History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 235

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 235

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

where he lived until his death, Nov. 30, 1834, at seventy-three years of age. His wife died March 7, 1842, aged seventy-six years. The two sons born to Robert and Catherine James both died in early life, but their six daughters all reached maturity. Eliza- beth became the wife of Rev. John White, a Meth- odist minister, then on the circuit which included Union township, but who afterwards settled in Se- wickley. Catherine James married Edward Smith, of Virginia, and Harriet married Andrew McClure, who settled upon a part of the old homestead, and in 1849 built the stone house in which he now resides with his family. Martha James became Mrs. Samuel Gaston, and with her husband settled in Iowa. The daughters Emma and Rebecca never married, and lived together in the old home many years after their parents' death. Robert James was a prominent mem- ber in the Methodist Church, having much to do with its organization and in the erection of the building known as the "Stone Chapel." He donated one acre of land Sept. 13, 1817, providing only "that the trus- tees shall erect or cause to be erected or built thereon a house of worship for the use of the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church." He was extremely active in all good works, and yet soon after settling in this township a demand was made upon him for a certain amount of money ; his refusal resulted in the burning of his barns and all other outbuildings. Sus- pecting a man in the vicinity to be connected with the fire, Mr. James commenced measures to bring him to justice, when he suddenly fled to other parts. He was undoubtedly the leader of a band who had made a practice of extorting money from the better class of inhabitants of this section by sending threatening letters, as in Mr. James' case. With his departure the villainy ceased.

Among the early settlers who came to this territory with the idea that they were settling in Virginia was Robert Lytle, who came about the year 1776 and lo- cated on land lying partly on the Monongahela River and partly on Peters Creek, adjoining Gabriel Cox and Samuel Heath. This tract was granted to him on the 25th of February, 1780. It contained four hundred and eighty-six acres. On this farm he lived, raised a family of children, and died at an advanced age, leaving seven sons,-David, James, Abram, Jo- seph, Samuel, Isaac, and Robert. Of these, David settled in Mercer County, Pa .; James emigrated to near St. Louis, Mo .; Abram resided on the home farm, which was left upon his death to his son, John Lytle, who still resides upon it. He also left three daughters, .one of whom, Mary (Mrs. Gilmore), re- sides in Elizabeth, Allegheny County. Two daugh- ters married and moved West.

Joseph Lytle, son of Robert, settled in Beaver County, Pa., and later moved to Allegheny County, opposite Monongahela City, where he resided with his brother Isaac. Isaac and Benjamin Lytle, of Union township, are sons of Joseph. Samuel Lytle

moved to near Bentleyville in this county, and lived there till his death, leaving descendants. Isaac set- tled in Allegheny County, opposite Monongahela City ; the farm on which he settled is now owned by his youngest son. Robert Lytle, when a young man, emigrated to Chillicothe, Ohio, and remained there.

In the year 1786, Jacob Fegley took up two tracts of land in what is now Union township, and the as- sessment-roll of 1788 shows him to have been then the possessor of three hundred and twenty-five acres. One tract named "Fergus" was patented Feb. 22, 1789, but the date of the patent of the other, called "High Germany," is not given. The land of Mr. Fegley was situated near Mingo Church, adjoining that of John, Kennedy, and is still owned by his descendants.

John Happer was a native of Ireland, whence he emigrated, and coming to Washington County took up a tract of three hundred acres of land in this vicinity, the place where his grandson, John Happer, now lives. He received the patent upon his land May 19, 1787. John Happer's children were six, four sons and two daughters. Of the sons, Andrew and Bap- tist lived to manhood. Andrew went to Ohio, where he died ; Baptist remained upon the homestead all his life. The daughter Agnes married John Steele, who lived near Brownsville. Jane married John Storer, and settled in Allegheny County, but died in about a year afterwards. Baptist Happer had also four sons and two daughters. Samuel, the eldest, went West, and died there; John lives on the old homestead ; James, the youngest, emigrated to Illinois; An- drew has been a missionary in China for thirty-eight years under the Presbyterian Board of Missions; Sarah married Rev. Thomas Gault, and removed to the West; Margaret also married and settled in the West.

Robert Estep was a native of New Jersey who set- tled in this township in 1788, taking up three hundred acres of land on Peters Creek, one mile below Fin- leyville, upon which he lived and died. His land adjoined that of Gabriel Cox, which the latter sold to Robert James, Robert Estep left a family of thirteen children, most of them living in Union town- ship for many years. Afterwards some of the family moved West. Dr. James Estep, one of the sons, was born in this township. He studied and practiced medicine in Westmoreland County, and later in his native township. He was also an ordained Baptist minister, and was the pastor of Peters Creek Baptist Church for several years. Nathan, the oldest son of Robert Estep, settled on the old homestead, and died leaving no descendants. William, another son, also lived on a part of the home farm, which his son Joseph now owns. Ephraim, still another son, left the farm he inherited to his daughter Elmira, who now occupies it.

