History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 184

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 184

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In politics James Patterson was a decided Demo- crat, but not so well known in the party councils as his brothers, Finley, William, and John, who were members of the General Assembly of the State. Trained by a father who was proverbial for his hon- esty, his life was marked by strict integrity in all business transactions. As a business man, he was one of the most successful in the county, winning wealth and position without sacrificing any of those exalted characteristics which betoken the honest man and pure citizen. For nearly thirty-four years he was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Cross Creek, Pa., and as Providence had put him in trust of ample means, he gave a liberal support to all the institutions of the gospel, especially to those schemes of benevo- Jence in which the Presbyterian Church is engaged.

During many painful and lingering months of sick- ness he was sustained and cheered by the promises of the gospel, and when he passed through the dark valley of the shadow of death, the rod and staff of the Shep- herd of Israel so comforted him that he feared no evil.

HON. WALTER CRAIG.

Hon. Walter Craig was born in Ireland Dec. 1, 1786. He was the youngest in a family of seven children, and when six years of age he came with his family to America, and was settled near West Middletown, Washington Co., Pa. He received a good English education, and learned the business of surveying. He was also in early life a "down" river trader. In 1818-19 he was a member of the House of Representatives of the State. In 1837-38 he was a member of the State Constitutional Con- vention. In 1843, '44, and '45 he was a member of the State Senate. He also held important county offices. All of these trusts he fulfilled with honor to himself and profit to the State. His character for incorruptible integrity was not excelled by any of his compeers. A part of his life was spent in farm- ing, but about 1830 he sold his farm and engaged in mercantile pursuits in the village of Cross Creek, where he continued for about ten years, after which he retired from active business.

Aug. 3, 1819, he was married to Elizabeth Scott, who was born in Washington County, Pa., Aug. 8, 1794. She died Aug. 18, 1866. The children by this mar- riage were Jane, the wife of Maj. William Lee ; Mar- garet A., the widow of Dr. P. W. Dryden, deceased, of Christian County, Ky .; Elizabeth, the wife of Rev. A. H. Kerr, of Rochester, Minn .; David married Amanda White. He was a prominent lawyer of New Castle, Lawrence Co., Pa. He was a member of the convention which formed the present Constitution of the State, and died Nov. 10, 1873; John married Catharine Phipps. She died in 1852, and he has since spent much of his time in the western country. Henry Martin married Mary Templeton and resides in Nebraska ; Joseph died in 1855, aged twenty-one years ; three others, Walter Scott, William, and Wal- ter Stockton, died in infancy.

In 1828, Hon. Walter Craig became a member, and in 1831 was elected, ordained, and installed a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of Cross Creek, Pa., and continued to be one of its strongest pillars to his death. He was wise in counsel, remarkably attentive to all the ordinances of divine worship, and ever ready to sacrifice his time, labor, and money to pro- mote the cause of Christ. He died Feb. 10, 1875, at the house of his daughter in the State of Indiana, whither he had gone on a visit, and at his request his flesh was brought to sleep with the dust of his de- ceased wife in the cemetery of Cross Creek, Pa. " Mark the perfect man and behold the upright ; for the end of that man is peace."

740

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

During many painful and lingering months of sick- ness he was sustained and cheered by the promises of tha anenel and when he passed through the dark valley

