History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 240

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 240

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The original members were the above-named ten persons, John Henderson and his wife, Hannah Tem- pleton, Nimrod Longdon and his wife, Sarah Sutler, Sarah Ackels, Benjamin Gunn, Mary Gunn, Joseph Ryan, Sarah Ryan, John Batson, Walter L. Batson, James Henderson and his wife, twenty-five in all.

The first elders were Abraham Teagarden and Jo- seph Ryan. Benjamin Gunn and Nimrod Longdon were the first deacons. The infant church often en- joyed the public teaching of William Munnell.

Unhappily difficulties soon sprang up and scat- tered the little flock, and retarded the progress of the church. By the care and effort of John Henderson, Sr., the members rallied again, and met at Liberty school-house for public worship.

Several students of Bethany College visited the congregation and rendered valuable service. Among these were Charles L. Loos, John Lindsey, Moses E. Lord, and Robert Y. Henley, all of whom afterwards became distinguished preachers of the gospel. Thos. Hillock was regularly employed to preach for one or two years, and the church was edified.

But reverses, removals, and deaths thinned the ranks of the faithful, so that in 1849, with all the un- tiring fidelity of John Henderson, only about twelve or fifteen persons met regularly on the Lord's day.

In August of this year, S. B. Teagarden, who ten years before had invited preaching in the neighbor- hood, left the Cumberland Presbyterians and united with the Disciples, receiving the hand of fellowship from Moses E. Lard. About this time Randall Fau- rot labored a while for this church regularly.

In April; 1850, Prof. Robert Milligan, of Washing- ton College, preached in an adjacent Baptist Church, and made a fine impression on the religious commu- nity. But Liberty school-house continued to be the place of meeting, and many precious seasons of prayer were there enjoyed during this year, near the close of which the house was burned, and the Dis- ciples met from house to house.

In October of this year L. P. Streator preached a few evenings very acceptably, and gained some addi- tions. The following minute is from the record of the church of that year :

"Samuel B. Teagarden was chosen and set apart by the laying on of hands to the office of Evangelist by the congregation of Disciples in West Finley, Washington Co., Pa., and Walter L. Batson and John M. Longdon were chosen and set apart by the laying on of hands of the Presbytery to the office of elder of said congregation.

"Done at the ' Windy Gap' meeting-house Dec. 29, 1850.

"JOHN M. LONGDON, Clerk."

L. P. Streator was present and officiated on this occasion.

At this time so much interest had been awakened that now professors began to urge the homeless church to build a meeting-house. The great difficulty was the want of funds. In January, 1851, the officers of the church authorized S. B. Teagarden to travel and solicit funds for this purpose. He spent five months at much personal sacrifice, and by a liberal contribu- tion himself obtained about five hundred and seventy dollars, with which a modest frame building, twenty by thirty-six feet, was erected on the present site near Burnsville. On Dec. 10, 1851, Samuel McFarland made a deed of the lot to Joseph Templeton, Alexan- der Henderson, and John M. Longdon, trustees of the Disciples' Church in West Finley township, Washing- ton Co., Pa., containing one-fourth of an acre more or less, for the consideration of one dollar, for the use of said church.

On the second day of the preceding October, James Darsie preached the first sermon in this house, though the dedication sermon was preached by B. F. Lobin- gier on the following Lord's day. In September of that year S. B. Teagarden was employed to preach half the time for one year.

The preachers who have labored with this church at different times during these forty years and more, in addition to those already named, either in meet- ings of days, in stated appointments for a specified time, or occasionally, are John Dodd, James Foster, James Hough, David Wallis, Thomas J. Melish, Wil- liam Baxter, A. Campbell, J. D. Pickett, P. H. Jones, I. Baldwin, O. L. Matthews, David White, R. B. Chaplin, J. C. Howell, John Luke, A. E. Myers, and Campbell Jobes. Simon Huston was also a strong preacher and a good elder of the church for many years previous to his death, March 14, 1877. He was mighty in the Scriptures, and died lamented by all who knew him.

Brady Gray is now the leading elder of the church, which numbers, as reported, forty-three members. They have no other pastor at present, and are depend- ent on supplies for preaching. It is said the elders generally ruled well and the church has continued steadfastly in the faith and practice of the primitive church, though sometimes flourishing and sometimes not. With all its ups and downs, its depletions and I opposition, it still stands firmly "upon the founda-

985

WEST FINLEY TOWNSHIP.

tion of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ him- self being the chief corner-stone."

