History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 218

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 218

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

REV. LUKE J. WASSON.

Rev. Luke J. Wasson was born in the County An- trim, Ireland, October, 1846, the youngest in a family of six children of Hugh and Elizabeth (McQeety) Wasson. The family emigrated to this country when he was two years old, and settled in the township of Robinson, Washington Co., where both his father and mother died.

He received his academic education at Cander, where he prepared for the Junior Class in Jefferson College, which he entered in 1863, and was graduated

from that institution in 1865. He prosecuted his theological studies at the Western Theological Sem- inary, Allegheny City, from which institution he was graduated in 1868. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Allegheny City. Soon after leaving the seminary he received a call as pastor to the church of Long's Run, at Calcutta, Columbiana Co., Ohio. After preaching there one year, during which time (April 28, 1869) he was ordained by the Presbytery of New Lisbon, he returned the call as not accepted.

June, 1870, he united with the Pittsburgh Presby- tery, and was installed pastor of the church of Fair- view Oct. 12, 1870, from which he was released on account of ill health April, 1873. During the early part of that summer he went west in the expectation of regaining his health, but while at Minneapolis was suddenly called by the Master to his reward June 13, 1873, in the twenty-sixth year of his age.

He was united in marriage to Jennie, daughter of James and Esther (Watson) Crawford, Nov. 5, 1868, the year he began his ministerial labors. Mrs. Was- son was a descendant on her mother's side of the Watson family. William Watson, her great-grand- father, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. He emigrated from County Down, Ireland, first set- tled in Lancaster County, and was one of the first settlers in the "backwoods," Washington County. Her mother is the only representative of the Watson family living. Alice G. and Frances C. are the only children of the Rev. and Mrs. Wasson. We cannot more appropriately close this brief sketch than by quoting the following, taken from the minutes passed Sept. 24, 1873, by the Pittsburgh Presbytery :

" As a man he was much respected ; as a laborer for Christ he was diligent and consecrated; and as a preacher earnest and successful. Among his late parishioners his character and ministry are held in fond and grateful remembrance."

PETERS TOWNSHIP.

PETERS was the tenth on the list of the thirteen original townships formed under the act erecting Washington County, passed March 28, 1781, the eighteenth section of which act authorized and di- rected the trustees to divide the county into town- ships before July 1, 1781. The territory originally embraced in the township comprehended the present township of Peters, the north part of Union town- ship, and all that portion of Allegheny County lying east of Chartiers Creek and south and west of the Monongahela River.

The first effort to divide the township was made in

September, 1784, when a petition to that effect was presented to the court of Washington County. The court decreed the division and certified the same to the Executive Council. No action was taken till Nov. 21, 1786, when the Council confirmed the order of the court dividing Peters and erecting upon the part taken off the township of Dickinson. In the mean time the new township had assumed separate juris- diction and elected township officers,1 without waiting

1 In the election returns of constables in Washington County, made at the March term of court in 1785, the township of Dickinson appears in the list, with the name of Oliver Elliott as constable.

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

for the confirmation by the Council. Dickinson con- tinued a township of Washington County till it be- came a part of Allegheny County upon the erection of the latter. This township of Dickinson was formed from the north part of the territory of the original township of Peters. The part of the old township which was thus thrown into Allegheny County was all that part of Peters north of a line running from Chartiers Creek at the mouth of Miller's Run east- wardly to the Monongahela River, at a point opposite the mouth of Perry's Run. In 1789 the township was further reduced in territory by the extension of Alle- gheny County southward to its present boundary line between Chartiers Creek and the Monongahela. In 1834, Union township was formed from Notting- ham and Peters, thus reducing Peters to its present area and boundaries, which are : on the north by Alle- gheny County, on the east by Union, south by Not- tingham and North Strabane, and west by the last- named township and Cecil, the western boundary being marked by Chartiers Creek, which is the most important water-course of the township, though Peters Creek, which marks the eastern boundary against the township of Union, is also a mill-stream of considerable size.