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upon a farm now owned by his great-grandson, R. M. Patterson, where he died June 29, 1818. His wife, .1 1000 Their Elizabeth son, "Gen. ter County age when County. nent and i County fo Congress, 1795 he ma County, På children. manhood Samuel, T Moses, and MERCURY MYSTERIES M150 THE STALKING MAN by Wilson Tucker James, t: beth (Fin)] given, was M151 AND DANGEROUS TO KNOW by Elizabeth Daly 1798. Hil he was bd M152 TERROR IN THE TOWN by Edward Ronns was farmi! M153* THE LEADEN BUBBLE by H. C. Branson ployed in gaged in M154 SPIN YOUR WEB, LADY! by Richard and Frances Lockridge farm nov where he TEAR OFF AND MAIL 29, 1820, M155* DEATH FROM A TOP HAT by Clayton Rawson and Eliz M156 DROP DEAD by George Bagby ship. T' oldest aı M157 DIG ME LATER grew up by Miriam-Ann Hagen sell T. J M158 HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL (formerly The Frightened Child) by Dana Lyon Thomas in Cross Jane Ho; M159* SUDDEN VENGEANCE by Edmund Crispin New Yor M160* THE THREE FEARS by Jonathan Stagge died Ma brose, n M161* DR. BRUDERSTEIN VANISHES by John Sherwood Plattsm Campb M162 DEATH OF A NYMPH (formerly The Motive) by Evelyn Piper F., ma in All I enclose $ NAME Latta M164* THE AMERICAN GUN MYSTERY or Death at the Rodeo by Ellery Queen In Į crat, 1 M165 DEATH AND LETTERS ADDRESS by Elizabeth Daly his br. membe CITY

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741

CROSS CREEK TOWNSHIP.

JOIN N. WALKER.

David Walker, grandfather of John N. Walker, | was a native of New Jersey, and his wife was Eliza- beth Elliott, of the same State. Soon after their mar- riage they settled in Huntingdon County, Pa., where their ten children were born. The oldest of these children, Alexander Walker, born in 1774, settled in Cross Creek (now Jefferson) township, Washington County, Pa., in 1795. He was a farmer, and in 1800 married Elizabeth Norris, by whom he had twelve children, two of whom died young. Those who grew up and married were Eliza, James, John N., Susan, Alexander, Mary A., David S., Isabel, Drucilla, and Samuel.

Alexander Walker died in 1855, and his wife, Eliz- abeth Norris, in 1866.

John N. Walker was born in what is now Jefferson township, Washington County, June 24, 1808, and died in Cross Creek township Feb. 15, 1882. He was a lifelong farmer. Until twenty-one years of age he worked upon his father's place, and from that until his death upon the farm now owned by his son, John N. Walker. Nov. 18, 1830, he married Anna Vance, who died May 15, 1870. They had twelve children, none of whom are now living. Mr. Walker was thoroughly in earnest in whatever he undertook, en- ergetic, hard-working, and diligent. His habits were temperate and regular; his manners unassuming. His business capacity enabled him to accumulate enough to give each of his children a fair start in life. He was for many years a member of the Pres- byterian Church.

He early identified himself with the Democratic party, and always advocated its principles. He held important township offices, and in 1855 was elected to the office of county commissioner, which he filled for three years. In 1869 he was a candidate for the State Assembly, and carried his native county, but was de- feated in Beaver County, which was then a part of the legislative district. In all public positions he labored for the welfare of those whom he represented.

DAVID S. WALKER.

owner of one of the finest agricultural farms in the vicinity, upon which he lived until 1875, when he retired from active business pursuits and moved to Burgettstown, Pa., at which place he died in May, 1877. He was a great admirer of curiosities and the natural scenery of his country, and visited and trav- eled in almost every State of the Union during the latter years of his life. He was one of the early ex- cursionists to California over the Pacific Railroad after its completion. Possessed of remarkable de- scriptive powers, it was always a treat to his friends and neighbors to engage him in conversation after his return from such visits. As a citizen, he was enter- prising and identified with the leading industries and improvements of the community in which he moved. He was frequently chosen a juror in the State and United States Courts, and in 1876 was a candidate for the State Legislature. As a friend, he was all that could be asked or expected. He was frank and gen- erous, with no jealousy in his nature. "Of him it can be truly said, "His words gave courage and new strength to every heart." He was always a liberal contributor to benevolent objects, and took great interest in the welfare of the needy and oppressed. As a husband and father, he was devoted to his family. He loved to see others happy, and found much of his ,enjoyment in the happiness of those who surrounded him. He had no personal enemies, and his generous heart had no place for enmity. His children were seven in number. One, Eva, died in infancy. His oldest son, William H. Harrison Walker, enlisted as a soldier in the civil war. He was the chief musician in Capt. Templeton's company, and died Oct. 4, 1861, in his twenty-third year. The others are Mary, Anne, Alexander H., Alice, and Jane.