The Church of the United Brethren in Christ was organized in 1824 in Finley township, by the Revs. Jacob Ritter and Adolphus Harndon. Among the first members were George Early, Andrew Stellar, Samuel Featherly, Henry Sherrich, Isaac and Chris- tina Earnest. The Rev. . Winters was the first regular preacher, and the Rev. C. Wortman was the last one who officiated. A log church was first built soon after the organization, which was replaced by another in 1850, and in 1874 this gave way to a good and tasteful frame edifice, in which the congregation still worship. The society has at present one hundred and ten members.

The "Salem" Methodist Church, in the south- west part of West Finley township, was organized about the year 1830. The church edifice is a frame building, and was erected between 1850 and 1800. It stands near the point of intersection of Washington and Greene County lines with the West Virginia line. There is now a membership of one hundred, under the ministration of Rev. Mr. Boatman, who resides in the town of Dallas, W. Va.

The North Wheeling Baptist Church was or- ganized in 1850. The church is a frame building, built on land belonging to Jolin Henderson, and is lo- cated nine miles south of West Alexander, at a place sometimes called "Coonie Town." The place gained this name from a local character, Benjamin Fairly, who from his remarkable success in trapping raccoons was given the sobriquet of "Coonie Ben." Before the late war the society was a strong one. Some of the members in 1856 were Washington and Mary Prosser, Lindley Larimore, Samuel and William Plauts, Andrew Hunt, Jacob Glassboner, George Carroll, Mary Hamilton, Mary McCann, Maria White, Harriet Glassboner, Lydia Mckean, Hannah E. To- land, Mary Parker, Noah Hertzog, George Glass- boner, Sarah A. Hertzog, Mary E. Hunt, Jeremiah Glassboner, Mahala, Mary, and John McGinnis, Jane, Nancy, and Martha King, Jane and John Day, Catha- rine Toland, and Lucinda J. Toland. Differences of opinion upon various points have nearly ruined the church, and at present it is small, the membership now comprising but thirty-two persons. The former pastors were Revs. William Scott and J. Y. Burwell. The present minister is Rev. John A. Simpson, with occasional preaching by Rev. John Henderson.

Windy Gap Church is a branch of the Concord Church, which was organized in 1855. The members of the "Concord" Church residing in the vicinity of Windy Gap petitioned the Presbytery at its previous fall session to organize them into a separate church, which was done May 29, 1855. Their first business session was held in the June following, of which the record says, "The Windy Gap Congregation met in the church, and after prayer received one member by cer- tificate. No further business was transacted." They

started out with a membership of over thirty, with Alex- ander Sprowls, John Chase, Samuel Rockefellow, and Solomon Nickinson as ruling elders. In 1855, Rev. E. P. Henderson was the officiating clergyman, but from 1856 to 1857 the people were dependent upon supplies. From 1857 to the spring of 1863, Rev. P. Axtell had the charge. It was during his administration, in 1858, that they purchased a lot of Henry and Nelson Sprowls, -consideration, $600,-upon which they erected a handsome parsonage. The clergymen who followed Rev. Mr. Axtell in preaching at Windy Gap Church were Revs. A. W. White, who remained until 1870; J. D. Foster, who left in 1871; J. N. Cary, who stayed till the spring of 1875, at which time Rev. J. R. Morris assumed the charge. Rev. J. Reed is the present pastor. The burial-ground belonging to this society is called Windy Gap Churchyard. The first grave made in the ground was that of Amanda Connet, who died March 14, 1844, at the age of sixteen. Just below the highway stands a marble monument erected to the memory of two brothers who sacrificed their lives in the defense of their country. They were Griffith D. Taylor, who fell at the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862, and Henry M. Taylor, who died on Davis Island, N. Y., Feb. 5, 1864. A monument in this ground marks the grave of Dr. J. W. Hancher, who died March 22, 1,876, in the fifty-first year of his age.

Schools .- The earliest teacher of whom there is any account as having taught school within the terri- tory which is now West Finley township was John McDowell, a Scotchman. He was succeeded by David Frazier, a son of Andrew Frazier, who was an early settler, and by David Coventry, Willjam Alms, Alexander Burns, and Jonathan Parkinson. These school-teachers were paid by subscription, as was the case everywhere in Western Pennsylvania at that time. In this section the subscriptions were generally paid in rye, which was disposed of to the distillers. The localities where early school-house's were placed in this part of Finley township were known as Kim- men's, Chase, Frazier's, McCoy's, Power's, Windy Gap, and Good Intent.