Settlements .- The assessment-roll of Peters town- ship for 1788 shows the names of a number of military men, some of whom were well known as prominent actors in the events and campaigns of preceding and succeeding years. Among these were Gen. Edward Hand, Gen. John Neville, Maj. William Lee, Col. John Campbell, Col. David Philips, and Capt. Joseph Beeler. The names of William Fife, Philip Ross, David Steele, Daniel Shawan, Aaron Work, and John Watt, -these were all residents in that part of old Peters township which is now embraced in Allegheny County, except Capt. Joseph Beeler. Gen. Hand's residence was on the river nearly opposite Pittsburgh. He was assessed in the year mentioned on thirteen hundred acres. David Steel was in service in 1776 under Capt. Isaac Cox, and himself rose to the grade of captain. On the 1st of March, 1778, he was with the troops who rendezvoused at Cox's Station, under Cols. Isaac Cox and John Canon. His residence was where Peter Simmons now lives. The property was owned by Daniel McClure in 1800. Steele was a surveyor of good repute, and well known through the county. There are no descendants of his now living in this region.

Col. John Campbell lived (as before stated) in that part of old Peters which is now Allegheny County. (Another of the same name lived in Union township, where he was justice of the peace for many years.) Col. Campbell was assessed in 1788 on two hundred and twenty-eight acres of land in Peters. In the same year Jacob Bowsman was assessed on two hundred and ninety acres. He lived on the south side of the Monongahela, opposite Pittsburgh.

acres in 1788. He was the Rev. Mr. Clark mentioned in the annals of the Whiskey Insurrection as being present at the Mingo Creek meeting in 1794, and as having counseled and warned the infuriated people present not to break the laws of the United States or engage in hostile acts against the government.

Lieut .- Col. Stephen Bayard was another resident in the same part of the old township, and was a very prominent man in his time.

Col. David Phillips, who appears on the roll above mentioned as taxable on three hundred acres in old Peters, was a relative of the person then known as " Preaching David Phillips," who was assessed on three hundred and thirty acres. All the persons above named, except the last, were residents in that part of old Peters township which is now included in Allegheny County.

Within the present limits of the township the first tract of land taken up was that called " Benton," granted on a Virginia certificate, Feb. 11, 1780, to James Matthews, "situate on the waters of Chartiers Creek, to include his actual settlement made in the year 1774." He died on the tract; his widow sur- vived him several years. They had three sons, Paul, James, and Robert. The first and last named emi- grated to the West. James settled near Washington, Pa. He had two sons, James and William, of whom the former is now living near the McMurray post- office. William removed to the West. A daughter of his married Andrew Crawford, and settled in Peters. Of the original tract called "Benton," above men- tioned, a part passed from the Matthews family, through intermediate hands, to John and William McMurray.

About 1765 two brothers of Scotch-Irish descent, named Joshua and James Wright, came from the Cumberland valley and settled on Peters Creek, in Nottingham township. The brothers went resolutely to work, and cleared a sufficient amount of their land to put in a crop. Joshua then returned to their home in the East and married Charity, a daughter of John Harris, from whom the city of Harrisburg derived its name, and soon returned with his bride to his forest home. Sept. 16, 1779, Joshua Wright purchased from his brother James all his share of their joint purchase. After this sale James Wright went to live in Kentucky, where he was killed by the In- dians.

Joshua Wright engaged in the New Orleans trade, and about 1783, while on his way to that city in one of the flat-bottomed, square-prowed boats, was at- tacked and captured by Indians and taken to a point near Sandusky, Ohio, where he was burned at the stake. The family thus left without a protector were his wife and three children, Lydia, Enoch, and Agnes.

Joshua Wright had sold to Daniel Townsend, his The Rev. John Clark was assessed on one hundred | brother-in-law, four hundred acres of the original

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PETERS TOWNSHIP.

