Delivery of certain Lists and Copies therein mentioned to persons Indicted of Iligh Treason or Misprison of Treason' and made and subscribed the declaration thereby also ap- pointed in order to his being naturalized.
" BEN. WALLEY."
Mattern Sparr, mentioned in the above, removed to Washington County about the year 1780, and pur- chased from Col. Edward Cook, a pioneer of civili- zation in northwestern Fayette County, the farm now owned by his grandson Henry, where he spent the remainder of his life. Two brothers and one sister came to Washington County with him. Two other brothers were killed on the way to their new home. Mattern married in Virginia and had three children, -John, Mattern, and Henry. His son John was born in Berkeley County, Va., in 1777, and died in Allen township, Washington County, in 1856. His wife was Susan Redd, by whom he had eleven children,- Mary, who is dead, married John Shively ; her home was in Guernsey County, Ohio. Jacob, who is dead, married for his first wife Susan Wood, and for his second Charlotte Wilson. Elizabeth married Joseph Dunlevy, and resides in Indiana. Daniel, who is dead, married Mary Speer; his home was in Ken- tucky. Ann, who is dead, married William Spah ; her home was in Indiana. Barbara married William Hollingshead; they are both dead. Mattern, who is dead, married Margaret Coyle; his home was in Ohio, Sarah married Joseph Beazell, and lives in Allen township, Washington County. Rachel, who is dead, married Robert Gaily; her home was in Clarion County, Pa. John married Lucy Ann Scott ; he is a farmer, and resides in Allen township. Henry, the youngest, whose portrait here represents the family, was born Feb. 25, 1820, upon the farm where his home has always been. His entire business life has been given to farming. His father gave him a farm of one hundred acres, to which his labor and good judgment have added other lands. When a young man he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his moral worth, genial manner, and neighborly kindnesses command the respect of those
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who know him. He was married Nov. 5, 1843, to Margaret, daughter of William and Ruth Gregg, of East Pike Run township. Margaret died May 28, 1845, leaving one child, William G. Sphar, who is a farmer, and resides in Allen township. He married Ruth A. Gregg, and has three children,-Annie Bertha, George Henry, and Maggie Pearl. Henry was mar- ried to his second wife, Mary Jackman, of East Pike Run township, June 15, 1847.
ROBERT STOCKDALE.
In the latter part of the last century Thomas Stockdale, a native of Eastern Pennsylvania, where his wife had shortly before died, came, with his three sons, William, Thomas, and John, to Washington County, and made a permanent settlement in what is now Allen township, upon a farm which is now de- scended to and occupied by his grandchildren. Soon after his settlement in Allen township he married his second wife, Amy Allen, by whom he had five chil- dren,-Joseph, Robert, Deborah, Allen, and Hannah. He was'a worthy man, possessing the qualities neces- sary to overcome the difficulties with which the early settler was beset, and the country was better for his having lived in it.
His.son, Robert Stockdale, was born April 19, 1801, and died Dec. 15, 1878. His knowledge of the rudi- ments of learning was gained in the district school, and the business of farming, which employed his ma- turer years, he learned at home. He was a careful student of every-day events, an intelligent man. He was a consistent member of the Christian Church, a pious man. Attentive to his own business, he was prosperous and respected.
He was twice married : first, Nov. 6, 1825, to De- borah Allen, who died March 13, 1850, leaving eight children,-William, who is a farmer residing in Kan- sas, married Rebecca Ailes; Elizabeth married Wil- liam Sprowls, of East Finley township, Washington County ; Amy died when six years of age; Allen married Henrietta Ritenour; he was a merchant, and died in 1874, in his thirty-seventh year; Robert M. died in 1864, aged twenty-three years; Deborah E. married Jesse Snyder, who died soon after their mar- riage; she resides in California, Washington Co .; Sarah Mary married William Martin, now of Alli- ance, Ohio; she died in 1864; Hannah Amy married Isaac K. Jackman, and resides in California, Wash- ington Co., Pa.
The second wife of Mr. Stockdale was Dorcas Price, of Allen township, who survives him, and by whom he had three children,-Joseph Snyder, Cyrus Field, and Martin J.,-all of whom are farmers, residing upon the old homestead, where they were born and reared, the scene of their father's birth, long years of toil, and death, and of their grandfather's trials and successes.
1 The family name is now spelled Sphar.
AMWELL TOWNSHIP.