John Cox came to Washington County before the year 1788, and took out a warrant for a tract of land

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UNION TOWNSHIP.

containing three hundred and six acres, which was surveyed to him as "Belmont," the patent being granted Sept. 9, 1790. Upon his farm he built a log house, which stood near the present brick house of Joseph S. Gaston. "Belmont" was sold by Cox to John Gaston the November following its patenting, and Cox removed to near Limetown, and remained there until his death. A son, Enoch Cox, also died near Limetown.

John Gaston came from New Jersey to this county with his wife and family of four sons and two daugh- ters, and, as already mentioned, purchased of John Cox, Nov. 30, 1790, the tract "Belmont," upon which Gastonville has been built. He also purchased land adjoining. He built a hewed log house a short dis- tance south of the site of John Cox's old house, living in it until his death in 1825, at the age of eighty-seven years. Mr. Gaston gave to each of his sons, William and James, one hundred acres of his land. They eventually sold their shares of the property to Samuel, another son, and both removed to Ohio. Samuel re- mained upon the homestead. Joseph, the fourth son, went to South Carolina, where he married and subse- quently removed to Ohio, where he died. Samuel Gaston married Margaret Penny, of Allegheny County, and their family of nine children all settled here. They are all dead except William, who lives on a part of the old tract of land at Gastonville. Joseph S. Gaston, Jr., now living in the brick house built by Samuel Gaston on the homestead tract, is a son of Joseph S. Gaston and a grandson of Samuel Gaston. Margaret, one of John Gaston's daughters, became the wife of Samuel McClean, of New Jersey. They settled in Nottingham township, at the head of Peters Creek, where they died and left no descendants.

Col. Joseph Barr, on Jan. 11, 1803, purchased two hundred acres of land of Samuel Meek, which ad- joined the property of Abraham Mellinger in this township. It was a part of the "Rocky Ridge" tract, which was patented to Samuel Meek, Oct. 11, 1788. Col. Barr sold it again in April, 1854, to Dr. William B. Link, whose son, Dr. John Link, now owns it. Col. Joseph Barr had a family of six children,-two sons and four daughters. The sons were Robert and Joseph, and the daughters were Mary A., who became Mrs. John Berry, Deborah and Kate, who remained unmarried, and Caroline, who married Rev. Mr. Mc- Farlane, a minister of the Seceder Church.

Charles Bradford was an early settler of Washing- ton County, as it appears upon record that before 1788 he had purchased sixty-nine acres of land of John Cox, and had a saw-mill upon Peters Creek at that time, which was run for many years after. This sixty-nine acres was, on Aug. 29, 1791, conveyed by John Cox to Rev. David Philips and Gabriel Peter- son in trust for Henry G., Andrew, Fielding, and Ju- liana Bradford, the four children of Charles Bradford. Henry G. and Andrew died before the year 1815, and in that year the remaining heirs, Fielding, Bradford,

and Juliana, who had become Mrs. John Finley, sold the property to Enoch Wright. In August, 1807, the saw-mill had been leased for ninety-nine years to Samuel Gaston. It was on land now owned by Isaac Lytle. Nothing of the mill remains.

Joseph Bentley came from Chester County, Pa., to this place with his father, who settled on Jacobs Creek, in Washington County. Joseph was then un- married, and Mercy, daughter of Philip Dailey, Sr., afterwards became his wife. The Bentleys were early settlers. Joseph was assessed upon one hundred and fifteen acres of land in the year 1788. When he mar- ried, Joseph Bentley settled upon a part of the tract patented to Nathan Dailey as " Falling Timber Bot- tom," adjoining the property of Moses Halliday. On Jan. 13, 1818, Nathan Daily sold to him a mill privi- lege and one hundred and twenty-seven acres of land below his earlier purchase, as in 1801 he had pur- chased of James Logan the tract patented Dec. 8, 1800, as "Falling Tree Bottom," which adjoins the tract "Falling Timber Bottom." The Logan pur- chase is the land upon which Joseph Bentley built the stone house in which he passed his life. His son George is the only one of the eleven children now living, and he occupies the homestead. Benjamin, Levi, Eli, and Absalom, also remained upon the old place until their death. Jesse went West, and Mary, who married Thomas Wilson, removed to Venango County, in this State. The old distillery which Joseph Bentley built is still standing up the Run, near where his stone house was built. The distillery was in oper- ation until 1862.