eight-hundred-acre tract purchased by himself and brother James. Charity Wright, the widow of Joshua, afterwards married a Mr. Colvin, who lived on Pigeon Creek. Her daughter Lydia married John Laird, and settled on a part of the land which she inherited from her father, and upon which she died. After her death her brother Enoch purchased the property. The other daughter, Agnes, became Mrs. Joseph Barrows. Enoch, the only son, was but a boy when his father was killed. He became a man of influence, and filled many positions of trust and honor in his neighborhood. He had but one child, his son Jo- seph, who became a Methodist minister. Joseph Wright was a close student, and in the later years of his life was engaged in work upon a dictionary. He had reached the letter M at the time of his death. And it proved labor lost, as the completed manuscript was entirely destroyed in the hurricane which swept over this township in 1854. Rev. Joseph Wright left a family of ten children, as follows : Darthula, who married Dr. James Miller, and died in Pittsburgh ; Catharine, who married Thomas Rankin, and set- tled upon the farm her father gave her on Mingo Creek. She raised a large family of children, who emigrated to Nebraska, and she now lives with them. Lucinda Wright married John Storer, and settled on a part of the home farm. Dr. John Storer, of Hills- boro', is her son. Joshua Wright had that part of the original Wright tract called the homestead, which he still owns. The old log house in which Joshua Wright first lived stood where the garden now is. He now lives in Washington, Pa., where he is engaged in banking. Enoch Wright settled on a portion of the Wright land, but in 1866 left it and emigrated to Iowa. Joseph, another son of Rev. Jo- seph Wright, also inherited some of the original prop- erty, but sold it, and died in Pittsburgh. Margaret married Dr. C. M. Townsend, and lives in Peters township, near Bower Hill. Mary Wright married Rev. J. C. Brown, of the Methodist Church. Hop- kins, another son, owns a part of the home farm, and Charity, who married Dr. D. M. Anderson, also lives on land inherited by the children of Joshua Wright.

Anthony Dunleavy came from Ireland about 1745, and settled near Winchester, Va. While living there he married Hannah, a daughter of Judge Alexander White, of that State. In 1772 he removed to the western part of Pennsylvania, but which he supposed was Virginia, settling upon a tract of land that is now included in Peters township. The tract contained three hundred and seventy-three acres, and a patent for it was granted to Mr. Dunleavy May 24, 1787, under the title of "The Tower." He made this his home for some years, but in 1700 removed to Ken- tucky. Previous to this, however, he disposed of some of his land to John Reed and Dennis Dunleavy. Some of the property is now in possession of Harvey McMurray.

Anthony Dunleavy had a family of four sons and

three daughters, of whom Francis was the eldest. In the spring of 1782, Francis Dunleavy entered the Latin school or academy of Rev. Thaddeus Dodd, then in operation in Amity, on Ten-Mile Creek. While in school a call was made for troops, to which he promptly responded, but was absent only ten days. And when the call for troops for the Sandusky ex- pedition was made he again volunteered, and served through that disastrous campaign. After his return and as soon as peace was restored he was sent to Dick- inson College. Having completed his studies he put himself under the care and teaching of Rev. James Hoge, of Winchester, Va., and later taught a classical school in that State. Upon the removal of his father's family to Kentucky in 1790, he went out with them, and two years afterwards opened a classical school at Columbia, Ohio, in which he was associated with John Reily, of Butler County, Ohio, for several years. Mr. Dunleavy finally removed to Lebanon, Warren Co., Ohio, which he made his permanent home. He was sent to the Legislature two terms to represent the Northwest Territory, and was a mem- ber of the convention of 1802 which framed the first constitution of Ohio. He was also a member of the first Legislature of the State after Ohio was admitted, and he held the office of presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the First Circuit for fourteen years. After retiring from the bench Judge Dunleavy continued the practice of law for some ten years. He retired from active business some years before his death, which occurred Nov. 6, 1839.

John Swearingen, whose name is often found in the records of Yohogania County Court, was a resident of Peters township, and lived upon the land which has since been known as the Borland property. The tract, which was called " Oswego," contained three hundred and fifty acres, for which the patent was granted in 1790. In 1796, Mr. Swearingen sold his land to An- drew Borland. In 1808 the latter gentleman sold one hundred and three acres of it to Joseph Henry, who in turn disposed of that part to William Caldwell, and it is now owned by Mrs. Joseph Caldwell. The saw- mill on Brush Run was built by Henry Borland while he owned the property. It afterwards belonged to Robert and Joseph Caldwell, and is now in the pos- session of their descendants. A part of the Swear- ingen tract is now owned by Moses Hickman.

