History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 192

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 192

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Obadiah B. McFadden, June 21, 1839.

Ephraim L. Blaine, April 14, 1840. John Freeman, April 14, 1840. James Moffitt, Jr., April 11, 1843. Andrew Bower, April 9, 1844. Samuel G. Hart, April 15, 1845. Wm. W. Hawthorn, April 14, 1846. James Moffitt, April 11, 1848. Isaac N. Cleaver, April 9, 1850. Neall G. Beall, April 19, 1852. John Hormell, April 10, 1855. Isaac N. Cleaver, April 16, 1856. Benjamin F. Bower, April 10, 1860. Isaac N. Cleaver, May 10, 1861. Stephen H. Morton, July 12, 1865. J. W. Quail, July 12, 1865. Matthew Blaine, Nov. 30, 1870. Matthew Blaine, Jau. 26, 1874. P. F. Wolfe, May 24, 1874. James Morton, March 21, 1877. Ahirah Jones, March 27, 1879.

Salt-Works .- About the year 1822, Henry Wise sunk a well for salt water upon the river bluff, about two miles below Millsborough, on the Monongahela River, near the mouth of Fish Pot Run. For many years water was evaporated in kettles. The works Bair. The well is sunk to the depth of five hundred and eight feet. Six hundred bushels of salt are pro- duced per month.

1 The original township of Bethlehem was divided into East and West Bethlehem in 1790, In 1803 they were erected into one district, and so , are at present owned and worked by Regester & remained till 1838, when they were separated. This list embraces the justices for the old township of Bethlehem, with those for the district composed of the two townships, and those for East Bethlehem during the period of its separate existence as a district.

EAST FINLEY TOWNSHIP.

THIS township, as also the present township of | inal township of Donegal embraced territory ex- West Finley, was embraced in the old township of - - Finley, the territory of which formed a part of the original township of Donegal for nearly seven years from the time of its formation by the trustees. The first movement towards the erection of Finley town- ship was made in 1788, in which year a petition of certain inhabitants of Donegal township was pre- sented to the Court of Quarter Sessions of Washing- ton County at the January term, setting forth :

" That the said Township is very extensive, being in length more than Twenty and in breadth more than Ten Miles, and of increasing popula- tion ; that such an extent renders the publick business of that Town- ship very burdensome to its officers and highly inconvenient to all its inhabitants. That your petitioners conceive it is their privilege as mem- bers of a Free State to have the administration of Government and Jus- tice among them, with as much ease to themselves as is consistent with the publick advantage. They therefore most humbly pray your Wor- ships that a division of the said Township of Donegal may be appointed and a new township erected in the South Division as your Worships may judge proper."

The prayer of this petition was granted, and Finley

township erected by the court May 6, 1788. The orig-

tending south about half-way into what is now Greene County, and upon the erection of Finley township all this southern part was embraced in its limits. Three years later, at the April term of the Court of Quarter Sessions, in the year 1792, a petition of inhabitants of Finley township was presented, representing "that your petitioners are subject to many inconveniences, arising from the great extent of said township, and their remote situation from the body of the inhabit- ants therein, it being thirty miles from the north to the south bounds of the same. That they cannot conveniently, and seldom do, partake in the choice of town officers from that cause, and are often obliged to go a great way on business with them, sometimes too on the most trifling occasions, which we consider as a grievance. Besides being called to work on publick roads at a great distance from home, which is also a great burden." For which reasons they asked the court to cause a division of the township by certain boundary lines suggested in the petition. This peti-

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EAST FINLEY TOWNSHIP.

tion (which was signed by Thomas Ryerson, Ellis Bane, and twenty-three others) was read at the April term and continued through the June and September terms, and at the December term, 1792, it was granted, with boundary lines as follows :

"Beginning at the State line where it crosses the Pack Ilorse Fork of Wheeling Creek ; thence up said creek, including Robert Wharton's, to the mouth of Robison's Fork ; thence up said fork to the first main forks ; thence up the Right hand Fork to the head ; thence straight to the mouth of Templeton's Fork of said creek ; thence up Hunter's Fork to Doctor Moore's plantation, including said plantation to the mouth of Hunter's Run ; thence up the straight right hand fork of said run to the head of the Brushy fork of Ten-Mile Creek ; thence along the Dividing Ridge between the brushy fork and the south fork of said creek to the head of English's Run ; thence down the Ridge on the east side of said Run, including the waters of said run, to the South fork of Ten-Mile Creek aforesaid ; thence across said creek and along the Ridge, includ- ing the watters of Perkensons Fork to the head of the Duncard Fork of Weling; thence along said Dividing Ridge between the watters of the Monongahela and the Ohio Rivers to the State line; thence along said line to the place of Beginen."