" Widow" Pyatt's name appears on the assessment- roll of 1788. She lived in Union township, on the place where Mrs. Saulsbury now lives, on the road from Finleyville to Library.

" Froman's Mill Place" was the property which Paul Froman took up and afterwards sold to Robert McGee, and which was surveyed in 1786. Froman took up a great deal of land in this section, all of his purchases having especial reference to the water privileges upon them. He built a grist-mill upon his land in this township, and attempted to build a high dam and use an overshot wheel, but this was never accomplished, and the dam has always been called "Froman's Folly." The mill was located on Fro- man's Run at the falls, just below Happer's road. Froman made a trip down the river with produce and died there. The old mill place, containing sev- enty-six acres, passed into the hands of John Kennedy, and he also purchased eighty or ninety acres of land of John Barr, the property which William Kennedy now owns. These purchases were made in the years 1797-99. John Kennedy had nine children. Samuel, James, William, and John, are settled in this vicinity. The first two are dead, but the others are still living here. John Kennedy, Jr., purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land of Mrs. Polly Fegley, and ad- joining his father's property. The spot where the

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

whiskey insurgents gathered is between the Mingo Church parsonage and Squire John Kennedy's place, where a distillery stood at that time.

The land embracing the site of Finleyville is a part of a tract that was warranted to John Wall, Dec. 3, 1787. The part called " Mount Pleasant," containing four hundred and five acres, was conveyed by deed May 3, 1788, to James Barclay, who in the same year was licensed to keep a tavern. James Barclay is said to have been a sea-captain ; he was a brother-in-law of John Finley, and he continued to live upon a part of this place until his death. His sons, Robert and James, also lived in this vicinity, but died leaving no de- scendants. James Barclay sold one hundred acres of his land, June 15, 1791, to Hugh Barclay, and in 1802 sold one hundred and thirty-three acres to John Fin- ley for six hundred and eight dollars. He also sold a portion to David Mellinger. Both Finley and Mellinger lived in this section as early as 1794. John Finley lived and died here, leaving a family of eleven children, of whom Levi and Gen. Robert Fin- ley settled at Finleyville. Levi Finley married and had five children who settled in and near Finleyville. James, a. son of his, lived and died at Limetown. Barclay Finley, another son, is connected with the Monongahela Bank at Monongahela City. Dr. Wil- liam Finley, a third son, lives at Finleyville. John and F. M. Finley, the other two sons of Levi, now own the one hundred acres of land that belonged to Hugh Barclay, of whom their father purchased it. Gen. Robert Finley was a bachelor, and lived and died at Finleyville.

John Hindman came from the eastern part of Mary- land to this county about the year 1796, and on April 16, 1798, purchased seventy-two acres of Thomas Canon. This land was on the hills, a short distance below Limetown. Later, Mr. Hindman bought eighty acres of land of Isaac Dailey, a son of Nathan Dailey, which was a portion of the body called "Fall- ing Timber Bottom." On Aug. 20, 1819, he became possessor of one hundred and three acres of the tract " Dauphin," which was taken up by Philip Dailey. This purchase he sold to his son William, Sept. 19, 1823. John Hindman lived and died upon the prop- erty he bought of Isaac Dailey. His family con- sisted of four sons and five daughters. Of these, John died while young ; Robert settled in Allegheny County ; William remained in Union township, and some, if not all, of the daughters remained upon the homestead. Samuel, the youngest son, also remained there until 1864, when he purchased a small place in Gastonville, where he now lives.

Thomas McVey came from Pequea, in this State. He was a single man, and his sister, who came also, kept house for him a year. He rented a farm of Mr. McAllister, at Ginger Hill, Nottingham township, in 1799, upon which he remained two years, and two years longer upon a farm two miles farther east. He married Hannah Kerr and lived for a while upon a

place he rented of Squire John Campbell, in Finley- ville, on Peters Creek. About the year 1805 he pur- chased of George Wilhelm ninety-seven acres of land which belonged to the Jacob Fegley property, upon which he lived and died. The farm is now in the pos- session of Benjamin McVey, a grandson of Thomas.