This township sent James Holmes to the county convention held in Washington Nov. 4, 1834, for the purpose of deciding whether the county of Wash- ington should accept the provisions of the act passed April 4, 1834, providing for a general system of edu- cation throughout the State. It was moved by Wil- liam Patterson, of Cross Creek township, that a tax be levied to carry into operation the law. This mo- tion was seconded by Thomas Ringland, of Morris township. It was carried, twenty-one votes being cast in favor and five against it, the delegate from Finley, James Holmes, voting yea. At this time there were in West Finley township two hundred and thirty-three persons liable to school tax, and the pro- portion of tax of the township was one hundred and ninety-one dollars and ninety-nine cents, which was

986

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

raised. The next year there was assessed, levied, and collected for school purposes two hundred and sixty- nine dollars and ninety-six cents. The township was divided into school districts under the charge of J. Henderson and A. Powers, the school directors elected at the first election held for that purpose on the 14th of October, 1834, at the house of John Dougherty (formerly John Sunderland's). School-houses were soon after erected in these districts, and though "the operation of the school law was a little cumbersome," still the work progressed, and time and experience modified its imperfections until the present successful methods were brought into practice.

The school report of 1863 showed that there were | John Burns, April 10, 1855.

in the township ten districts, with ten schools, ten teachers, and 475 scholars. The amount of money received for school purposes was $1262.12; amount expended, $1413. In 1873 there were eleven districts, eleven schools, and 419 scholars enrolled. Amount

of money received for school, purposes, $2628.17; amount expended, $2686.79. In 1880 there were eleven districts, eleven schools, and 379 scholars enrolled. Amount of money received for school purposes, $2284.09; amount expended, $2061.59.

Justices of the Peace .- The following is a list of the justices of the peace elected in West Finley from the year 1840,1 viz. :

John Burns, April 14, 1840.

Thomas Frazier, April 9, 1861. John B. McGuire, June 3, 1865.

Alexander Frazier, April 14, 1840. Alexander Frazier, April 15, 1845.

John Burns, April 15, 1845. Alexander Frazier, April 9, 1850. John Burns, April 9, 1850.

Alexander Frazier, April 10, 1855. Thomas Frazier, May 20, 1856. John B. McGuire, April 10, 1860.

Alex. McCleary, April 17, 1866. John B. McGuire, April 17, 1870. Alex. McCleary, April 1, 1871. Alex. McCleary, April 9, 1874. E. B. Gray, March 17, 1875.

Alex. McCleary, March 16, 1876.

J. C. Baldwin, March 30, 1880. Alex. McCleary, April 9, 1881.

1 Prior to that time the territory of West Finley and East Finley was included in the Donegal district. See justices' list of East Finley.

WEST PIKE RUN TOWNSHIP.

THE territory of this township, together with that of East Pike Run, was embraced in the old township of Pike Run, and so remained for a period of almost half a century from the erection of the township last named. An account of the erection of Pike Run township in April, 1792, and its division on the 9th of March, 1839, forming East and West Pike Run townships, is given in the history of East Pike Run. The boundaries of West Pike Run are Fallowfield and Somerset on the north, East Pike Run on the east, East Bethlehem on the south, and Somerset and West Bethlehem on the west. The township is abun- dantly watered for agricultural purposes by small creeks and runs, but it has no river or other stream of sufficient importance to be mentioned among the principal water-courses of the county.

One of the earliest settlers (if not the first) within the territory that now forms the township of West Pike Run was Dr. Charles Wheeler, who came into this section of Washington County as early as the fall of 1774, and took up two tracts of land which were contiguous to each other, located on Falls Run, a branch of Pike Run, and which were warranted to him under the title of "Winter's Choice." The en- tire area was about three hundred and forty-five acres, but it was granted to him as three hundred acres, strict measure. When the establishment of township lines took place Dr. Wheeler's land was in both East Beth-

lehem and West Pike Run townships. The Virginia certificate which he received entitling him to his land was dated Feb. 21, 1780. In the survey the property was described thus :

" Situate chiefly on the north side of the main road leading from Red- stone Ferry to Washington town in Washington County, called ' Win- ter's Choice,' containing three hundred acres of land, surveyed January 25, 1785, in pursuance of a C'ertificate granted to Charles Wheeler from the Commissioners of Virginia for a settlement right as followeth, to wit :

"Surveyor's Office, Yohogania County, State of Virginia.