The township thus taken from Finley was named Rich Hill, and in 1796 became a part of Greene County. By an act of the Legislature passed Jan. 22, 1802, an alteration was made in the line between Washington and Greene County, in which that por- tion of Greene County that became by the act an- nexed to Washington was made a part of Finley township.

On the fourth Monday of June, 1828, a petition from certain inhabitants of Finley township was pre- sented to the Court of Quarter Sessions of Washing- ton County, praying for a division of the township, on account of " the disadvantages they labour under in consequence of their Township being large, that a great number of the inhabitants have to go from eight to ten miles to an election. Also there is so many roads that two supervisors cannot attend to them in good time." The court upon consideration appointed David Frazer, Abraham Van Voorhis, and Jacob McVey commissioners to divide the township if thought to be necessary. The commissioners reported Oct. 6; 1828, that they had divided the township "by a line commencing on the Greene County line, bank of Hunter's Fork of Wheeling, and opposite to the mouth of Shoup's Run, bearing north five degrees west, seven miles and two hundred and eighty perches to a stone pile in the Donegal township line on lands of the heirs of Thomas Stokely near the head of a small ravine north 66} Degrees East 145 perches from the house whereon James Simmons formerly lived now the property of Elizabeth Roney." The report was confirmed Dec. 24, 1828, and the two divisions thus made of the territory of old Finley township were named, respectively, East Finley and West Finley townships. Since that time no material change has been made in the boundaries of East Finley, which are : On the northwest, Donegal town- ship; on the northeast, Buffalo ; on the east, Frank- lin and Morris; on the west, West Finley township ; and on the south, Greene County. The streams of the township are Hunter's Fork of Wheeling Creek

(which fork marks the south boundary of the town- ship), Templeton's Fork and Gordy's Fork of the same creek, both of which pass through the township in a southwesterly course, and a small tributary of Buffalo Creek, which rises in the northeastern part of the township, and flows in a northerly course into the township of Buffalo.

Early Settlements .- Abraham Enlow was among the first of the settlers in what is now East Finley township. There is little doubt that he was here as early as 1775. He settled on Wheeling Creek, where he built a block-house for the protection of himself and family from the Indians. His first land purchase was of a tract containing four hundred acres, called "Big Flat," situated on the waters of Big Wheeling Creek, which was granted to him Feb. 21, 1788, and surveyed March 30th following. On March 26, 1788, "Sugar Stick Run," a tract of three hundred and ninety-one acres, was warranted to him, and surveyed April 26th of the same year. Again, in 1790, he re- ceived a warrant for one hundred acres of land, which was not surveyed until June 9, 1799. Abraham En- low's sons were five,-Elliott, Luke, Henry, William, and Michael. His daughters, four in number, were Mrs. Thomas Hill, Mrs. James St. Clair, Mrs. Wolf, and Mrs. Jeremiah Post. Michael Enlow married and emigrated to Monroe County, Ohio; Elliott En- low. married a Miss Atchison, and they had a large family of children. Their sons were three,-Henry, John, and Gideon.

Luke, second son of Abraham Enlow, married and died near where he was born, leaving a large family, six sons and three daughters. All except Ruth, who married John Montgomery, emigrated to Ohio, In- diana, and Illinois. William Enlow, another of Abraham's sons, married a Miss Wolf, who died in this township a quarter of a century ago. They had four children,-Abraham, Elliott, Luke, and Peter. Abraham, Jr., and Peter emigrated to Ohio, and Luke Enlow, Jr., died in Washington County. Of this branch of the Enlow family, Elliott, Jr., is the only one now living. He still owns a part of the old homestead, and another portion is the property of William McCleary.