John Pollock came with his wife and three children from Gettysburg to this township, and bought a tract of one hundred and thirty-three acres of land, back from the river and adjoining the Hindman tract. His two sons, James and Samuel, settled upon the homestead. Samuel was a bachelor, but James mar- ried Miss Mary Patton, and their family numbered nine children. Their sons, John and Samuel, Jr., own the old place, the latter being unmarried. Da- vid, another son, served in the Union army in the war of the Rebellion, and is now in the West. Two daughters are living upon a part of their father's place.

William Patton came to this section with the Hind- man and Pollock families about 1799. He settled on a farm of one hundred and eighty acres, a portion of Nathan Dailey's "Fallen Timber Bottom," which his son Robert now owns. The log house built and occu- pied by William Patton until his death is still stand- ing, and is now the home of Harvey Biers. William Patton had six children, three sons and three daugh- ters. William and Robert live in Union township, and John in Fallowfield. The daughter Sarah mar- ried Samuel Kiddue and lives in Allegheny County ; Mary married James Pollock, and her home adjoins her father's farm ; Matilda became the wife of Joseph Kiddue, and her home is in Monongahela City.

Jeremiah Ferree was a native of Lancaster County, Pa., and came to this section in 1800, immediately after his marriage. He bought land of Thomas Mc- Millan, on Peters Creek, Jefferson township, Allegheny County, but eventually removed to this township and lived where William Martin now resides. He lived there many years, but in his old age removed to Lime- town, where his son William had settled and was operating coal-mines.

John and David Donaldson formerly owned the property adjoining John Cox's, and on the southeast David owned one hundred and fifty acres, and John had a part of the Welch property. David died in Union township, but left no descendants. John Don- aldson removed to Butler County, in this State. A daughter of his, Mrs. Patterson, resides near Mingo Church, in Union township.

Physicians .- Of the members of the medical pro- fession who have practiced in Union township, Dr. Johnston was one of the first. He came to this sec- tion about the year 1815, and remained until 1828 or 1830, when he removed to near Monongahela City and purchased a farm, but continued his practice until his death. While residing in Union township he lived on the farm which later became the property of George Forsyth, but is now owned by the Rankins.

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UNION TOWNSHIP.

Dr. Joseph Pollock was a practicing physician here as early as 1820, and then lived near Gaston- ville. His practice extended largely through the country, twelve or fourteen miles in each direction from his home. He afterwards removed to Lawrence County, in this State, and died there.

Dr. James Miller was a native of Fayette County, and studied medicine with Dr. Robert Thompson, of Canonsburg. He graduated at Jefferson College, and also at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He commenced his practice in Union township in 1831, his home being at Finleyville, upon the Mel- linger farm. Dr. Miller married a daughter of Joseph Wright, of Peters township, and continued in his profession here until his death in 1842.

Dr. Thomas Storer was born in Illinois, and is the son of J. R. Storer, a native of this township. Dr. Storer graduated from Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, in 1865, and began practicing at Hills- boro', Pa. In 1871 he came to this township, remain- ing here until 1876-77, when he returned to Hills- boro', where he is still in practice.

Dr. L. B. Welch is a native of Union township, a son of John L. Welch. In 1878 he graduated from the University of Maryland, and soon after returned to Union township, where He is now engaged in the practice of his profession.

Dr. William B. Lank succeeded to the practice of Dr. Miller in 1842, the year in which the latter died. Dr. Lank was a graduate of Jefferson Medical Col- lege, but came here from Janesville, Ohio. He was an excellent physician, and had an extensive practice until his death in 1880. His son, Dr. John Lank, graduated from Jefferson Medical College at Phila- delphia, and succeeds his father's practice.

Finleyville .- This village derived its name from that of John Finley, one of its early settlers, although the first steps toward the laying out of the village were really taken by James Barclay, who had prior possession of the tract of four hundred and five acres called " Mount Pleasant," upon which Finleyville has been built. Mr. Barclay was licensed by the County Court in 1788 to keep a tavern, and again in the years 1796-98 his name is found among those to whom licenses were granted. It was during this time that the incident occurred which gave to the vil- lage the name "Rogue Alley." Isaac Craig, of Pitts- burgh, writes the following facts, which he obtained from his father, Judge Wilkins, Harman Denny, and Col. William Robinson, Jr. :

" In 1797 our affairs with the French Directory assumed such a threat- ening aspect that Congress deemed it necessary to prepare for war, and authorized the building of two vessels at Pittsburgh. They were built under the superintendence of Maj. Craig the following year, and were called the Galley 'President Adams' and the Galley 'Senator Ross.' As these were the first vessels of the kind west of the mountains they cnused a good deal of excitement, and the tavern-keeper where Finley- ville now is ordered a sign to be painted with a galley on it. The painter made an old-fashioned row-galley, and the tavern became known as the sign of the 'Row-Galley,' and finally, after the sign disappeared, it was corrupted into ' Rogue Alley' by ignorant people."