MAJ. WM. LEE.

The grandparents of Maj. William Lee, Hugh and Mary Lee, emigrated from Ireland to America in 1789, and with their family of five sons and three daughters settled in Washington County, Pa. They purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, and cleared and improved the same. The children all married, and all left the old homestead except Hugh, the father of Maj. William, who remained with his parents, and at their deaths, about the year 1815, became the owner of the land by will. In the same year he purchased one hundred and sixty. acres ad- joining what he had inherited. At that time business was very much depressed from the effects of the war of 1812, and wheat was the principal product of his

David S. Walker was born in Cross Creek township, Washington County, Pa., July 5, 1816. His early life was marked by no special incident, and he entered - upon the threshold of manhood possessed of a strong constitution and habits of industry, and with traits of character which distinguished him through life as generous-hearted, honest, and true. He acted from convictions, and no temptation or influence could farm, and sold as low as twenty-five cents per bushel. ' swerve him from the path of honor and duty. He was Sheep-raising, now one of the principal industries of Washington County, was then confined to a few coarse ones for family use. In 1817, Hugh Lee, Gen. Thomas Patterson, and William Vance purchased a few fine sheep from the importation of Wells and truly patriotic, and was an earnest advocate of the free institutions of his country. He was married March 8, 1838, to Eliza Vance, and settled in his native locality, where, by his industry and frugality, he acquired considerable wealth, and became the | Dickerson. The flocks steadily increased, others em-

742

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

barked in the same business, and it grew until it be- came the staple industry of the county.

In 1804, Hugh Lee married Hannah Orr. They had ten children, five of whom are yet living. Hugh Lee died in 1837. His wife, Hannah (Orr) Lee, died in 1882, in her ninety-fifth year. Maj. William Lee, the oldest son of Hugh and Hannah (Orr) Lee, was born in 1807. He became the owner of the Lee homestead in 1835, it being willed to him by his father. In 1836 he married Jane, eldest daughter of Hon. Walter Craig. His life business has been farming and stock-raising. In 1876 he divided his property among his children, and has since been living a retired life. He holds a commission as major in the State militia from Governor David R. Porter. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he has been an elder since 1858. His grandfather and father were elders in the same church. Maj. Lee's success in life is the result of earnest purpose,

determination which never flagged, exactness and promptness in the transaction of business, a deep sympathy with others' wants, a sacred regard for his word, and a faithful discharge of all obligations, with a settled purpose of right which knows no such word as fail. Although nearly as old as the century, he is still strong in body and mind, and enjoys the pros- perity and society of his children and neighbors. His children, all of whom are living, are Hugh, a farmer in Cross Creek township, married to Marion Stockton, daughter of the Rev. John Stockton, D.D .; Elizabeth Mary, the wife of John N. McDonald, of McDonald's Station, Washington Co., Pa .; Anna, the wife of Richard V. Johnson, of North Strabane township, Washington Co .; Walter C., married to Thomasine Buchanan, owns and resides upon the farm upon which his great-grandfather settled ; Hannah is unmarried and resides with her parents; John S. is un- married and resides upon a farm near his father's home.

DONEGAL TOWNSHIP.

DONEGAL was one of the thirteen original town- ships of Washington County laid out in 1781. Its territory then embraced what is now included in the townships of Donegal, Buffalo, East and West Fin- ley, and the western portion of Greene County. The first reduction of the large area of this township was made by the erection of Finley township from it, in 1788, as mentioned in the history of East Finley. Five years later (1793) the petition of John Hill, Martin Horn, Nathaniel McDole, David McMillan, John Buchanan, and fifty-five others, inhabitants of the township of Donegal, was presented to the Court of Quarter Sessions at the June term of the year named, representing that the inhabitants of the east- ern part of the township were laboring under great difficulties in transacting business before the justices "at unreasonable distances from home, as also in being obliged to repair roads at extreme distances, with divers other inconveniences occasioned by the great extent of the township," and praying that the court divide the township and erect from a part of it a new township, to be called New German township, with boundaries as follows: "Beginning at the forks of the run near Richard Waller's, thence by a straight line to Buffelow Creek at Capt. G'over's, thence up the creek to Canton or Hopewell Line, thence by Canton township line to the Widdow Dickerson's, inclusive, thence strait by the Ridge Dividing the waters of Wheelen and Buffalow untill south of

Thomas Byers', thence by a straight Line to the place of Beginning."