Henry Enlow was one of Abraham Enlow's sons, and may be termed one of the original settlers, as he was one of. the oldest children. He married a Miss Atchison. Of his numerous family the sons all emi- grated to Ohio, and the daughters married and died in Washington County. From Ruth Enlow, daughter of Luke, and granddaugther of old Abraham En- low, have sprung a numerous family. She married Hugh Montgomery, son of James Montgomery, who, Oct. 21, 1784, warranted the tract of land called " Tragical," containing four hundred acres, situated on the Robinson Fork of Wheeling Creek, and which was surveyed to him Dec. 30, 1784. Hugh and Ruth Montgomery had eleven children. James, the eldest, went to Ohio; John settled in East Finley township

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

and died here; William resides in Washington bor- ough, where he has for several years been a justice of the peace, and is at present proprietor of a hardware- store; Jesse died in this county ; Alexander resides in this township on the old Montgomery homestead ; and Cyrus lives on an adjoining farm. The daughter, Susan Montgomery, married John Thornberry; Annie was the wife of William A. Sprowls; Rebecca became Mrs. Martin Post; Mary married Simeon Sprowls; and Phebe, who married Henry Martin, resides in Ohio.

Benjamin and Isaac Elliott were brothers and Quakers, who came from the eastern part of Pennsyl- vania, and settled in East Finley township some time after 1780. In 1812 all the families of Elliott rela- tives emigrated in a body to "Slippery Rock," in Ohio, where there was a Quaker settlement and a church of the Society of Friends.

Charles Cracraft was of Irish extraction, and orig- inally a resident of Virginia. In 1781 he was the owner of a farm located on the waters of Ten-Mile Creek, and Feb. 11, 1792, he purchased the tract of land called "Content" of William Atchison, located in the vicinity of his other property. Charles Çra- craft married Miss Atchison, and their children were three sons,-Joseph, Charles, and William, Joseph married and removed to " Owl Creek ;" Charles went to Virginia, where he was a miller, and married there; William married Miss Lackey, living and dying upon the old farm, which is now owned by his son Archi- bald. Charles Cracraft, Sr., becoming a widower, married the widow Ruple, but they had no children.

Andrew Kerr emigrated from Ireland in 1781, and bought a farm of Mr. Leeper, located on Buffalo Creek, in this township, containing one hundred and eighty- five acres. He married Esther Stephenson, a daugh- ter of Squire Stephenson, their family numbering six, three sons and three daughters. Robert Kerr mar- ried Nancy Vanderhuff; James married Harriet Van- syock; and William married Cynthia Pedan, and lives in East Finley township. The daughter Jane became the wife of Jesse Bane, and Eliza and Esther died single.

Charles, William, and Barnet Boner came into this section and warranted the tracts "Peace," " Plenty," and "Quarrel," containing respectively three hundred and seventy-five, three hundred and eighty-five, and three hundred and seventy-eight acres, These bodies of land were situated on Lick Run of Buffalo Creek, the run passing through the tract "Peace." The adjoining lands were then the property of Thomas Stokely, William Hawkins, James Stephenson, and Widow Hutchins. At the time of the survey, Aug. 11, 1785, the land was in Donegal township, but came within the limits of Finley upon its erection.

The Sprowls family of five brothers came from Eng- land to Pennsylvania, remaining for a time near Ship- pensburg. Eventually two or three of the brothers

came to Washington County, and John Sprowls set- tled in what is now East Finley township. These brothers must have located in this county early, as an account of Hugh Sprowls, dated April 19, 1786, is found in the controller-general's report for a horse lost in the Sandusky expedition of 1782.

The children of John Sprowls were five sons and four daughters. One of the daughters married Mr. Kerr and emigrated to Ohio. James Sprowls mar- ried Eleanor Enlow. They had seven children,- Melinda, Cyrus, Jesse, Elliott, John, Simeoni, and James. Melinda married Joseph Martin, and both are still living in West Finley township. Jesse lived and died single, and Elliott, who is also unmarried, resides in Washington borough, where he is engaged in the boot and shoe trade. Cyrus Sprowls was mar- ried first to Miss Post, second to Miss Melinda Elliott, and the third time to Miss Mary A. Ashbrook. He died in East Finley township, leaving three children, Jesse P., Mary A., and Milton R. Sprowls. The daughter married J. L. Rockafellow, and resides in Burnsville, West Finley township, and Milton R., who married Miss Hannah Cook, resides in this town- ship on the old home place. Jesse P. graduated from Amherst Theological Seminary, and is now a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Ohio.