· " Charles Wheeler produced a certificate from the Commissioners ap- pointed to settle titles and grant unpatented lands in the counties of Yohogenia, Monougalia, and Ohio, for three hundred acres of land in Yohogania County, to include his improvement made thereon in the year 1775, which was granted at Cox's Fort the 21st day of February, 1780, and duly entered in this office.

[Signed] " B. JOHNSTON, " Surveyor Yohogania County.

"January 12, 1785."

In 1796, Dr. Charles Wheeler was one of three per- sons who purchased a town lot in Brownsville for the use of a Protestant Episcopal Church. In his history of Christ Church, of Brownsville, Rev. Samuel Cowell says of him, " Dr. Charles Wheeler was an English- man, and a surgeon by profession, who, after serving in Dunmore's war, settled on a farm about four miles west of Brownsville. He was warmly attached to the church, and when disposing of his worldly effects be- queathed to the same one hundred pounds, to be paid at the death of his wife. Mrs. Wheeler lived many

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WEST PIKE RUN TOWNSHIP.

years after her husband's death, having reached the advanced age of ninety-four years."

The wife of Dr. Wheeler was Miss Elizabeth Cresap, and she lived a quarter of a century after her husband had passed away. Her remains were interred in the Episcopalian churchyard at Brownsville. Dr. Wheeler was the owner of several slaves, all of whom he remembered in his will. Hannah Young was the latest survivor of these slaves, she living until after 1870. As Dr. and Mrs. Wheeler had no children, he, after naming various minor bequests, gave the bulk of his property to Charles Wheeler, his nephew. The following are some of the clauses in the will, which was executed May 26, 1808, viz. : " After my debts are discharged, which are very tri- fling, it is my further wish and pleasure that the little I have which is of my own acquiring shall be disposed of in the following manner: [After naming several sums for other persons he gave] £50 to black Samuel, £50 to black Benjamin, £50 to black Hannah, £25 to black Lydia, £50 to black Daniel, and €25 to black Rachel. The above named black people were raised under my roof. I therefore hope they will consider the intent of the small bounties bestowed them by an indulgent master and to apply the same discreetly to their interests. . . . As it was not my lot to have issue by my wife, I did not embark in this world's specula- tion in search of more than what would enable me to live decently comfortable to my family and friends. Therefore it must be considered that the little I pos- sess at this present, the total value thereof cannot now be fully estimated for the time to come by sev- eral hundreds. When it arrives at that epoch it is my desire and request that my executors will, from any additional sum arising from the sale of my real and personal property, equally divide the same in addition to every legacy I have bequeathed."

Joseph Crawford and Robert Clarke, of Fayette County, and Thomas Johnson, of Washington County, were named executors of this will, which was proved Sept. 25, 1813. On March 29, 1839, they sold to Jona- than Knight one hundred and seventy-three acres of the tract " Winter's Choice." It now belongs to Oliver K. Taylor, cashier of the Bank of Brownsville.

Jonathan Knight, above mentioned as the purchaser of a part of the Wheeler lands, was a resident within the present limits of West Pike Run township for many years. He was one of the most widely-known and highly-esteemed men of Washington County or of Western Pennsylvania. He served with honor in both Houses of the State Legislature, and as a mem- ber of Congress from his district. He was the most famous surveyor in this section of country, and be- came one of the most eminent civil engineers of his day in the United States. The place where he lived and died is about one mile east of the town of Centre- ville, and now within the limits of West Pike Run township, though originally in East Bethlehem, the change being caused by a readjustment of the lines

between the two townships to conform to the route of the old National road. His residence was but a very short distance north of the township line in West Pike Run, and apparently he always continued to regard himself as belonging to East Bethlehem, which was his post-office address. A very brief and modest (yet comprehensive) autobiographical sketch of Mr. Knight, prepared for Lanman's " Dictionary of Con- gress" in 1858, copied from the original manuscript, and furnished by his son, William Knight, now re- siding at or near Marysville, Marion Co., Iowa, is here given :

"I was born of poor but respectable parents,1 in Bucks County, Pa., on the 22d of November, 1787, and with them removed in 1801 to East Bethlehem, Washington Co., in the same State, where I yet reside, engaged in agriculture.