In after-years the land upon which Finleyville is situated was in part owned by Abraham Mellinger and John Finley. The Mellinger portion was sold to Enoch Wright, and in January, 1857, it passed to West Frye. The John Finley property remained in the possession of the Finley family. In 1819, William Finley kept tavern in Finleyville village, as did also Levi Finley at a later time, when the line of stages between Pittsburgh and Brownsville was in full operation.

The first post-office was established at Finleyville in July, 1826. Gen. Robert Finley was the first post- master appointed, and the persons who have served as postmasters since are and have been James Finley, J. L. Morris, James Finley, S. B. Kennedy, West Frye, T. R. Storer, F. M. Finley, - Bell, F. M. Finley, and John S. Collins, who is the present post- master.' The business places of the village are a hotel, post-office, two stores, a blacksmith-shop, an express-office, and the station. of the Pittsburgh Southern Railroad.

Gastonville is a small village or hamlet, the site of which is upon the tract of land originally known as " Belmont," which was warranted and patented to John Cox, but soon passed into the hands of John Gaston. In 1854 a portion of it was in the possession of Joseph M. Curry, who laid out and sold the village lots. Gastonville is situated only half a mile from Finleyville, and contains one store, a school building, an Odd-Fellows' hall, and a few dwelling-houses.

Coal Bluff .- The settlement which was known in the early history of this section as Limetown, and later as Coal Bluff, extends along the bank of the Monongahela River for three miles, and owes its rise and growth entirely to the development of its coal. The bank along the river at this point is what is called river bottoms, which extend inland from one- fourth to one-half a mile, where the river hills rise quite abruptly and are very steep. The coal crops out of the hills on a level with the flats in nearly all places, which is a very favorable condition for drift- mining. The Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Charles- ton Railroad passes through the settlement of Lime- town, or Coal Bluff, giving good opportunities for shipping by rail, in addition to its facilities for water transportation. A station is located at each mine along the railroad. Stores are connected with the mines to furnish provisions and goods to the miners.

The post-office was established about 1850. The postmasters have been Mark Borland, John Peterson, J. K. Logan, James Patton, and Isaac Yohe, the present incumbent.

At Coal Bluff station John F. Logan is agent for the Adams Express Company, and in April, 1880, he established the "Coal Bluff Steamship and Exchange Agency," which now does a business of three thou- sand dollars per month in forwarding money and selling tickets to and from foreign countries for the miners of the Monongahela Valley.

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

The several collieries of Coal Bluff and of this township are mentioned separately in the chapter on geology and mining, contributed by J. Sutton Wall, Civil and Mining Engineer, of Monongahela City.

The "Old White Mill," a grist- and flouring-mill, located on the Monongahela, in this township, was put in operation in 1842 by George Bentley, whose brother, Eli Bentley, had built a saw-mill at the same place ten years before. Both the saw-mill and the grist-mill, which was widely and favorably known as the Old White Mill, remained in operation for many years. In 1880 the property was rented to the Amer- ican Facing Company of New York, and is now in use for the manufacture of foundry facings.

Peters Creek Lodge, No. 248, I. O. O. F., was instituted at Finleyville, May 17, 1847. When char- tered the members were William Gaston, William B. Lank, William Van Wye, Samuel Morgan, . Isaac Lytle, and William Gist. Following is a list of the Noble Grands of this lodge, viz. : William Gaston, Dr. W. B. Lank, William Gist, Isaac Lytle, James Angus, James Morrison, Joseph M. Curry, Samuel Atchison, R. R. Bell, James McAllister, W. M. Monck, John Huston, William Ferree, Michael Saunders, Joseph Conlin, John Barclay, Frederick Snell, A. P. Heath, Isaiah Brown, John Stoffile, Thomas -, A. Crouch, Josiah Estep, Abel Buckingham, Louis Welch, George W. Lyons, E. N. Wright, Samuel P. Hutchinson, R. Campbell, Robert Cowen, Samuel Messner, George Gibson, Frank B. Storer, J. M. Snell, George C. Miller. The meetings of the society were first held in a build- ing between Gastonville and Finleyville, belonging to William Gaston. In 1855 the lodge erected a building at a cost of $1800, with a dwelling on the first floor and a hall in the second story. The lodge at pres- ent contains twenty-five members. The present officers are George C. Miller, Noble Grand; P. A. Martin, Vice Grand; Isaac Lytle, Secretary.

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 235

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