John Sprowls, another son of James and brother of Cyrus Sprowls, married Miss Hannah Reed, and spent most of his life in East and West Finley town- ships. His trade was that of a tinner, at which he worked for a time in Claysville and Washington. Abandoning it he bought a small farm in East Fin- ley, but eventually sold it and purchased a larger one in West Finley township, upon which he died. His seven children were James, Luther, Winfield, Alfred, Jesse, John, and Elizabeth Sprowls. All of these except James and Luther are single, and still living with their mother upon the home farm. James mar- ried Jane Lively, who, with their two children, reside on a part of the homestead. Luther married Armice Fields, and lives in West Finley. Simeon, a third son of James and brother of Cyrus and John Sprowls, married Mary Montgomery, and seven of their eight children are still living. Oliver M., one of the sons, married Charity Cooper, and they with their three children are living on one of his father's farms in East Finley township., Albert S., another son, is an attorney of the Washington County bar, to which he was admitted Sept. 15, 1879. The other children live with their mother on the home farm, which is the old McCreary tract.

James Sprowls, Jr., the fourth son of James and grandson of John Sprowls, married Mary A. Samp- son, by whom he had four children, three of whom are living. He is a farmer, and resides in West Fin- ley township. William Sprowls, one of the five brothers who came to this county, married Dorcas Lowne, and they had five sons and two daughters. The daughters both reside in Washington. The son

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EAST FINLEY TOWNSHIP.

Eli, unmarried, resides upon the farm of his father. William W. Sprowls, another son, married Miss Stockdale, and they with their large family live upon the original Sprowls tract. Henry married Miss Mc- Clellan, and is a farmer in West Finley township, where he has reared a large family. Cyrus entered the Union army in the beginning of the Rebellion, and died in the service. John, who married Miss Mc- Crary, was also a soldier, entering the army from Illinois, whither he removed soon after his mar- riage.

Enoch Vansyock 1 and Isaac Elliott, brothers-in- law, came into this township and settled on land near where the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church now stands. Enoch Vansyock's property was purchased by him of Thomas Atchison Oct. 9, 1795. It was the tract "Great Snake," containing three hundred and ninety- eight acres, situated on the waters of Wheeling Creek. His children numbered ten,-Abraham, Enoch, Mo- ses, Aaron, Ann, Rebecca, Mary, Lydia, Hannah, and Rachel. Moses, Hannah, and Rachel all married mem- bers of the Shederick family, two brothers and a sis- ter, of Dauphin County, in this State; Abraham mar- ried a daughter of Samuel England ; Enoch married a daughter of Rev. John Patterson, of Ohio ; Aaron's wife was Miss Cope, of Fayette County ; Ann became the wife of Mr. Blackburn, of Ohio ; Rebecca married Timothy Patterson, and Mary and Lydia married two brothers named Newburn. Some of these families re- moved to the West, and the others remained in this section.

Joseph Ayers was a native of Eastern Pennsylvania. In 1802 he purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land of Francis Stone, Jr., a part of the tract "Stone Hill," situated on the waters of Buffalo Creek. The original tract was warranted to Isaac Phillips, April 3, 1786, and by him sold to Francis Stone, Sr., April 10, 1787. By the will of Francis Stone, Sr., dated Nov. 8, 1788, the property descended to his heirs, Francis, James, and Thomas Stone. On Oct. 17, 1801, Thomas deeded his share to his two brothers, and Francis sold a part of his share to Ayers, as stated. Joseph Ayers had a son and daughter. The son married a Miss Tilton. She died in a short time, when he married again and went West. The Ayers homestead is now the property of Mr. Grummond.

William Noble married Miss Harriet Spencer in Winchester, Va., and came to East Finley township to make his home. They had eleven children, five dying in infancy, and six reaching maturity. Sarah's first husband was Samuel Hornish, who was acci- dentally shot in Claysville. Her second marriage was to George Miller, and they now reside in Done- gal township. James Noble has been married twice. His first wife was Maria Maley, and his second Re- becca J. Richey. They are now living in Buffalo township. Robert, who also married twice, had for

his first wife Rachel Mckean, and for his last Mary Graham. They reside in Buffalo township. Nancy Noble and her husband, Daniel McPherson, live in Donegal township, as do Samuel Noble and his wife, Catharine Shaler. Henry C. Noble married Rachel Carson, and they live in Buffalo township.

The Knox post-office was established in 1856, Mr. Knox being appointed postmaster, and keeping the office in his store. There was one also at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, called "Pleasant Grove" post-office. The office known as the Simp- son post-office was so named from the fact that the Rev. Mr. Simpson was the postmaster for many years. It has been removed to near the Greene County line. The list of postmasters of the Simpson post-office is Rev. Mr. Simpson, Israel Wood, John Fitzpatrick, and the present incumbent, Milner Hays, who has a general store in connection with the office.