John Brackenridge owned land in this township as early as 1779, as the records of November 1st of that year show him to have sold one hundred acres to James Matthews, who lived near him. Mr. Bracken- ridge was elected a justice of the peace on June 18, 1800. He continued to live upon this place, and in February, 1826, died, leaving his wife, Catharine Brackenridge, two sons, and three daughters,-John, William, Margaret, Jane, and Agnes. The farm in this township, which at that time contained one hun- dred and sixty-seven acres, was sold by Mrs. Catharine Brackenridge, John Gilfillan, and Alexander Brack-

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

enridge, the executors of the estate, to William Ar- thur. It passed from one to another, and in 1855 was purchased of James T. Smith by Harvey McMurray, the present owner. Brush Run, a branch of Chartiers Creek, passes through this tract of land. Many years ago a pottery was located upon this stream, the site of the building being near Mr. McMurray's present resi- dence. The business was operated by a man named Bracken, and the clay used therein was found upon the McCloney farm, a short distance east of the pot- tery. This business was discontinued, and as early as 1830, or before, a woolen-mill was established upon Brush Run by James and William Hannah. In 1840 this mill was remodeled and made into a flouring-mill by William Arthur, and this branch of industry was continued until the destruction of the property by fire in May, 1866. In 1881, Mr. McMurray rebuilt the mill, upon nearly the same site and using the same water-power. The new mill is still in opera- tion, and Mr. McMurray has also a store at the same place.

Daniel Townsend was a native of New Jersey, born at Little Egg Harbor in 1749. He was a soldier in the Revolution. In 1780 he came to this township with his family, and purchased of Joshua Wright, his brother-in-law, three hundred and fifty acres of land, which had been previously surveyed to Wright. A warrant of acceptance was issued to Daniel Town- send for this property March 17, 1790, and the pat- ent was granted a few days later, the tract being named "The Sale." On this farm Mr. Townsend lived and died. Of his children, Elijah settled upon the southeast portion of the homestead, and died there in 1871, leaving a family who still own the farm. Joseph, the other son of Daniel Townsend, married a daughter of Col. William Blackmore, and also made his home upon a portion of his father's farm. He died there in 1871, aged seventy-five years, leaving a family of four children. The daughters of Daniel Townsend were seven in number. Catharine married John Bird, and settled in Beaver County, Pa .; Naomi became Mrs. Uriah Burton, and lived in Peters township; Julia became the wife of Peter Sharp, and went with him to Gallipolis, Ohio; Mar- garet married William Chisler, and removed to Ash- land County, Ohio; Rebecca, now Mrs. John Hozer, settled in Mercer County, Pa .; Ruth is Mrs. Stephen Higby, living in Sandusky, Ohio; and Lydia, who married Arthur Devore, went to Marion, Ohio. Of the children of Joseph, second son of Daniel Town- send, Dr. C. W. Townsend is the eldest ; Daniel died leaving a family ; Elijah T. is county commissioner, and lives on the homestead; and Margaret, who married J. W. Boyer, lives in Union township.

Before the year 1780, Col. Joseph Beelor was living in Peters township, and owned a tract of land on Chartiers Creek, above the present residence of David G. Phillips, the property now owned by Mr. Phillips and Mrs. Brown. He was actively engaged in the

expeditions against the Indians, ranking as colonel under the authority of Virginia until 1781 (by rea- son of his office of county lieutenant of Yohogania County). He was a justice of the peace under the jurisdiction of Yohogania court, and in 1782 and 1795 was licensed to keep tavern in this township. Col. Beelor passed his life upon his farm in this township. His daughters, Margaret and Mary,'settled near him. His only son, Joseph Jr., lived on the farm now oc- cupied by Robert Wilson, on Little Chartiers Creek, adjoining the farm of Moses Coe. He left several children to inherit his property, which was divided equally among them, each receiving a tract of ninety acres.

John McLoney came from the eastern part of Penn- sylvania and settled in Peters township at a very early date, but did not receive patents upon the land he located until 1785. He was elected sheriff of Washington County in 1805, and after serving the term of his office kept a tavern from 1808 to 1811. He died at his homestead in this township Feb. 24, 1823, aged eighty-five years. His son, Luke Mc- Loney, also lived and died upon the homestead. It is now owned by Harvey McMurray, and the old log house in which he and his father both lived and died, and in which Margaret McLoney, a sister of Luke, was born, is still standing upon the farm. Margaret McLoney is still living unmarried at the age of ninety- seven years at Bower Hill, with a niece, Mrs. Jones Fawcett. John McLoney, a son of Luke McLoney, and grandson of John McLoney, Sr., resides on the National road, in West Bethlehem township, having purchased the Myers farm there a few years ago. He relates many interesting reminiscences of the pioneer days which he gathered from his father and grandfather, some of which occurred within the pro- tection of the block-house then located on Chartiers Creek.