AMWELL was one of the thirteen original townships erected in 1781, and at that time embraced its present territory and the present townships of Morris and Franklin. On the 13th of March, 1788, the town- ship of Morris was erected, comprising the south- west quarter of this township. On the 23d of April, 1792, the township of Canton was erected, taking from Amwell that part of its territory that lay north of Morris. Since that time its territory has remained the same, with the exception of a slight change in the boundary line between it and Strabane township in October, 1830. Following is a list of persons elected to the office of justice of the peace1 in Am- well from its formation to the present time :
Abner Howell, July 15, 1781, John Craig, July 15, 1781. William McFarland, Sept. 30, 1788. Ziba Cook, April 2, 1802. Milton B. Curry, April 11, 1805. William Craig, Oct. 24, 1807. Jonas Condit, Dec. 20, 1813. William Hallam, Dec. 23, 1818. Abraham Van Voorhes, March 6, 1823.
John Carter, Dec. 8, 1823. William Lindley, March 4, 1824. Ellis Hughes, March 7, 1825. William Creacraft, Oct. 2, 1832. Thomas Vanemen, May 8, 1833. David P. Hathaway, March 20, 1833. David I. Evans, June 13, 1834. Luther Day, March 15, 1836. Samuel L. Hughes, April 14, 1840.
David I. Evans, April 14, 1840. David I. Evans, April 15, 1845. Samuel L. Hughes, April 15, 1845. Silas Parker, April 11, 1848. Samuel L. Hughes, April 9, 1850. Silas Parker, April 13, 1853. Samuel L. Hughes, April 10, 1855. Silas Parker, April 2, 1858. Samuel L. Hughes, April 10, 1860. Robert Stockdale, April 14, 1863. Abel M. Evans, April 10, 1867. Samuel L. Hughes, April 9, 1867. O. T. Lyon, April 12, 1872. Robert Horn, April 12, 1872. O. T. Lyons, Jan. 20, 1874. Samuel L. Hughes, March 17, 1875. Frank F. Iams, March 21, 1877. John Closser, March 30, 1880.
Many of the English and Scotch emigrants who came over to New England removed thence to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and some to Vir -. ginia. As early as 1768 a few of these families came and settled on the north fork of Ten-Mile Creek, and their descendants are there to this day. Notable among these early settlers were the Banes and the Enochs (the latter in what afterwards became West Bethlehem), who brought with them their love of religious liberty, fostered by the teachings and exam- ple of Roger Williams. In 1772 a Baptist Church was organized, and in 1776 the Redstone Baptist As- sociation was formed, having six constituent churches, three of which were in Washington County as origi- nally erected. In 1773 fifteen or twenty families
from Morris County, N. J. (some of whom were de- scendants of the Puritans), emigrated with their fam- ilies to the Ten-Mile region. Among these were the Cooks, Lindleys, and others. These were represen- tatives of the Presbyterian faith, and in 1781 they established the churches that have long been known as the Upper and Lower Ten-Mile. These people were all driven from homes by the Indians in 1774, and on their return the next year built for safety strong block-houses as places of refuge in times of danger.
About the year 1768 five brothers-Jesse, Nathan, Isaac, Ellis, and Joseph Bane-came to Amwell township, whither they had emigrated from the West Branch of the Potomac River in Virginia, to which section they had migrated from New England. The father of this family was a native of Scotland, and the mother was from Wales. The sister, Elizabeth, who came with them became the wife of James Tucker, a furnace-man and moulder, who died about 1818. Jesse, Nathan, Isaac, and Ellis Bane all set- tled upon adjoining farms one mile west of Amity village, in this township, but Joseph preferred the life of a hunter and did not invest largely in landed estate. They afterwards warranted and patented their lands as follows : Nathan Bane, warrant Feb. 20, 1786; survey March 30, 1786, as "Bane's Fancy," contains three hundred and four acres. James Bane, warrant Feb. 20, 1786; survey March 30, 1786, as " Bane's Forest," contains three hundred and thirty- six acres. Isaac Bane, warrant without date; survey Nov. 4, 1785, as "Fickle," contains one hundred and forty-nine acres. The Bane families were all Bap- tists, and were the prime movers in the organization and establishment of the church of that denomina- tion, which is called the Ten-Mile Baptist Church, one and one-half miles west of Amity. Ellis Bane in time removed from his home in Amwell township to Ryerson's Station, in Greene County, very near the State line, and died there, leaving a number of children. Nathan Bane, who died at an ad- vanced age upon his Amwell farm, left two sons, Abraham and Jacob, who also lived and died upon the homestead. An advertisement by three sons of Nathan Bane, dated Oct. 25, 1813, says that they had erected a new fulling mill on the Middle Fork of Ten- Mile Creek, about one hundred yards from the site of the old mill, and solicited the patronage of the vicinity.
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