This petition was reported on unfavorably and re- jected by the court. Five years later, at the April sessions of the court, in the year 1798, the inhabitants presented another petition praying for a division and erection of a township, to embrace the territory men- tioned in the former petition, and an additional area lying north of it. This petition was laid over from the April term till the January term of 1799, then continued through the February term and to March, at which term the court ordered a division of Donegal township, and the " upper division" to be erected into a new township, "to be called Buffalo township," thus reducing Donegal to limits nearly identical with those of the present time, only slight changes in boundary having since taken place. The boundaries of Done- gal are Independence township on the north, Buffalo and East Finley on the east, East Finley and West Finley on the south, and the State of West Virginia on the west. The principal streams of Donegal are Buffalo Creek and the "Dutch Fork" of the same creek, the former marking the northern boundary of this township against Independence, and the latter flowing northwardly through the central part of Don- egal into Buffalo Creek. Buck Run and Rodgers' Run are inconsiderable water-courses, flowing into Buffalo Creek by courses generally parallel to that of the Dutch Fork. Several small streams head in the

743

DONEGAL TOWNSHIP.

southwest part of Donegal, and flow southwestwardly to join their waters with those of Wheeling Creek. The old National road crosses Donegal township south of the centre, running in a general east-and- west course, and passing through the boroughs of Claysville and West Alexander. The Hempfield Railroad, connecting Wheeling, W. Va., with Wash- ington, Pa., also passes in the same general course through the township and by the two boroughs above named. Its route through the eastern part of the township is nearly parallel with that of the National road, but through the western half lies more northerly along the waters of the Dutch Fork. The railroad has been in operation from Claysville westward for' more than twenty-five years.

The earliest white settlement within the limits of the township of Donegal of which any record or other information has been found was that made by Thomas Clark in 1773. Proof that such a settlement was made by him at that time is found in the records of the surveyor of Ohio County, Va., which county at that time, and until the adjustment of the bound- ary line between that State and Pennsylvania, was supposed to extend eastward so as to include the western half of the present county of Washington. The part of the surveyor's minutes above mentioned as proving Clark's settlement has reference to a tract of three hundred and sixty-three acres, called " Apol- los," taken up by John Chapman, assignee of Thomas Clark, on a certificate issued by the Virginia com- missioners at Redstone Old Fort, Nov. 16, 1779, describing the tract granted as "lying in the county of Ohio, on the waters of Buffalo Creek, to include an actual settlement made by the said Thomas Clark in the year 1773." Nothing beyond this is learned concerning Thomas Clark or his settlement. His name has not been found elsewhere in any of the rec- ords pertaining to this region, nor does it occur in any of the early assessment-rolls of the township. The names of John, Benjamin, and Hezekiah Clark are found among those of the early taxables of Done- gal, but whether or not they were sons or other rela- tives of Thomas, or whether the latter died or re- moved to other parts after his settlement here, and before the issuance of the Virginia certificate to Chapman for the tract on which Clark settled six years before, is not known. Other facts taken from the survey books, having reference to tracts on which very early settlements were made by persons concern- ing whom no further information can be had, are given below, as follows :

The tract of four hundred acres named "Sylvia's Plain" in the survey, which was made Feb. 17, 1785, was granted to Jacob Lefler by a Virginia certificate, in which it was described as being adjoining lands of Jacob Rice (Reis) and Christopher Wygand, “in the county of Ohio, on Buffalo Creek, to include his [Leffer's] actual settlement made in the year 1774."