Robert Bell, who purchased the tract "Curious Bend," of Anthony Boley in 1795, came from near Carlisle, Pa. He was married before coming to Peters township, and lived until his death upon the property he purchased here. Anthony Boley first built a cabin below the spring-house, and then put up a better one where the residence now stands. In this first cabin Robert Bell made the early home of himself, wife, five sons, and two daughters. These children have all died except the son Robert and a daughter, who was the youngest child. She married William Barr, and lives on Mingo Creek, near Kam- merer's, in Nottingham township. The son Robert, who inherited the homestead, is still living upon it, and is eighty years of age.

John Moore was an early settler in this township, locating upon the land now owned and occupied by his son, Robert Moore. The farm of Dr. Hugh Thomp- son was on the west side, Ephraim Norton's farm was on the north side, and that of Robert Guthrie bounded it on the east.

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PETERS TOWNSHIP.

The Rev. David Phillips was emphatically the lead- ing clergyman of the pioneer days of Peters township. He was born in Wales in 1742, and emigrated from that country to America with his father's family, set- tling in Chester County, Pa. He married during his residence at that place, and in 1780 came into Wash- ington County and took out a warrant for land which now lies in both Allegheny and Washington Counties. This tract of land was surveyed to him as three hun- dred and ninety acres, under the title of "Norwich," and he obtained the patent for it March 4, 1786. In 1809 he sold one hundred and fourteen acres of this land to his son Isaac, and the land upon which the present house of worship of Peters Creek Baptist So- ciety stands was granted by Mr. Phillips for the church site. Rev. Mr. Phillips was a member of the Great · Valley Baptist Church before coming to this section, and had held a captain's commission in the Revolu- tionary war. He reared a large family of children, and when he died at the age of eighty-seven years, having given more than forty years of his life to the exclusive service in the cause of Christ, he left numerous descendants. Among them were Rev. T. C. Phillips, of New York City; Joshua Phillips, of Pittsburgh, Pa .; J. M. Phillips, of Chattanooga, Tenn .; Byram Pratt, residing in the State of Penn- sylvania ; and Henry and Archibald Bass, both living in Tennessee. It is said that a full company of lineal descendants of Rev. David Phillips served in the Union army during the late Rebellion, and that at the present time the persons living who trace their lineage directly back to him number nearly one thou- sand. The old Phillips homestead is now occupied by Charles Phillips.1

Enoch Philips came to Peters township, and on April 2, 1796, purchased one hundred and four acres of land of John Allison, a part of the tract patented by Anthony Dunleavy, under the title of "The Tower," this portion of which he sold to John Allison, May 17, 1792. Enoch Phillips continued to reside upon this land for a long time. He kept one of the taverns known here at an early day, it being located at the forks of the road near his farm. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. His son, David Phillips, also kept a house of public entertainment in 1826, occu- pying the same house his father did at an earlier date. His son, David Phillips, has a farm in this township, and there is still standing upon it a house built in 1814. David Phillips, Jr., was elected to the office of justice of the peace April 10, 1855, and served two terms.

James Mitchell came from Ireland to this country, and served for a time in the Revolutionary war. On Oct. 15, 1791, having come into Peters township, he pur- chased a part of the tract of land called "Crookston," of about three hundred acres. The tract was granted

to Richard and Levi Crooks on a Virginia certificate, and patented May 1, 1786. James Mitchell made his home for life on the place, save a few years that he lived in Williamsport, now Monongahela City. Mr. Mitchell filled the office of justice of the peace for many years, and was one of the first elders in Peters Creek Church. He had one daughter, who became the wife of John Wright, of Monongahela City. Mr. and Mrs. Wright settled on the Mitchell home- stead, and it is still in the possession of their descend- ants.

Andrew Devore was one of the early settlers of Peters township, although no accurate dates of his investments have been found. He, however, owned a large tract of land, taking it up as one of the orig- inal settlers. A portion of the tract is now owned by James Johnston.

Churches .- Peters Creek Baptist Church was con- stituted Nov. 10, 1773, the covenant made and exe- cuted on that day being signed by the following per- sons, viz. : Rev. John Whittaker, minister ; members, Thomas Applegate, J. Barrett, Henry Semmons, Peter Elrod, Christopher Miller, Mary Whittaker, Margaret Jaret, and Ailey Lemmons.

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 218

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