"In 1809 I married Ann Heston, in a meeting of the religious society of Friends, in accordance with their good order, and we still remain in religious fel- lowship with that society. The limited means at command did not permit of my education in any col- lege, nor in any seminary of learning above the ordinary primary school then in the country. Never- theless, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge im- pelled me to read and study at home, mostly at nights, by which means I acquired a pretty good American education and a competent store of mathematical learning, and became a teacher in schools and a sur- veyor of land and of roads.

" About the year 1816 I was appointed by the State government of Pennsylvania to make and report a map of Washington County, in order to facilitate the forming of Melish's map of the State. This duty involved much field labor, the instrumental surveys requiring an hundred days in their performance. That service having been satisfactorily performed, I served three years as county commissioner, to which office I was elected by the people. Soon I entered .upon civil engineering, and after assisting in a subor- dinate station in the preliminary surveys for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and in those of the National or Cumberland road, between Cumberland and Wheeling, I was appointed in 1825, by the Fed- eral government, a commissioner to extend that road, and accordingly did extend it from Wheeling through the States of Ohio and Indiana to the eastern line of the State of Illinois.

"In 1822 I was elected a member of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and served in the House of Repre- sentatives and in the Senate six sessions. In 1828 I resigned my seat in that Senate and entered the ser- vice of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and visited England to acquire knowledge in that then new department of civil engineering. Returning, I

1 Jonathan Knight, the son of Abel and Ann S. Knight, was born in Bucks County, Pa., on the 22d day of November, 1787. His father was a weaver by trade, but could survey land and teach school .- Ciril und Military Engineers of America, by Charles Stewart, C. E., 1871.

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

accepted the office of chief engineer for that company in 1830, which I held until 1842.1 Retiring then to the farm, I continued the pursuit of agriculture, for which I was always partial, with only occasional times or absence from home on professional or other calls until 1854, when I was elected to the Thirty-fourth Congress in the Twentieth District of Pennsylvania, composed of Fayette, Greene, and Washington Coun- ties. Having served through the three sessions of that Congress, and failing of a re-election in 1856, I again retired to a rural and private life on the farm at East Bethlehem.

(Signed) "J. KNIGHT."

"The leading characteristics of Mr. Knight as a professional man," says Mr. B. H. Latrobe,2 who was Jonathan Knight's successor as chief engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, " were strongly marked, and entitled him to a high rank in the roll of Ameri- can civil engineers. His natural aptitude for the ac- quisition of knowledge in the exact sciences, and es- pecially those which depend upon the skillful use of algebraic analyses, was unsurpassed. The habit of close thinking, into which he was led by the natural tendencies of his mind to mathematical investigation, made him reason rightly on all subjects, and gave a philosophical cast to his conversation upon almost every topic that he touched. Yet his remarks were not a series of dry abstractions, but were practical in their bearings and enriched by illustration and anec- dote. In political economy he was well versed, and expressed enlightened and comprehensive views upon the subject of banking, trade, manufactures, and agri- - culture, of the last of which he possessed much prac- tical knowledge, derived from experience and careful observation., Politics also was a favorite theme with him, and upon public measures he always expressed broad and national views. He discussed the charac- ters of public men with great spirit, and often with a sarcastic humor which marked his conversation on most subjects. The character of Henry Clay ap- peared to be his ideal of a statesman and orator. In private life he was distinguished by many excellent qualities. He raised a large family,-ten children, --- fulfilling his domestic duties in the most exemplary manner, bringing up his children in the fear of God, providing for them with a judicious regard to their several capacities and dispositions. He left a com- fortable estate, after having settled all his children .

1 On the 2d of March, 1842, on the occasion of the acceptance of Mr. Knight's resignation, the board of directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company took the following action :

"On motion of Gen. Marriott, seconded by Mr. S. J. Donaldson, the following resolutions were adopted, viz .: Resolved, unanimously, That in accepting the resignation of Jonathan Knight, Esq , as chief engineer, the board feel it to be a duty to express the high sense entertained of his worth as a.man and merits as an officer ; and also to acknowledge the valne and jumpmetance of the services rendered by him in the responsible office which he has so long held with credit to himself and justice to the interests of the company. Resolved, That the president cause a copy of the above resolutions to be transmitted to Jonathan Knight, Esq."

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 240

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