"Content," a tract of four hundred acres on Buffalo waters, in what afterwards became the township of Donegal, was granted to Thomas Waller, on a Vir- ginia certificate, dated Feb. 22, 1780, " to include his actual settlement made in the year 1775." In the survey this tract is described as adjoining lands of Richard Wallace, Samuel Boyd, and Barnet J. Boner. The name of Richard Wallace is not found on subse- quent assessment-rolls of Donegal, but there are found in 1787 the names of Barnet Boner and Thomas Waller. The last named was the original owner of the tract "Superfine Bottom," on a part of which the town of Claysville was laid out as elsewhere re- lated. It was a tract of four hundred acres, taken by him on a Pennsylvania warrant, Feb. 25, 1785; sur- veyed on the 2d of April next following, and adjoin- ing lands of Robert Henry and Robert Walker, both of whose names appear in the Donegal assessment of 1787.

A Virginia certificate dated Nov. 16, 1779, grants to Thomas Chapman four hundred acres of land " lying and being in the county of Ohio, on the waters of Buffalo Creek, to include his settlement made in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five (1775)." This tract was surveyed to Chapman as "Indian Burying-Ground." It appears that he became a permanent settler in Donegal, for his name is shown on the assessment-roll of the town- ship for 1787, but without specification of the num- ber of acres on which he was then assessed.

"Spring Head" tract was surveyed to Lorgy (?) Smith Nov. 25, 1785, on a Pennsylvania warrant issued to him on the 8th of the preceding September. It was surveyed as two hundred and fifty-nine acres, adjoining lands of James McMillan and Thomas Hamilton. McMillan is found named as a taxable in Donegal in 1787, but neither Thomas Hamilton's nor "Lorgy" Smith's names appear.

James Glover received a warrant (dated June 3, 1793), for forty-seven acres, situated on the waters of Buffalo Creek, and including an improvement. This improvement was evidently made by Glover prior to 1787, for in that year his name appears on the Done- gal assessment. The tract warranted to him as above mentioned was surveyed to the Rev. David French Dec. 30, 1823.

Jacob Rice's (Reis') tract of four hundred acres, surveyed to him by William Hoge, Sept. 21, 1785, as " Turkey's Nest," was taken up by him on a Virginia certificate granted in January, 1780. This tract has before been mentioned as adjoining the tract on which Jacob Lefler made a settlement in 1774.

William Hawkins (as assignee of Robert McKain, who must therefore have been an earlier settler here) received a Virginia certificate for four hundred acres of land on the Dutch Fork of Buffalo. The certifi- cate bears date Feb. 17, 1780, and it was surveyed to Hawkins in the July next following. On this tract William Hawkins built his cabin home, on the south

744

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

side of the route of the later National road, at or near the foot of the hill which has since been known as Hawkins' Hill. The land on which the Hawkins home stood is or was recently owned by John Con- nor. The old Hawkins cabin was demolished, and the logs from it were used to build a stable on the op- posite side of the National road. William Hawkins did not long occupy and enjoy the farm obtained on the Virginia certificate as above mentioned. In Sep- tember, 1781, the Indians made an incursion, attack- ing the house of Jonathan Link, on Middle Wheeling Creek,1 and taking prisoners the inmates (except Jacob Fisher and Frank Hupp, whom they killed) proceeded to the Hawkins cabin, where they captured Miss Elizabeth Hawkins, daughter of William Haw- kins, who had himself already been taken prisoner by the same party at the house of Presley Peak (or Peck) on the Dutch Fork. Mrs. Hawkins, the wife of William and mother of Elizabeth, avoided capture by hiding (with an infant in her arms) in the bushy top of a fallen tree near their cabin. On their jour- ney West the Indians barbarously murdered Link and William Hawkins. His daughter Elizabeth be- came the wife of a Shawanese chief, and though she afterwards revisited the settlements, and could have remained had she so elected, chose to return to live among the savages, and did so. Jacob Miller, who was captured with Link and William Hawkins, made his escape from the Indians, and returned to his friends on the Dutch Fork of Buffalo.

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 184

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216