The medical men practicing in the township in the early days were Dr. Hatcher, Dr. Joseph Pedan, and Dr. Jonathan Simpson.

Churches .- The first building known to have been used in East Finley township for religious worship was the Quaker meeting-house, built in 1797. It was a simple log house, which also did duty as a school-house. In the year 1800, during the term of school taught by Mr. Heaton, this building was burned, and the soci- ety was without a regular place for services until 1803, when a house of hewed logs was erected. The most prominent members in this Friends' meeting were Robert, Joseph, and Samuel England, Enoch Vansyock, Isaac Elliott, and their families. The organization was never a strong one, and when many of the members removed to Ohio and other Western States it gradually died out. Samuel England, an old gentleman of more than eighty years, is the only Friend remaining in this part of Washington County. Their last meeting in this vicinity was held more than forty years ago, July 14, 1841.

In 1824 some of the people known as United Brethren in Christ organized a church in this town- ship, which was called "Mount Hope." The leading one in the work was George Ealy, and among the earliest members were Andrew Stellar, Samuel Feath- erly, Isaac Earnest, Henry Sherrick, and Christian Earnest. There is no account given of their place for holding services until 1850, when a meeting-house was built upon land given by George Plants for that purpose. Again in 1874 a new church was erected, this time a handsome frame edifice. The pastors who have ministered to these people have been Rev. Jacob Ritter, under whose preaching the society was or- ganized ; Revs. Winter, Adolph Harndon, and C. Wortman. The last named is the present pastor, who has a church numbering one hundred members. Con- nected with this church is a burial-ground, wherein some of the burials date back more than half a cen- turv.

1 Elsewhere also found spelled Vanscoyve.

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Stony Point Methodist Church was organized as early as 1826. For want of a place of worship preaching was first held at the house of Luke Enlow full sixty years ago, and afterwards at the house of Elliott Enlow. The first church building owned by this society was built in 1830 on the old Enlow farm, and its frame was the same as that of the present building. The first members were Sabina, Henry, Ellen, Elliott, Martha, Luke, and Susannah Enlow, Warren and Elizabeth Thornberry, Larry and Eliza- beth Coffield, James, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Joseph Pedan, and Jemima Patterson. This church is often called the Enlow Church. The present pastor is Rev. Thomas Patterson, and the society, which is not strong, is under the Claysville Conference. A burial- ground is connected with this church, in which is a handsome monument bearing inscriptions to the memory of George Sprowls, Company K, One Hun- dred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volun- teers, aged twenty-seven years, supposed to have died at Andersonville; Jesse M. Sprowls, of same com- pany, aged twenty-four years, killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.

The United Presbyterian congregation of Wheel- ing1 dates back forty-six years. In May, 1836, a number of members of the congregation of South Buffalo living in East and West Finley townships, together with a few families from the congregation of Mount Hope, petitioned the Presbytery of Chartiers to be formed into a congregation to be known as the congregation of Wheeling. The name of the con- gregation was taken from Wheeling Creek, the branches of which drain the section of country in which the petitioners lived. In answer to this peti- tion, on July 5th the Presbytery appointed Rev. David French to preach in the new congregation on the second Sabbath of August, and to hold an election for elders on Monday following. There is a record in the oldest minute-book of the session as a kind of preface stating that "The Rev. David French preaches and holds an election for elders, where and when Thomas Hutcheson and William McClellan were elected, and James Hutcheson and John Scott, formerly elders, the first in South Buffalo and the latter in Mount Hope, were installed as ruling elders in Wheeling congregation."

The number of persons and the names of those uniting in the organization we have no means of as- certaining, as the minutes of the session for the first seven years were either not recorded at all or that record has been lost. During these years the congre- gation enjoyed the services of various ministers and licentiates sent to them as supplies from the Presby- tery. We know but little of their efforts and strug- gles during this time. Their number must have been few, for they were not able to procure more than the

half time of a minister's labors in those days of low salaries. Their place of meeting for public worship for a time was in private houses and at a tent erected on the side of a hill, a romantic spot, still adorned by its native forests. This little assembly, which for a few years was migratory according to the convenience of those who entertained it, or the character of the weather, at length found a sanctuary house in a little frame church building erected on the crest of the hill, on the site of which had stood the tent around which the people had often gathered to worship God.

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 192

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